June 21, 2006 8:00

The Kooks 'could surpass Britpop' The Kooks Tickets

Luke Pritchard makes great claims for his band

The Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard reckons what his band and pals are achieving “could surpass Britpop”.

Speaking in this week’s NME, the singer thinks he and his pals such as Jamie T, Mystery Jets and The 747s are creating an exciting new musical movement.

He said: “I think what we’re all doing could surpass Britpop because the musicians that we know seem to be up for anything. It’s that whole non-cliqueiness thing. If you ask them to come and have a jam with you, they’re gonna do it.

“So that’s what we’re gonna do, it’s gonna be great.”

Plus – we take an exclusive peek at The Streets mainman Mike Skinner’s US tour picture diary, we get the inside story on the sacking of Panic! At The Disco bassist Brent Wilson, and The Automatic take us back to their hometown.

Elsewhere, the new albums from Lostprophets and Plan B are reviewed and rated, as are singles by Gnarls Barkley and Peaches. And there’s a round-up of the first festival activity of the summer, at Download and Isle Of Wight.

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