The Kooks frontman, Luke Pritchard, has said the bands Reading set felt like a “homecoming”.
The Brighton-formed band behind the hit songs Naive, She Moves In Her Own Way, and Junk Of The Heart (Happy) is fronted by Pritchard with Hugh Harris on guitar and Alexis Nunez on drums.
The Kooks returned to play Reading festival on Friday, the first time in seven years, and Pritchard, 40, praised the energy young festivalgoers gave the band, describing it as “amazing”.
Pritchard told PA news agency: “It went bloody well. It was really good. I feel a little emotional about it really. It felt like a bit of homecoming.
“We haven’t played in the UK for a while. And just the young people, you know, it’s like, amazing. It’s like a lot of young people in the front and they gave a lot of energy, got a lot of love. So, I mean, can’t complain, really, those old songs are still going down like they’re fresh.
“I think this is the highest billing we’ve had at Reading and Leeds, I think so. It’s brilliant. We feel very grateful.”
The group first performed at Reading and Leeds festival in 2006 and then again in 2018.
Pritchard added: “Our Hollywood friend I mean, she’s wicked. We’re like good friends now.
Clips of the set have since gone viral after the band welcomed Hollywood actress Rebel Wilson on stage for a surprise rendition of Gangsta’s Paradise.
“She just reached out, she wanted to get some cutaways for her film and then I was like, why don’t we do a song because I know she’s great singer, obviously a performer.
“We had 12 hours so we thought, you know, just give it a go. And she was brilliant. I mean, we barely rehearsed it, just in our dressing room, an hour before the show.
“Then she came in, she already had it down. And, yes, it’s just a bit of fun, you know, in the crowd. I mean, she’s so popular.
“We were the backup.”
The band formed in Brighton in 2005, releasing their debut album, Inside In/Inside Out, in 2006, which reached number two in the UK chart, followed by 2008’s Konk which became the group’s first number one album in the UK.
Pritchard added: “It almost feels like another life actually. I think life – you should allow it to be seasonal. And I think that was a season. It was amazing and intense and we made some really cool music and that but I’m just all about the future.
“We’re doing an arena tour at the biggest arenas we’ve ever played in the UK, you know, and that’s 20 years in. It feels really good and we feel like ready, which seems like a long time, but I think we could have done those kind of sized rooms on our first album, but we didn’t feel confident.
“It’s a whole different style of performance and everything. But now I think we feel ready to take that on.”
In April the band announced a UK arena tour with concerts in London, Manchester, Cardiff, Brighton, Newcastle and Birmingham throughout October.
After the announcement, the group released their seventh studio album, Never/Know, which peaked at number five in the UK album charts.
Reading and Leeds festival continues on Saturday August 23 with a line-up that includes Chappell Roan, Hozier, Rudim3ntal, Becky Hill and Conan Gray.
