You’ve likely heard of Kaiser Chiefs, but have you heard of Sturmey-Archer?
No, they’re not a rival British indie rock group, but they’ve labelled the band ‘Kaiser Thiefs’ for ‘blatantly copying’ their logo for their comeback album and marketing campaign. We predict a riot.
Kaiser Chiefs are set to release their fifth and latest album, Education Education, Education and War, this March but the band have been accused of plagiarising the record’s artwork and logo design from a rather obscure source: a 110-year-old box for gear parts by British bicycle company Stumley-Archer.
The news of the striking similarities between the Kaiser Chiefs artwork and the vintage British gear brand’s packing has already made its way onto bicycle websites, such as Bikeradar and Cycling Weekly, after comments from Sturmey-Archer General Manger Alan Clark.
“I have worked for the company for more than 40 years and I have never known anything quite as blatant as this. We are used to this sort of thing from backstreet suppliers but did not expect it from such a big band,” said Mr Clark. “They did not even contact us up front and they have not responded to questions posed since we were alerted by customers.”
According to the General Manager, the band had ignored contact from the manufacturer when pressed about the accusations.
“A customer has suggested that the band should be re-named Kaiser Thiefs – which might not be grammatically correct but does reflect how we now feel,” adds Clark (though that moniker is already taken by “The UK’s only” Kaiser Chiefs tribute band).
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Kaiser Chiefs have since responded to the allegations, in a statement obtained by NME, in which they claim they were merely taking inspiration from Sturmey-Archer and did not mean to offend the bicycle manurfacturers.
“The lyrics of our new album Education, Education, Education and War look into Britain’s past and our designer has deliberately created artwork that references Britain’s Heritage,” reads the statement. The designer for the album art is ‘Cally’, who also did the band’s vintage looking designs for 2005 debut LP Employment.
“We hoped to pay homage to the legacy of Sturmey-Archer and by using this design we did not expect, nor did we intend to upset them.”
Whether you consider it a cheeky homage or a blatant rip-off, the controversy bubbles as Kaiser Chiefs unveiled ‘Coming Home’, the lead single from Education, Education, Education and War – the follow-up to 2011’s The Future Is Medieval and the first to feature the band’s new drummer Vijay Mistry, following the departure of founding member Nick Hodgson in 2012.
Hear ‘Coming Home’ and view the tracklisting for Education, Education, Education and War (out 28th March in Australia on Liberator Music) below.
Tracklisting:
1. The Factory Gates
2. Coming Home
3. Misery Company
4. Ruffians On Parade
5. Meanwhile Up In Heaven
6. One More Last Song
7. My Life
8. Bows & Arrows
9. Cannons
10. Roses
