Kaiser Chiefs - Badges Of Honour (2008)

Nick Hodgson, Nick Baines and Simon Rix first met in the same class at St. Mary's Catholic High School, in Menston, West Yorkshire when they were around 11 years old. After leaving school in 1996, Rix and Baines left for university while Hodgson remained in the Leeds area, meeting both Andrew White and Ricky Wilson, and the three of them formed the band Runston Parva, its name a deliberate misspelling of a small East Yorkshire hamlet called Ruston Parva. After Runston Parva failed to secure a record deal, the group re-formed as Parva on the return of Rix and Baines from university, and the band were able to obtain both a record and publishing deal with Mantra Records, but following the release of an album '22', and three singles, Beggars Banquet closed the Mantra label, and Parva were dropped and left desolate and without any direction. Feeling that a band dropped by a label had a certain stigma which might prevent them being picked up by another label, they decided that they would start afresh with new songs and a new name: Kaiser Chiefs, with the name being taken from South African football club Kaizer Chiefs. In July 2004, while still relatively unknown inside the UK, the band performed at their first festival in Moscow, and in November they released their first single 'Oh, My God'/'Born To Be A Dancer'/'Caroline,Yes' on the Drowned In Sound label, followed swiftly by 'I Predict A Riot'/'Take My Temperature' on B-Unique. Their debut album 'Employment' appeared in March 2005, with the music being primarily inspired by new wave and punk rock of the late 70's and 80', and it was well received by music critics and the public alike, reaching number two in the UK albums chart. The band's second album 'Yours Truly, Angry Mob' was released in February 2007, with the track listing picked from 22 songs that they'd recorded throughout September and October 2006 at Hookend Recording Studios. The album reached number one on the UK albums chart, and contained their UK number one single 'Ruby', as well as three more songs which were later released as singles. Third album 'Off With Their Heads' was released on 20 October 2008, and following a UK arena tour in 2008/2009 and a brief rest, they released 'The Future Is Medieval' in June 2011 as a 'create-your-own album', where fans were able to choose 10 of the 20 songs to create "their album" for £7.50, before the official track listing was released a month later. In their early days they recorded much more material than was needed for their albums, as evidenced by the 22 tracks they taped for 'Yours Truly, Angry Mob', and so all of the singles from 2004 to 2008 have exclusive b-sides, which are collected here for your enjoyment. The badges on the sleeve are all taken from the covers of their singles, which was a theme that the band ran with for most of their single releases.  

Track listing

Disc One: 2004-2005
01 Oh, My God (original recording, single 2004) 
02 Born To Be A Dancer (b-side of 'Oh, My God')
03 Caroline, Yes (b-side of 'Oh, My God')
04 Take My Temperature (b-side of 'I Predict A  Riot' 2004)
05 Less Is More (b-side of 'I Predict A  Riot')
06 Wrecking Ball (b-side of 'I Predict A  Riot')
07 Sink That Ship (b-side of 'I Predict A  Riot')
08 Run Again (b-side of 'Modern Way' 2005)
09 Moon (b-side of 'Modern Way' 2005)
10 It Ain't Easy (b-side of 'Modern Way' 2005)
11 People Need Light (b-side of 'Modern Way' 2005)
12 Brightest Star (b-side of re-released 'Oh, My God' 2005)
13 Think About You (And I Like It) (b-side of re-released 'Oh, My God' 2005)
14 I Predict Some Quiet (b-side of 'You Can Have It All (Light Orchestral)' 2005) 

Disc Two: 2005-2008
01 Seventeen Cups (b-side of 'Everyday I Love You Less And Less' 2005)
02 Not Surprised (b-side of 'Everyday I Love You Less And Less' 2005)
03 Another Number (b-side of 'Everyday I Love You Less And Less' 2005)
04 The Letter Song (b-side of 'Everyday I Love You Less And Less' 2005)
05 Hard Times Sent Me (from the 'Lap Of Honour' EP 2005)
06 I Like To Fight (b-side of 'Everything Is Average Nowadays' 2007)
07 Out Of My Depth (b-side of 'Everything Is Average Nowadays' 2007)
08 Telling Me To Go (b-side of 'Love's Not A Competition (But I'm Winning)' 2007)
09 From The Neck Down (b-side of 'Ruby' 2007)
10 Admire You (b-side of 'Ruby' 2007)
11 Addicted To Drugs (Appendix I) (b-side of 'Good Days Bad Days' 2008)

12 Sooner Or Later (b-side of 'Never Miss A Beat' 2008)

'I Predict Some Quiet' was put on the b-side of their Christmas release 'You Can Have It All (Light Orchestral)' so that fans could put the record on for a couple of minutes of peace. 

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