The Kooks (/kuːks/) are an English indie rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton.^[1] The band currently consists of Luke Pritchard (vocals, guitar) and Hugh Harris (bass, guitar, synthesiser).

Their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s British Invasion movement and post-punk revival of the new millennium.^[2] The Kooks have experimented in several genres including rock, Britpop, pop, reggae, ska, and more recently, funk and hip-hop, being described once as a «more energetic Thrills or a looser Sam Roberts Band, maybe even a less severe Arctic Monkeys at times».^[3]

After securing a deal with Virgin Records merely three months after forming, The Kooks achieved instant mainstream success following the release of their critically acclaimed debut album Inside In/Inside Out (2006). The album is certified five-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), platinum certified by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and two times platinum by Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). Further success followed, with the Kooks winning Best UK & Ireland Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2006 and receiving a nomination at The Brit Awards for the single «She Moves in Her Own Way«.^[4][5] With their follow-up Konk (2008) debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart, it recorded first week sales of 65,000, achieving gold status in both the UK and Ireland.^[6] Their third studio album, Junk of the Heart, was released on 12 September 2011. The bands fourth album, Listen, was released on 8 September 2014. Their most recent album 10 Tracks to Echo in the Dark was released on 22 July 2022 and peaked at No. 32 on the UK Albums Chart.

The three members – Garred, Pritchard and Harris – of the Kooks all met as students at the BRIT School in Croydon, all three moving further south to join BIMM British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM), where they met Rafferty – who was from Bridgnorth – in 2002.^[7] The inspiration to form a band came to Pritchard as he and Garred were out shopping for clothes one day in Primark as a joke. Speaking to MTV Garred said, «we had a vision on how we wanted the band to look and stuff—so we bought some clothes and these hats, it was fun.»^[8] Sharing a love of the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Police and David Bowie, Pritchard got Harris and Rafferty involved under the guise of a school music project.^[7] Pritchard himself said «We got together just on a whim, really.»^[9] With a strong demo of their material Garred and Pritchard went in search of a gig, and according to Garred, they were able to book their first show simply because the landlord liked their hats. «So we went in to get a gig, we don’t have a demo blid burnt, and this guy told us, ‘Well, you can’t get a gig if you don’t have a demo, but I like your hats, so I’m going to give you a gig’», said Garred. However, the band was unable to make the performance as they were finishing off their demo at the time.^[8]

Taking their name from the David Bowie song with the same title, Pritchard said the first song they played as a group was a cover version of the Strokes‘ «Reptilia«.^[10] The Kooks recorded an EP demo, sending it out in search of gigs; they instead received offers from managers and record companies.^[9] The band had only been together as a group for four months when they signed with Virgin Records,^[9] after being spotted by several label scouts at the Brighton Free Butt Festival in 2005.^[11] In an interview with musicOMH, Pritchard revealed «It was really quick how it all happened, we did a demo with a mate of ours in London, which we sent off to one guy to get some gigs, and he turned out to be a manager. He rung us up and it kind of went from there.»^[10] The members of the band have since revealed that they felt they weren’t ready at the time, «We were way too early to sign a record deal … We were really young, we’d been together like two or three months, so we really didn’t want to sign. But then we thought it’s a really good opportunity and Virgin seemed like really cool people – they just seemed to really understand where we were coming from»,^[10] said Pritchard, who has also complimented the space the record label allowed for the band to grow: «They were patient with us and let us develop