Kings of Leon didn't stop a little thing like nationality get in their way from scoring two trophies at the annual BRIT Awards, held February 18 across the pond at London's Earls Court. Welsh songstress Duffy may have taken home top honors with three awards, but the boys from Nashville also did well at the BRITS, winning awards for International Group and International Album for Only By the Night, beating out competitors the Killers, AC/DC, Fleet Foxes and MGMT.
Kings drummer Nathan Followill acknowledged the importance of the British market to the band's success saying, "Thank you, God, thank you, Mom, thank you U.K. Without y'all, we would be nothing." Singer and guitarist Caleb Followill echoed, "If it weren't for England, Kings of Leon wouldn't be a band right now."
The band is comprised of the Followill brothers Nathan, Caleb, Jared and their cousin Matthew , who named their rock & roll band after their father Leon, a Pentecostal preacher who, ironically, forbid his family from listening to secular music. Leon eventually resigned from his post at the church and the eldest of the Followills, Nathan and Caleb, began sampling songs from bands like the Rolling Stones and Johnny Cash. Younger brother Jared was already listening to the Pixies and the Velvet Underground and the siblings formed a band with their cousin Matthew, soon signing with RCA Records after a bidding war ensued.
After releasing the humorously-titled debut EP Holy Roller Novocaine, Kings of Leon released the Youth and Young Manhood LP in 2003. Both efforts were produced by Petraglia and Ethan Johns, the sons of famed Who and Led Zeppelin producer Glyn Johns.
Kings of Leon were hailed a hybrid of the Strokes and Lynyrd Skynyrd after releasing their debut LP and although their fame in the States was slowly building, they were an overnight sensation in the U.K., where the British press couldn't stop buzzing about the band. After an extensive tour, they released their sophomore album, Aha Shake Heartbreak, in 2005. Kings of Leon scored a high-profile gig touring in support of U2 and opening for Bob Dylan a handful of times in the wake of their second album's success.
Kings of Leon tickets soon became a hot commodity in the States, as well, around the same time that the band released their third album, Because of the Times, in 2007. The album's lead single "Sex on Fire" went straight to the top of the charts in the U.K. and eventually landed at number 29 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
In 2008 Kings churned out another album, their fourth studio effort, Because of the Times. The band continued to shed their image as just a "Southern version of the Strokes," with Because of the Times scoring the number 25 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. In addition to their big night at the BRITS, they nabbed their first Grammy award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "Sex on Fire." Be sure to check online for Kings of Leon tickets.music
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