The Kooks are an English indie rock band formed in Brighton in 2004. Built around singer and guitarist Luke Pritchard and guitarist Hugh Harris, the group became one of the most commercially successful acts associated with the British indie revival of the mid-2000s. Their music combines concise pop songwriting with jangling guitars, loose rhythms and a distinctly English sense of melody. Across their career, they have also incorporated elements of Britpop, reggae, ska, soul, synthpop and hip-hop.
Pritchard, Harris and original drummer Paul Garred met while studying at the BRIT School in Croydon and later attended the Brighton Institute of Modern Music. They were joined by bassist Max Rafferty, completing the original quartet. The band took its name from "Kooks," a song by David Bowie from his 1971 album Hunky Dory. Within months of forming, The Kooks had attracted the attention of Virgin Records, setting the stage for a rapid rise.
Their debut album, Inside In/Inside Out, was released in 2006. Produced by Tony Hoffer, the record presented the band's most recognizable formula: bright guitar parts, youthful relationship songs and choruses designed for both radio and live audiences. The album eventually sold more than two million copies worldwide and produced several of the band's best-known singles, including "Eddie's Gun," "Sofa Song," "You Don't Love Me," "She Moves in Her Own Way" and "Naive." The last of these became an international signature song, while the album established The Kooks as a major touring act in Britain and overseas. In the same period, the group received an MTV Europe Music Award for Best UK and Ireland Act and a BRIT Award nomination.
Rafferty left the band in 2008 and was replaced by Peter Denton. The Kooks responded with Konk, named after the London studio where much of it was recorded. Released that year, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number one and delivered the single "Always Where I Need to Be," their highest-charting UK single. Although Konk retained the accessible songwriting of the debut, its production was broader and more polished, reflecting a band attempting to move beyond its initial image.
The Kooks continued to revise their sound on Junk of the Heart, released in 2011, and Listen, released in 2014. The latter brought stronger rhythmic and electronic influences into the band's guitar-led approach. Garred's departure and subsequent lineup changes also made Pritchard and Harris the enduring creative center of the group. The album Let's Go Sunshine followed in 2018, returning to a more direct rock sound while retaining the band's melodic instincts.
In 2022, The Kooks released 10 Tracks to Echo in the Dark, a compact set that balanced modern production with the group's preference for immediate hooks. Their seventh studio album, Never/Know, appeared on May 9, 2025. Self-produced by Pritchard, it was framed as a return to the band's original creative drive rather than a simple recreation of its debut sound. The album reached number five in the UK, giving The Kooks their highest chart position in 17 years. By this point, the band had become defined not only by its early hits, but also by its ability to carry an unmistakable songwriting identity through changing lineups and shifting indie trends.