This is the most fired up we’ve been for an album in years, says Kings Of Leon frontman Caleb Followill
WHEN Kings Of Leon were in the studio making their ninth album, there was one song that had frontman Caleb Followill convinced they were on to a good thing.
He says of the atmospheric Rainbow Ball, a standout track on their new record, Can We Please Have Fun: “I heard Jared playing that bass line and it just had this drive, which I loved.
“But I had gone to the restroom. So when I heard it, I came running out with my pants still undone and told Nathan to get on the drums and play.
“I love the song and its vigour, and whenever inspiration strikes, you got to go for it. Even when you’ve not buttoned your pants!”
Caleb and younger brother Jared are holding court in a suite of a Mayfair hotel.
They flew in from Nashville a few hours earlier and if there’s any jet lag it’s not on show. They are guzzling electrolyte-infused water (“They need their electrolytes,” their management assistant tells me) while comparing films they watched on the flight with a colleague, who is filming the band’s every move.
“It’s the most fired-up we’ve been for an album in a while,” says Caleb. “It feels like a new chapter,” adds Jared. “And it makes us feel like we have many more albums to make because we were allowed to make an album the way we wanted to.”
It felt kind of like a big, big rewash. Making the record, we didn’t have a record label. We were independent and it made a difference.
With debut album Youth & Young Manhood turning 20 years old last year, it had been suggested the family band — brothers Caleb, Jared, drummer Nathan and cousin Matthew on guitar — should mark this as a celebration.
Caleb explains: “It was suggested that we should do an anniversary tour and release a Greatest Hits and add one or two new songs on there.
“When that was suggested, we all looked at each other as it scared us. I definitely wasn’t ready for that.
“So, I thought we’d just fully commit to making one more great album, and then decide what we were going to do. But this album was a real joy to make and we learned a lot, so now, we can’t wait to make another album.”
Moving with manager Andy Mendelsohn to Full Stop Management, home of Harry Styles, Mark Ronson and Travis Scott, in 2019 and leaving their record label gave the band a fresh start.
Caleb says: “It felt kind of like a big, big rewash. Making the record, we didn’t have a record label. We were independent and it made a difference.”
Jared adds: “I joined the band when I was 15, so we’ve been having day sheets with times on it under our studio doors all of our adult life.”
Kings Of Leon started work on new music with Grammy and Brit Award-winning producer Kid Harpoon, known for his work with Harry Styles and Florence And The Machine.
Caleb says: “A lot of Kid’s success, or at least his trophies, happened after we’d already started working with him.
“Our manager also manages Harry so knew Kid and suggested we try some songs out with him. As soon as we got in the studio with him, it was refreshing.”
Jared adds: “When Kid first started off, he was in the indie world but later became known for pop music. We met with him in January 2023 and then the album Harry’s House cleaned up at the Grammys in February.
“Working with him, we were always moving forward. Kid would not let us get stagnant on stuff. It was like running across a tightrope. You never stopped and it was exciting.”
Rainbow Ball, Don’t Stop The Bleeding, Split Screen, Actual Daydream and Nowhere To Run are all songs that prove the band aren’t ready to call it a day yet.
‘Shed old skin’
Caleb says: “I love Ballerina Radio. Jared was so fired up about that one. I also love Rainbow Ball, and my wife [supermodel Lily Aldridge] loves and will be livid if Actual Daydream doesn’t find itself as a single.
“But Don’t Stop The Bleeding was the first moment when it was like, ‘Alright, I think we’re ready to make an album’.
“Every now and then, you got to shed your old skin. We’re not making this for anyone but us. There was a point where we knew it was good and hopefully the world will love it too.
“But the point of art isn’t to make something for someone else. I was reading a book that really inspired me when I was writing this record, and I bought copies for everyone. It’s called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. And you read a little bit and you apply it.”
My son was wearing a shirt that said Mustang, while my daughter was watching YouTube videos of cats — that’s where the line ‘Are you a Mustang or a kitty’ comes from.
The band chose the album title Can We Please Have Fun as it was “so open to interpretation”.
Caleb says: “It can be a statement or a question but we’re going to make this record and can we please enjoy this process.
“This is a great opportunity for us to show the world who we are as people and how much this actually means to us.”
Their families were also a huge influence on the record.
Caleb says: “We all have such strong foundations and support systems at home. My family inspired me in every way on this album to just take chances. I really want to make them proud.”
Mustang, the first single released from the record, was influenced by Caleb’s two kids, Dixie, 11, and Winston, five.
The singer recalls: “My son was wearing a shirt that said Mustang, while my daughter was watching YouTube videos of cats — that’s where the line ‘Are you a Mustang or a kitty’ comes from.
“My son hadn’t really reacted to our music before, so I put Mustang in the song to make him flip his s**t. Now friends’ kids always say, ‘Play the Mustang song’, so if nothing else, kids love it.” While his kids are an influence on Caleb’s new music, it is Taylor Swift who has made the biggest impression on daughter Dixie.
He says: “Dixie started wearing Kings Of Leon shirts around the house, but Taylor has made her see music differently.
“She’s impressed how she can walk in with a guitar and write a song. A new generation are discovering what it’s like to organically make music because of Taylor Swift.”
When Kings Of Leon kick off their UK tour in June, the Followill kids will be in tow.
Jared, who welcomed his second daughter, Charlotte, on Tuesday, with wife Martha, says: “I’m bringing my family over. We are all renting houses.
“I’m excited that the kids are all meeting up and the cousins can all go to the pub and get drunk for the first time as they don’t check IDs in the UK.”
When they were younger, the band were as famous for their drunken brawling as their music. Today, life is much calmer.
Prepared for Doomsday
Caleb says: “We try to avoid being on the road for three months at a time.
“When we were starting, we were like zombies and living on buses and in each other’s hair.”
Jared adds: “It was crazy. How did we survive that?
“But we’re healthy adults and in a good place. It’s boring, and people want us to still be fighting and drunk.”
The brothers agree that the only thing that gets them down these days are negative comments on social media.
I feel this album is the most concentration we’ve all had on a singular goal. We are inspired again. This album was a real joy.
Jared says: “I read all of it, everything.
“I recently read someone say my bass playing sounds like the Home Depot theme song, and that hurt.” Caleb adds: “I see so many great ones, but it’s the one bad comment that will keep me awake at night.
“When we released a new song, I typed ‘Kings Of Leon’ into Google and before I’d even typed ‘Leon’, it said, ‘Kings Of Leon singer dead’; ‘Kings Of Leon singer problem’; ‘Kings Of Leon break-up’.
“I’m now prepared for Doomsday.”
The band are looking forward to playing Hyde Park in summer as the UK holds a special place in their hearts.
Caleb says: “We love our fanbase in the UK.
“When you have nine albums you want to have fun with the set list, but those big shows you want to give the people what they came for.
“You guys had real love for us from the beginning. The UK has always kept us in check.”
Jared adds: “The UK appreciates authenticity and, when we first started, we were as authentic as it gets. We were just learning how to play in front of everybody.” Caleb says making Can We Please Have Fun reminded them of the early days without co-writer Angelo Petraglia.
He adds: “Like on the second album, Aha Shake Heartbreak, when Angelo had taken a step back and was just a mentor rather than co-writer, we wanted people to know that this was coming from us.
“People would always mention Angelo, and I’d be like, ‘What the f***?’. So, that album was about being super-independent and us showing what we were capable of.”
Jared adds: “Now we just want to show how well we can play these songs live.
“I like playing stuff that fans don’t know, even though it can be a little painful to not get that instant gratification.
“We played Mustang in Mexico but played it before Sex On Fire. It was a safety spot because if it doesn’t go over well — boom!”
The band have also toyed with the idea of playing shows of just early albums.
Jared says: “We talked about it when Youth & Young Manhood turned 20. There was a lot of hair back then so we would have to wear wigs.”
Laughing, Caleb adds: “Hair extensions on our bald spots. I get more embarrassed by outfits from five years ago than the moustaches. But we don’t look back now. We have more to give.
“I want my kids to not be able to escape my memory because our music has been ingrained.
“I feel this album is the most concentration we’ve all had on a singular goal. We are inspired again. This album was a real joy.”
- Kings Of Leon play Hyde Park on June 30. For tickets, go to bst-hydepark.com.