The Kooks might be veterans of the 2000s indie scene, but even they get caught off guard.
Guitarist Hugh Harris recently admitted to Contact Music that he had to Google Fontaines D.C. after the Irish post-punk stars approached them backstage last summer.
“I was like, ‘Who the heck are they?’” Harris laughed. “Then I realised—oh my god, they’re huge!”.
The moment highlights a generational shift: while The Kooks’ music—now quadruple platinum in the UK—once soundtracked car rides for parents and kids alike, they’re now being embraced by younger bands who grew up on their hits like Naïve.
Frontman Luke Pritchard jokes, “Everyone loves us now. It didn’t used to be like that!”.
Fresh off their seventh album, Never/Know, The Kooks are prepping a UK arena tour this October, while Fontaines D.C. gear up for a sold-out Belfast gig with Kneecap—a show so hot it sparked political controversy.
