KAISER CHIEFS

There's not much point in denying the Kaisers' unashamedly retro Britpop influences but who cares when the tunes are this good? The only thing the Kaisers anethemic, Doc Marten stomping, retro indie anthems lack is a cameo from Phil Daniels. The Kaisers have single handedly resurrected the spirit of The Jam, Madness, XTC and early Blur in one fell swoop. Their calling card, I Predict A Riot, was inspired by singer Ricky Wilson's days as a club DJ in Leeds, where he formed the group together with guitarist Andrew White, bassist Simon Rix, keyboardist Nick Baines and drummer Nick Hodgson. The band reached the Top 70 in the charts with their debut single Oh My God, when they were still unsigned. Named in honour of their favourite Leeds player, Lucas Radebe, who played for S. African team the Kaiser Chiefs, the group were soon snapped up by label B-Unique for their debut album, Employment in 2004. 1m album sales later and with three Brit Awards, the Kaisers remain quintessentially British, unpretentious and a whole lot of fun. What more could you ask for?