Keane dust down debut and recall how they held no fear

Keane have revealed they had almost given up hope of cracking the charts before recording one of the biggest albums of the decade.

Singer Tom Chaplin, keyboard player Tim Rice-Oxley and drummer Richard Hughes struggled to land a major record deal and were so skint they did their own roadying.

But everything changed when Tim wrote Somewhere Only We Know, which hit No.3 in the UK charts.

The song sparked a change of fortune for the trio and paved the way for their iconic 2004 album, Hopes And Fears.

On November 30, Keane release a new deluxe version of their debut, which sold more than six million copies and also features the hits Everybody's Changing, This Is The Last Time and Bedshaped.

Tim, who knocked back the chance to join Coldplay and then watched his mate Chris Martin shoot to superstardom, recalls the tough times.

He told Email: "We'd all run out of money and had to move back in with our parents.

"I remember sitting at my mum and dad's piano thinking, 'I'd love to write a song like Heroes by David Bowie'. So Somewhere Only We Know was basically just me trying to articulate the feeling of the three of us trying to fight against the world and make something of ourselves.

"I didn't even know if the song was any good or not but Richard came round that evening and said, 'You've got something'."

The single paved the way for Hopes And Fears but the trio admit they had no idea it would become one of the defining albums of the Noughties.

In 2005, they won two Brit Awards for Best Album and Best British Breakthrough Act and Tim scooped an Ivor Novello for Songwriter Of The Year. Richard said: "To win two Brits seemed like a big dream."

Hopes And Fears was also chosen as one of the 50 landmark albums to mark the 50th anniversary of Island Records.

The legendary label, founded by Chris Blackwell, launched the careers of U2, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Grace Jones, Tom Waits, Roxy Music, Stevie Winwood and Free.

"It was pretty nuts when Island signed us," said Richard.

"The first time we walked into the studio, PJ Harvey was recording some vocals in the same space where Bob Marley had worked."

Tim said: "I played Stevie Winwood's organ on Fly To Me, one of our early B-sides.

"We had so many Island records in our own collection. That's why we wanted their famous palm-tree logo on our first album."

Keane proved they were no one-hit wonders when their next two albums, Under The Iron Sea (2006) and Perfect Symmetry (2008), also hit No.1.

Another career highlight for the band was touring with U2 in America and Europe. Tim said: "Just having a conversation with Bono, who had been such a hero, was really exciting."

And Richard added: "U2 were incredibly down to earth. They made us incredibly welcome." Keane are now working on songs for their fourth studio album, which is set for release next year.

Tim said: "We've got nine tracks ready and it's very different from what we've done before."

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