Fan’s stalkie-pies left Kook in need of alibi

LUKE from The Kooks was spooked when he was accused of stalking a fan. In an exclusive chat with Guilty Pleasures, the band’s frontman Luke Pritchard recalled how the diehard devotee crossed the thin blue line to grab his attention.
‘This girl in Cornwall called the police and told them I was stalking her,’ he revealed. ‘I’m on tour, man, in Germany!’
‘I had to go through this whole process with the police, who were really nice, “We’re sorry, but we have to follow this through, we’ve had a complaint that you’ve been seen outside their house at all hours”.’
The Ooh La singer didn’t have to sweat for too long. ‘My manager had to send over dates proving I was in other countries,’ he explained. ‘It was all quite weird.’ Back with new single Be Who You Are (out now) and an upcoming greatest hits album, the 32-year-old says he has few career regrets.
Aside, that is, from riling up One Directioners by questioning the merits of the boy band in a 2013 Twitter clash with Liam Payne.
‘It wasn’t really a row. I don’t know what it was,’ he said. ‘It’s so sensitive that world, with the fans and stuff, it was like knocking over a hornet’s nest.’
Luke added 1D deserve respect for handling such a high level of fame and said he can’t wait to hear Harry Styles’s album. ‘From what I hear, it’s amazing and really Stones-y,’ he said.
The Kooks — rounded out by Peter Denton, Hugh Harris and Alexis Nunez — release The Best of… So Far on May 19.
Author: Tom Stichbury