Kaiser Chiefs - Team Mate

Artist: Kaiser Chiefs

Song:  Team Mate

Album: Employment (2005)

 

Sometimes the greatest success stories sprout from the tiniest of ambitions. When Kaiser Chiefs formed up in Leeds around the summer of 2003, their aim wasn't to conquer stadiums and change the world. Instead, these five Britpop-obsessed oddballs began plotting a rather more modest plan. In the shadowy corners of clubs and venues across the city Ricky Wilson (lead vocals, owner of stylish blue and orange suit), Andrew 'Whitey' White (guitar), Simon Rix (bass), Nick 'Peanut' Baines (keyboards and modeller of impressive pork-pie hats) and Nick Hodgson (drums and vocals) decided to form a band that would harness the awesome capability of being able to blag an early slot at the following year's Leeds Festival.

The Kaisers' story actually begins some time before they'd decided to name themselves after a successful South African football team. School friends Simon, Peanut and Nick had been playing together in various bands since the age of 15 before spying art school graduate and restless-ball-of-energy Ricky singing with a Rolling Stones tribute band.

Right now, everybody wants a piece of the Kaiser Chiefs. Blur producer Stephen Street was so bowled over he offered his services for debut album Employment. A barrage of bouncing art-pop brilliance, it's scheduled to soundtrack 2005 from the minute it hits stereos this March. (Amazon)

 

Employment ends with "Team Mate," a tantalizingly short character sketch that is also the band's best ballad. 

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We used to go out nightly
To the armoury
You used to be my team mate
Or that's the way it seemed
We lost our friends
Because you wanted to
They had no faith in you
I had faith in you
You said we don't need anybody new
It's just me and you
On a bicycle for two
Ah ah ahhh
We used to hold on tightly
And you relied on me
I used to to be your team mate
Or that's the way it seemed
We lost our friends
Because you wanted to
They had no faith in you
I had faith in you
We've been everything you wanted to
It was just me and you
On a bicycle for two
Ah ah ahhh
Ah ah ahhh