Kooks' US mission

Band want to crack America with Konk

08 May 08 - The Kooks have been talking about breaking America with their new album Konk.

The record reached number 41 in the American Billboard 200 and singer Luke Pritchard is pleased with how it is going.

He said: “It’s actually going really well – I mean you never know with America do you? People know us, know our songs.

“Y’know we sold out like 5,000 tickets in New York which is like unbelievable. We haven’t sold loads of records but it’s early days.”

"It took ages for us to get a record deal out there"
Luke Pritchard

However, Luke did say that their first US label didn't want to release it: “It took ages for us to get a record deal out there because Virgin US just like sort of turned their nose up at it.

“They’ve got kind of, I think it’s mainly sort of R and B stuff and it’s probably much better for us that we work with Astral Works now.

“They're really good people – it’s all about who you work with.”

The Brighton band is performing at Radio 1’s Big Weekend event in Maidstone, London on 11 May. They then take their tour to the US.

Do you think The Kooks will crack the US?


Kelly Stooke