Keane: 'We are very easy to hate'

Keane drummer Richard Hughes has conceded that his band are "very easy to hate".

Speaking to The Telegraph, Hughes claimed that playing in front of sold-out arenas offers consolation for the group, which is a frequent target for the music press.

He said: "We are very easy to hate. People slag off our music, image, education, Tim's double-barrelled name - there's an entire menu of things to mock our band for.

"But, every time we play a gig, there's thousands of people singing our songs back to us with more passion than you could ever imagine when you write them. The connection to the audience is pretty staggering."

Songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley added that the band are not chasing popularity with their new album Perfect Symmetry, saying: "We definitely felt we were becoming uninterested in trying to be fashionable or cool. We wanted to create something amazing, for the sake of each other."

> Click here to read our review of the new Keane album