Keane celebrate 20 Years of ‘Under The Iron Sea’ & release ‘Is It Any Wonder?
By Keane
Under The Iron Sea July 24th
Listen To ‘Is It Any Wonder? (Tim Demo, March 2005)’ HERE
Accompanying Hardback Collector’s Book
Out September 24th in Collaboration with Faber Music & Island Records
This month Keane celebrate the 20th anniversary of their acclaimed second album Under The Iron Sea with a lovingly remastered and repackaged release featuring unheard rarities and demos out July 24th on UMR/Island.
This release follows 2024’s hugely successful 20th Anniversary of their landmark debut album Hopes and Fears, which the band toured round the world including two triumphant sold out shows at London’s O2 Arena.
Under The Iron Sea was a global smash with chart debuts at number 1 in the UK and number 4 on the US Billboard 200.
A shift in sound from their first record, the album saw the band experiment with more electronic sounds featuring many fan-favourites and live staples including ‘Nothing In My Way’, ‘Crystal Ball’, ‘A Bad Dream’, and the hit single ‘Is It Any Wonder?’.
It’s been interesting to look back at that time – a complicated period of our lives both musically and personally, but an album that has stood the test of time” lead singer Tom Chaplin said of the record. “In these songs, we created a kind of sinister fairytale-world-gone-wrong, a feeling of confusion and numbness, represented by a dark place under an impenetrable iron sea. We wrote ‘Under the Iron Sea’ because we needed a record that was going to make us feel alive again.
Cult writer Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting) made his directorial debut with a short film to accompany fan-favourite ‘Atlantic’.
This 20th anniversary collection will be released on three physical formats showcasing Brighton artist Sanna Annukka’s original artwork. The band collaborated with the artist for a series of celebrated illustrations through the original campaign, which perfectly encapsulates the record.
The Super Deluxe Boxset, housed in a bespoke octagon shaped package, includes x2LP on crystal clear vinyl. LP1 will feature the original album, newly re-mastered at Half Speed at Abbey Road Studios and LP2 includes a collection of rarities, demos and live tracks including a 10” crystal clear vinyl of live tracks recorded on 5th May 2006 at ULU (the University of London Union).
This one-off concert, was an exclusive fan-club warmup to showcase the band’s new album to fans ahead of official release and includes many of the first ever live performances of albums tracks. And to top off the incredible boxset is a 7” crystal clear vinyl featuring fan-favourite Keane covers of Queen & David Bowie’s ‘Under Pressure’ and Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy The Silence.’ The deluxe box set will also include a slipmat, patch, poster, hanging mobile and postcard hand signed by the band and is available exclusively through Keane’s Official Store.
The X3 CD Deluxe Edition features the original album newly remastered, plus two discs of rarities featuring previously unreleased tracks of b’sides, demos, acoustic, covers, live performances and rare BBC performances. And the limited X1LP Zoetrope includes the newly remastered album alongside artwork designs which bring to life original designer Sanna Annukka Smith’s illustrations in mesmerising motions created by expert Zoetrope graphic designer Drew Tetz.
The band have also announced their second collaboration book with Faber Music and Island Records for Under the Iron Sea: Lyrics and History, which will be released on hardback on September 24th. To coincide with the album’s 20th Anniversary celebrations, the book features full album lyrics, original notebook reproductions, artwork and photographs, alongside intimate insights from the band, Under the Iron Sea: Lyrics and History will tell the story of this number 1 album.
Formed in 1995 and originating from Battle in East Sussex Keane is comprised of childhood friends Tom Chaplin, Richard Hughes, and Tim Rice-Oxley, later joined by bassist Jesse Quin. The band have released five studio albums, with four topping the UK Album Chart and have sold over 10 million records worldwide.
Keane are currently in the USA working on a new album so watch this space.