Long live The Kings
When Kings Of Leon hit the number one spot in boththe UK singles and album chart, do you think Caleb and co thought they'dfinally hit the big time?
Perhaps they hit the mark after they triumphantly gracedthe Glastonbury Pyramid Stage this summer as Friday night headliners?
Maybe that moment passed a long time ago inthe sex-addled, druggy haze of rapturous tour after rapturous tour?
Yet whatevertheir answer may be, with 'Only By The Night', the Boys from the Bible Belthave cemented their place in the heart of a nation and bagged the metaphorical Albumof 2008 trophy in this year's Beanzine Entertainment Awards.
Yetbefore 'Sex on Fire' came along, the Kings had no real hits to speak of.
Sure,anyone with a pair of skinny jeans knew the words to 'Molly's Chambers', 'TheBucket' was a verified indie-anthem and 'Charmer' went down a storm at Readingfestival but the Kings had yet to make a dent on Joe Blogs.
If any band thinksthey can simply release an album, do a bit of promo and suddenly see the cashroll in they are sorely mistaken.
Since they first hit the road with 'Youth andYoung Manhood', the once ragged gang of tykes from Tennessee have barely set foot back home.
Yearshave passed and facial hair has changed but whenever Caleb and co step on stage,their fusion of skuzzed up riffs and Southern-fried vocals have always proved apotent mix.
Most importantly though, every Kings Of Leon album has followed theregal tradition of bettering its predecessor.
'Youthand Young Manhood' was a standard American rock n' roll album, albeit with anengaging level of macho swagger and energy which paved way for the more assured'Aha Shake Heartbreak'.
By this point, theKings had started to make waves and on the back of their new found maturity, theygarnered a second headline slot at Glastonbury in 2005. However, troubled timeswere ahead.
'Only by the night is a fookin top album'White Van Man
A fondnessof 'drinking for two', 'switchblade posses' and 'penis painting' finally caughtup with the band after four years of constant partying in initial sessions for'Because Of The Times'.
This fractious atmosphere lead though to a regroupingof the band as Caleb describes, "We looked in the mirror and didn't like whowe'd become".
Yet again though, the brotherhood forced its way through with afresh, stadium conquering ambition.
Bythe end of 2007, despite their biggest hit 'Fans' only hitting no.13, the bandwere holding successive arena tours to a growing conglomerate of eager admirers.
All pumps were now primed for success and with the release of the mostridiculously titled song since the last Kaiser Chiefs single, the Kings definitivelyhit the big time.
How canI know this for sure you ask?
My answer came on a cold October day as I steppedfrom my front door singing 'Sex On Fire' onto a street backed up with traffic.
Somewhatembarrassingly, my blazing vocals were actually loud enough to attract theattention of a white van driver parked only a couple metres away.
However,rather than look up in annoyance and question whether my vocal range came inhetero, this paint-stained gent merely gave me a kindly thumbs-up andproclaimed 'Only By The Night', a "fookin top album".
If ever there has been a momentof coronation whereby a band hits the big time, this was surely it. Long LiveThe Kings.
