Luke Pritchard, the frontman of The Kooks, and Richard Archer of Hard-Fi recently reconnected after years of navigating the indie music scene separately. Their paths had never quite crossed during their early 2000s heyday, despite belonging to the same musical orbit that saw a boom in British guitar bands. Reminiscing about those days, both artists acknowledge that the whirlwind success of the era blurred many memories, with Pritchard jokingly unsure whether he’d embarrassed himself during a long-forgotten night in Brixton.
The Kooks and Hard-Fi rose to fame during a surge in indie rock that began in 2002, sparked by The Libertines’ revitalization of British guitar music. They joined a wave of bands—Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight—who rode sharp guitar riffs, witty lyrics, and anthemic choruses to the top of the charts. By 2006, guitar bands dominated the UK music scene, with seven of the top 10 best-selling new albums hailing from this genre, including The Kooks’ Inside In/Inside Out and Arctic Monkeys’ debut.
But the boom was short-lived. By 2008, the term “indie landfill” emerged to describe the glut of indistinct bands clogging the airwaves. As listeners shifted to the glossy pop of Lady Gaga and the beat-driven hip-hop of Black Eyed Peas and Dizzee Rascal, the appeal of four-piece guitar groups faded. Archer recalls how suddenly unhip indie bands had become, while Pritchard reflects on the shrinking venues and waning excitement around their shows. Eventually, the momentum stopped. Hard-Fi’s members pursued other ventures, with guitarist Ross Phillips becoming a tiler and Archer forming the brief blues outfit OffWorld.
Their absence wasn’t permanent. During the COVID lockdowns, Archer livestreamed acoustic Hard-Fi sets that unexpectedly reignited interest. A single reunion show sold out quickly, leading to a full band revival and a 20th-anniversary reissue of their Mercury Prize-nominated debut, Stars of CCTV. Meanwhile, The Kooks never fully disappeared. They released several albums experimenting with varied sounds—from drum loops to Ethiopian jazz. Though these records kept the band creatively active, their earlier hits like “Naïve” and “Ooh La” found fresh life on TikTok, drawing in a younger audience.
Now, The Kooks are experiencing unprecedented popularity, with 45% of ticket buyers for their upcoming O2 Arena headline show aged 18 to 24. Pritchard attributes this resurgence to a generational cycle—just as his peers once rediscovered Nick Drake in the 1990s, today’s youth are turning to the music their parents loved. But beyond nostalgia, there’s a deeper pull. Tracks like “She Moves In Her Own Way” and Hard-Fi’s “Hard to Beat” offer something many modern songs lack—singable, crowd-pleasing choruses. Pritchard notes that the dominance of introspective music suited for earbuds may have eclipsed these anthemic styles, but the desire for collective musical moments has never left.
Both bands remember the grueling pace of their early tours. Hard-Fi, for example, spent nearly every day on the road during their first year. Now, with UK grassroots venues closing at an alarming rate, Archer worries about new artists losing crucial opportunities to hone their craft. The broader industry landscape has also transformed. The Kooks’ debut album sold 1.5 million copies in 2006, while in 2024, even Taylor Swift’s top-selling Tortured Poets Department sold just 600,000. Streaming has reshaped consumption, turning many artists into niche performers, and traditional platforms for music discovery—TV shows, magazines—have dwindled.
This decline in traditional music press is not missed by everyone. Archer and Pritchard both recall the strain of trying to live up to the NME’s archetype of the brash, outspoken frontman. Archer once declared he was in competition with Eminem—not because he believed it, but because that was the expectation. With hindsight, they both see that many musicians, including themselves, were introspective types thrust into a performative spotlight, a role that often clashed with their true selves.
Today, both frontmen feel more grounded. Pritchard, seeking to reconnect with The Kooks’ original sound, dove back into the influences that shaped their early work. The result is their new album Never/Know, a record filled with upbeat melodies and classic guitar vibes—perfect for summer festivals and road trips. Archer is also revisiting the past, working on a new album inspired by old demos from a CD-Rom gifted by a former girlfriend.
Despite their different approaches, both bands have reemerged with renewed purpose. When asked about the future, Pritchard jokes about having a five-year plan locked in a safe, while Archer admits he can barely plan lunch. What’s clear is that they’ve weathered the industry’s highs and lows and found their footing again—not by chasing trends, but by embracing the music that made them beloved in the first place.
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