Título: The Kooks
Seção: Rafferty's departure and Konk (2008)
Background: The Kooks are an English pop rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The band currently consists of Luke Pritchard (vocals/rhythm guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar/synth), Alexis Nunez (drums), and Peter Denton (bass guitar). The original bassist was Max Rafferty, and the founding drummer was Paul Garred. The lineup of the band remained constant until the departure of Rafferty in 2008.

Conteúdo: Rafferty was fired from the band on 31 January 2008, after a series of absences due to illness and long-standing rumours about his place in the band; drug addiction was also quoted as one of the reasons for his departure. Rafferty subsequently refuted these claims, saying that he had been fired from the band because he "didn't think Konk was very good, and I said that." Dan Logan, bassist with a local Brighton band Cat the Dog, was drafted in as a temporary replacement for Rafferty. After the departure of Rafferty, the band had considered splitting up. Singer Luke Pritchard had told The Sun's Something for the Weekend that "Splitting does go through your mind. It's hard to let go of something you care about so much. We have fans to think of." Pritchard also discussed the possibility of Dan Logan joining the band as their new bassist, "It's been really strange for us but it's something that had to happen. Dan hasn't joined the band properly yet. We're trying him out, but I love playing with him." In October 2008, Peter Denton - who had previously filled in for Rafferty during the Inside In/Inside Out touring cycle - was chosen as the permanent bassist.  The Kooks released their second album, Konk, in April 2008. The record was named after the studio where it was recorded and produced by Tony Hoffer, who worked on the band's debut album, Inside In/Inside Out. Prior to releasing the album, in an interview with NME, lead singer Luke Pritchard had claimed to have 80-90 songs writt

user: Why did Rafferty depart?

assistant: Rafferty was fired from the band on 31 January 2008,

user: Why was he fired?

assistant: after a series of absences due to illness and long-standing rumours about his place in the band;

user: Who replaced Rafferty?

assistant: Dan Logan, bassist with a local Brighton band Cat the Dog, was drafted in as a temporary replacement

user: How did the other members of the band feel about firing him?

assistant: After the departure of Rafferty, the band had considered splitting up.

user: Did they ever add a permanent member?

assistant: discussed the possibility of Dan Logan joining the band as their new bassist,

user: What happened with that discussion?

assistant: Peter Denton - who had previously filled in for Rafferty during the Inside In/Inside Out touring cycle - was chosen as the permanent bassist.

user: Did something else happen in 2008?

assistant: The Kooks released their second album, Konk, in April 2008.

user: Did Konk make it onto the charts?

assistant: Konk went on to debut on the UK Albums Chart at number one with first week sales of 65,901 units.

user: Did any of the singles from the album hit the charts?

assistant: The album also spawned three top 50 hits

user: What were those top 50 hits?

assistant: "Always Where I Need to Be", which peaked at number three.