Synopsis

Kaiser Chiefs perform "Ruby" in a stark desert setting as an artificial city gradually takes shape around them. Tiny workers, buildings, roads and other urban details emerge from the empty landscape, transforming the scene into a busy miniature metropolis. The band remains at the center of the construction, playing through the increasingly elaborate surroundings while Ricky Wilson delivers the song's urgent appeal to its elusive title character. The contrast between the barren setting and the rapidly developing city gives the performance a playful, surreal quality.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was originally scheduled for a late-night broadcast on Channel 4 on January 15, 2007, but it was removed from the schedule for reasons that were never publicly explained. It premiered on the official Kaiser Chiefs website four days later.

• The city is presented as a CGI-built miniature environment, with the video's visual concept turning the band's performance into the centerpiece of a steadily expanding urban landscape.

• "Ruby" became the Kaiser Chiefs' first UK number-one single in February 2007, making the video part of the band's major commercial breakthrough.

• The song's identity has long encouraged different interpretations. Ricky Wilson described Ruby as an intimidating, seemingly unapproachable girl, while former drummer Nick Hodgson later said the name originally came from his family's black Labrador.

• Hodgson said the chorus was created at a piano, with the repeated name providing much of the hook's musical impact. The video's simple, highly visual concept complements that directness rather than attempting to illustrate a detailed narrative.