Biography

Tom Chaplin rose to prominence on both sides of the Atlantic in the early 2000s as the frontman for British rock group Keane. With the band, Chaplin released one of the biggest-selling U.K. albums of all time with 2004's chart-topping Hopes and Fears, following it with three more number ones into the 2010s. In between Keane efforts, he launched a solo career, starting with 2016's The Wave. A holiday album landed the following year just as Keane resumed activities to close out the 2010s. In 2022, Chaplin issued his third official full-length, Midpoint. A native of Hastings in East Sussex, Chaplin began his musical career in 1995 when he was asked to join a local covers group called the Lotus Eaters. Rechristening themselves Keane, they eventually signed with Island in 2003 and quickly found success with their 2004 debut, Hopes and Fears. Keane's earnest, piano-driven style proved a winning formula, and Hopes and Fears debuted at number one on the album chart, eventually ranking as the U.K.'s 11th best-selling album of the 2000s. Led by Chaplin's soaring vocals, Keane's mainstream success continued throughout the coming decade, first with 2006's massively popular Under the Iron Sea, and later with Perfect Symmetry (2008) and Strangeland (2012). Following a 2013 "best-of" compilation, the band took a hiatus during which Chaplin embarked on a solo career. Still signed to Island as a solo artist, he released his debut, The Wave, in late 2016. It reached number three on the U.K. album chart. Following a tour in support of the release in 2017, Chaplin started work on a Christmas album that took a different approach to the traditional holiday release. Recorded with David Kosten, Twelve Tales of Christmas saw Chaplin penning eight original tracks as well as reimagining four covers, including East 17's "Stay Another Day" and Joni Mitchell's "River." Keane's fifth set, Cause and Effect, landed in 2019 and became their first full-length to fall short of number one (peaking at number two). In July 2022, Chaplin released the solo single "Midpoint" from the album of the same name. His third solo record, Midpoint followed that September. ~ Timothy Monger & Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi