Keane name their inspirational tracks

Keane came in to the Q Radio studios to play the tracks that have helped to shape and inspire them musically. Each member of the band – who released new single The Lovers Are Losing on Tuesday, October 28, at 9pm (repeated Saturday, November 1, at 8pm)- chose songs by three other artists to give an idea of their varied influences.

You can read edited highlights of what they said about the tracks below but to hear the full interviews and the tracks the band played, tune in to the Keane Jukebox programme on Tuesday October 28 at 9pm.

Tom Chaplin’s choices:

K’naan – Struggling

“(Mogadishu-born K’naan) grew up in difficult times, I think there was a civil war in the country and he really had a huge contrast with that and then his life subsequently in Canada. This song harks back to those difficult days and puts them next to the somewhat easier days that he’s enjoying as a successful musician in Canada. I just love the groove that it’s built around. It’s built around this guitar riff. He’s got this emotional warmth to what he does. A lot of people compare him to Eminem but I think there’s an emotional warmth and realness to what he does that distinguishes him from Eminem.”

Selah Collins - Pick a Sound

“A couple of years ago my record company handed me an album called London is the Place For Me and it’s a collection of London Calypso tracks by people who’ve moved from the West Indies to live in England from the early part of the twentieth century and this song immediately struck a chord. It’s just a beautiful song with lovely lilting vocals. It just immediately stuck out. It’s got a simple lyric but a moving one in a way. It’s about if you were going to choose a song or a sound which one would it be and in the end he chooses Calypso.”

The Blue Nile - The Downtown Lights

“The Blue Nile are one of the great undiscovered treasures of British music. They’re a band from Scotland, they’ve been around for 25 years or something but they’ve only made about 4 or 5 albums. They’re not the most prolific band in the world but when they do make a record it’s a great occasion. I think they deserve more recognition than they get although they’ve never really chased the dream of being a massive smash band. You only have to listen to their records to experience how great they are. In some ways I think they can be easily written off. They’ve got an 80s sound and the songs might seem like simple love songs. This song is a great example. It’s a beautiful allegorical love song and the more you listen to it the more you learn and grow to love it.”

[Return to Tim Rice Oxley's choices]

[Return to Richard Hughes's choices]

You can hear the programme here

3:40 PM | 21/10/2008

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