{"id":388600,"date":"2026-01-24T20:57:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T20:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/388600\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T20:57:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T20:57:09","slug":"the-kooks-luke-pritchard-after-20-years-i-feel-like-this-is-our-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/388600\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kooks’ Luke Pritchard: ‘After 20 years, I feel like this is our time’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"READING,
\n\t\tThe Kooks\u2019 Luke Pritchard reflects on 20 years of their debut album Inside In\/Inside Out with Metro (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

The Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard says the band still has so much to say 20 years after the release of their debut album Inside In\/Inside Out.<\/p>\n

The indie darlings have been riding high off the back of a stellar 2025, <\/a>which saw the release of their seventh studio album Never\/Know, a triumphant arena tour that saw them grace the O2<\/a> Arena in London<\/a>, and an appearance on New Year\u2019s Eve staple Jools\u2019 Annual Hootenanny.<\/p>\n

Friday marked two decades of the record that transformed the quartet into household names thanks to massive singles Na\u00efve, She Moves in Her Own Way, and Ooh La.<\/p>\n

But Pritchard thinks the band are entering a \u2018creative\u2019 and \u2018energised\u2019 2026.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Metro at The Cure photo exhibition at London\u2019s Iconic Images Gallery, Pritchard said: \u2018I\u2019m so excited for this year.\u00a0 We\u2019ve just started writing the new album and feel really confident to try and write best album we\u2019ve ever made. It\u2019s the first thing on the agenda and not an easy thing to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\"AlanWestThe
\n\t\tLuke attended The Cure photo exhibition and Q&A at London\u2019s Iconic Images Gallery (Picture: Alan West)<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019ll be working a lot \u2013 I feel energised. It\u2019s going to be a creative year. I still feel like we have a lot to say.\u00a0 After 20 years, I feel like this is our time.\u2019<\/p>\n

Nostalgia is in vogue right now with social media awash with people looking back on their lives in 2016.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"READING,
\n\t\tLuke Pritchard, of The Kooks, along with Rebel Wilson, during her surprise appearance on stage at Reading Festival in 2025 (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

But a decade before that, The Kooks were giants among the UK\u2019s thrilling guitar band scene along with Arctic<\/a> Monkeys, Kasabian, and Kaiser Chiefs.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on that era, Pritchard, who attended the exhibition with wife and music collaborator Ellie Rose, said: \u2018It was brilliant.\u00a0 These days the whole vibe\u2019s changed but that time was about decadence and touching on the darker things inspired by the 60s and 70s.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"AlanWestThe
\n\t\tLuke Pritchard and wife Ellie Rose, who perform together in their project Duo (Picture: Alan West)<\/p>\n

\u2018Now you\u2019re seeing the brighter things people are inspired by, which is juxtaposed by the craziness of an unstable world.<\/p>\n

\u2018To have one album like that (Inside In\/Inside Out) in your whole life is pretty amazing.\u00a0 I can see it for what it is more.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Back then, we were kids.\u00a0 The funny thing with The Kooks is we weren\u2019t friends.\u00a0 We\u2019d only known each other three or four months, which is kind of crazy.\u00a0 I feel like that one moment of doing that record has been my life.\u00a0 I still think it sounds like a great record.\u00a0 I still feel proud of it.\u00a0 Hopefully it still sounds good live \u2013 we are less drunk!\u2019<\/p>\n

The Kooks play the Isle of Wight<\/a> Festival in June along with The Cure, Calvin Harris<\/a>, Lewis Capaldi<\/a>, Wet Leg<\/a>, Tom Grennan<\/a>, The Last Dinner Party, and more.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Isle of Wight is the best festival in the world for me\u2019, Pritchard added.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\u2018It was the first festival I went to when I snuck out at 16 with my best mate.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got brilliant memories of the Isle of Wight, and now playing with The Cure is a knock out.\u2019<\/p>\n


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