After the chart-steamrollering success of their 2004 debut album Hopes and Fears, singer Tom Chaplin’s drug and alcohol addiction meant things had gone badly awry by the time Keane took an “indefinite hiatus” 10 years ago. However, here they are, packing out arenas at least partly due to the startling second life of debut single Somewhere Only We Know, a TikTok phenomenon which has notched up a-billion-and-a-half streams.
The band, who reformed in 2019, seem as surprised as anyone to be here. “Hopes and Fears … 20 years. It’s incredible,” beams Chaplin, and yet Keane have grown into their own skin. The singer is a far more accomplished frontman than the rather earnest, self-conscious performer he once was. With his rake thin physique, short grey hair, Rishi Sunak length trousers and voice that soars into the choruses, Chaplin owns the stage as effortlessly as if he was in front of his bedroom mirror. The band are note perfect, but have the endearing body language of childhood friends who have had their ups and down and are relishing a second chance.
