Tom Chaplin
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Thomas Oliver Chaplin (born 8 March 1979) is an English musician, best known as the co-founder and lead singer of the British
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band Keane.


Early life

Thomas Oliver Chaplin was born in
Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
, East Sussex, to Sally and David Chaplin
OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
, a month apart from future bandmate
Tim Rice-Oxley Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, backing vocalist and songwriter of the alternative rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane b ...
's brother, also called Tom. Their mothers became friends and he started a friendship with the two brothers that endures today. Chaplin's father was
headmaster A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...
of
Vinehall School Vinehall School is a co-educational day, boarding school, and nursery located on Vinehall Street, in the town of Robertsbridge, East Sussex. It takes children from ages 2 to 13.http://www.vinehallschool.com Vinehall School Homepage The school ...
in
Robertsbridge Robertsbridge is a village in the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge, and the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Hastings and 13 miles (21 km) south-east of Royal Tunbridg ...
, so both friends were schooled there along with Richard Hughes, who would later be their bandmate. With Rice-Oxley and Hughes, Chaplin then attended
Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...
. Studying there, they met Dominic Scott (who was a founding member of Keane but left in 2001). During his time at Vinehall, Chaplin acted in several school plays and was part of the school's choral group. He also played the flute while at school. Chaplin attended the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
, prior to dropping out to pursue a career in music. Meanwhile, in 1995, the trio of Scott, Rice-Oxley and Hughes started their first band, The Lotus Eaters (not to be confused with the 1980s chart band of the same name). It was a cover band that played U2,
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentThe Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
at
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
s. Tim Rice-Oxley invited Chaplin to join the band as an acoustic guitar player. A short time later, in 1997, the band's name changed to Keane and Chaplin became the lead singer.


Keane

Chaplin was invited to join the band by Rice-Oxley, after he finally convinced the other two, in 1997, when the name The Lotus Eaters was changed to Cherry Keane, after a friend of Chaplin's mother. 'Cherry' was later removed from the name. During their stint in London, Chaplin shared a flat with Rice-Oxley in
Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...
and they tried to get money for rehearsal time. Chaplin worked at a publishing company where his chief responsibility was to carry boxes. With Scott in the line-up as the lead guitarist, Chaplin had to play the
acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
. Since Scott left in 2001, he primarily takes lead vocals, but also plays the organ on " Hamburg Song" during some live gigs, as well as a distorted piano on some tracks from their second album. He also took part in
Band Aid 20 Band Aid 20 was the 2004 incarnation of the charity supergroup Band Aid. The group, which included Daniel Bedingfield, Dido, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Bono of U2 ...
's re-recording of "
Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...
" in November 2004 doing a solo on the line "feed the world", something that had not been done on previous versions where all artists sang.


Solo career

Having said that he intended to make a solo record during Keane's hiatus, Chaplin stated in January 2016 that he was recording his debut solo album in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, with 40 songs written and whittled down to an album's worth. He announced in late June that the album was complete and that it would be out soon.


2016–2017: ''The Wave''

The album name '' The Wave'' was announced via Twitter and Facebook on 10 August 2016. The same day, Hardened Heart was released with a music video. On 26 August 2016, "
Quicksand Quicksand (also known as sinking sand) is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it crea ...
" was released as the first single from the album. On 6 September 2016, Chaplin announced he would be playing eight intimate solo shows across the UK in October 2016. These were his first solo gigs for four years. '' The Wave'' was released on 14 October 2016 by
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
. Four singles were released from the album: "
Quicksand Quicksand (also known as sinking sand) is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it crea ...
", "Still Waiting", "Solid Gold" (of which the single release is a collaboration with JONES, rather than the solo version which appears on the album), and "See It So Clear". The release of ''The Wave'' was followed by the announcement of the Carried by the Wave Tour, a longer set of dates running between January and September 2017. The tour consisted of four legs: first in the United States and Canada, then across Europe, a third leg in the UK during May 2017 and a last leg in Latin America.


2017–present: ''Twelve Tales of Christmas'' and ''The Masked Singer''

On 13 October 2017, Chaplin announced that he had recorded his first solo Christmas album, entitled '' Twelve Tales of Christmas'', to be released on 17 November 2017. Simultaneously the first single from the album was released, entitled "Under a Million Lights". The album consists of eight original tracks and four cover versions: " Walking in the Air" (written by
Howard Blake Howard David Blake (born 28 October 1938) is an English composer, conductor, and pianist whose career has spanned more than 50 years and produced more than 650 works. Blake's most successful work is his soundtrack for Channel 4’s 1982 film ' ...
), " 2000 Miles" (originally by
The Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...
), "
River A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
" (originally by
Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...
) and "
Stay Another Day "Stay Another Day" is a song recorded by British boy band East 17, released on 21 November 1994 by London Records as the third single from their second album, ''Steam'' (1994). The song was written by band member Tony Mortimer with Rob Kean an ...
" (originally by
East 17 East 17 are an English pop boy band started by Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy, and Terry Coldwell in 1991. They are best known for their 1994 hit single " Stay Another Day", which was the UK Christmas number one that year. The g ...
). It was also announced that Chaplin would be performing three gigs to accompany the release of the album; at the Palace Theatre in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
on 10 December 2017, at The Forum in
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
on 11 December and at the
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
on 12 December. In January 2022, Chaplin appeared on the
third series Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...
of '' The Masked Singer'' as "Poodle". He was fifth to be unmasked. Following that event, he said in an interview that he was working on his third solo album, that would be coming out later in 2022. In July 2022, he announced that his third album, ''
Midpoint In geometry, the midpoint is the middle point of a line segment. It is equidistant from both endpoints, and it is the centroid both of the segment and of the endpoints. It bisects the segment. Formula The midpoint of a segment in ''n''-dim ...
'', would be released on 2 September 2022.


Equipment

Chaplin uses a Hammond XK2 organ for "Hamburg Song" and " Nothing in My Way". Since May 2006, he has used a Yamaha CP60M for live piano parts in " A Bad Dream", "
The Frog Prince "The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry" (, literally "The Frog King or the Iron Henry") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in Grimms' Fairy Tales, ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 1). Traditionally, it is the fir ...
" and "
Crystal Ball A crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball commonly used in fortune-telling. It is generally associated with the performance of clairvoyance and scrying through crystal gazing. Used since Antiquity, crystal balls have had a broad reputation with ...
". He has played acoustic guitar in such songs as "Your Eyes Open" since the 2006 UK tour, and during 2007 played acoustic solos of "Broken Toy" and "The Frog Prince". He played guitar on Keane's third album, '' Perfect Symmetry'' and has been the lead guitarist in live shows for the album. Tom plays three different
Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele (), is an electric guitar produced by Fender (company), Fender. Together with its sister model the Fender Esquire, Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successfulLes ...
guitars: one red, one white and one light blue. In an interview with Keane Backline, Rice-Oxley stated that Chaplin had been interested in learning to play the
theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone, etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named aft ...
, but "couldn't be bothered to learn how to use it", also stating that the theremin "might be the only way of reproducing the musical saw sound" used in some tracks of ''Perfect Symmetry''.


Personal life

Chaplin married his girlfriend Natalie Dive in June 2011. He has a daughter born on 20 March 2014 and a son born in 2020. The family lives in
Wittersham Wittersham is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It is part of the Isle of Oxney and is situated within 2 miles of the East Sussex border. History The Domesday Book of 1086 does not mention Wittersha ...
, Kent. Chaplin is a keen golfer, supporter of Ipswich Town and of the
England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...
. He identifies as an
agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...
.Chaplin, T. (18 August 2015
"Just agnostic with a mistrust of religion."
''Twitter.com''


Drug rehabilitation

On 22 August 2006, Chaplin stated that he was receiving treatment for drug addiction problems. He and his bandmates cancelled their North American tour for his rehabilitation after he left their hotel in Japan with no warning, choosing to fly back to Britain alone. He left the
Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
clinic in London on 6 October, but continued to receive treatment after leaving. In August 2016, Chaplin said in an interview with music critic
Neil McCormick Neil McCormick (born 31 March 1961) is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster. He has been the chief music critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' since 1996, and presented a music interview show for Vintage TV (TV channel), Vintage TV i ...
that he began using drugs again before the release of his solo album, and mentioned that anxiety over the album caused him to get "back to shovelling coke up (his) nose". Chaplin said he nearly died one night in 2015. He said people began to give up on him, and his wife once told him she loved him in case she never saw him again. Chaplin recovered by seeing a
psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk th ...
. He also stated that the past 12 months had been the happiest of his life with his wife and daughter.


Discography


Solo

:* '' The Wave'' (2016) :* '' Twelve Tales of Christmas'' (2017) :* '' Midpoint'' (2022)


With Keane

:*'' Hopes and Fears'' (2004) :*'' Under the Iron Sea'' (2006) :*'' Perfect Symmetry'' (2008) :*'' Night Train'' (2010) :*'' Strangeland'' (2012) :* ''
Cause and Effect Causality is an influence by which one event, process, state, or object (''a'' ''cause'') contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an ''effect'') where the cause is at least partly responsible for the effect, ...
'' (2019)


Tours

*Carried By The Wave Tour (2017) *Twelve Tales of Christmas Tour (2017) *Midpoint Tour (2022) *Keane 20 (2024)


References


External links

*
Keane Official

"The Official Keane Myspace"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaplin, Tom 1979 births Living people People from Battle, East Sussex Musicians from Kent Musicians from Hastings People from Wittersham Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British male pianists English rock guitarists English male guitarists English rock keyboardists English male singers English rock pianists English rock singers English male songwriters English agnostics Ivor Novello Award winners Keane (band) members People educated at Tonbridge School