Talk:Kele Okereke

Grew up in
I agree with Kele entirely about the sad state of obsession with the minutia of celebrity lives, so I'm somewhat wary of even editing this page, but where Kele grew up surely does have a significant influence on the music (in fact much of A Weekend in the City smacks of London). The article claims he grew up in Essex - do we have a source for this - he lived in London for quite some time while growing up, but he may have lived in Essex before this - anyone got any proof? Tompagenet 08:22, 8 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Right - no one has posted anything in response to this. Ilford County High School, which the article says Kele attended, has a catchment area that is entirely in the London borough of Redbridge or surrounding boroughs. On the school's site it says "Non-Redbridge Residents: If you are not resident in Redbridge but live within the School’s catchment area you must apply for admission to Ilford County High School to the London Borough in which you pay your council tax." (my emphasis) So, to go there he was almost certainly living in London, not Essex. Tompagenet 21:49, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Indeed. In the Borough of Redbridge we are technically in London (since 1965), but we tend to refer to ourselves as living in Essex, as that is the historical county that Redbridge was in, as opposed to the heart of London, which was traditionally in Middlesex.  "Essex" also tends to be used in our postal addresses, at least in the east of the borough.  The only time I dropped round Rowly's house it was around Ilford, not very far from the railway.  I don't remember the street name any more, which is probably just as well because his parents may still live there.  — Chameleon 11:08, 22 July 2007 (UTC)
 * This is true, as I attended Ilford County High School and lived in Ilford, but despite being part of London, my address stated "Essex" rather than "London".Quincy042 03:19, 26 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Postal counties have been abolished. Jim Michael (talk) 08:14, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

Helicopter about Bush? Nay
I ask whoever wrote that to read this article: http://pitchforkmedia.com/interviews/b/bloc-party-05/
 * The link is broken, do u have another one? but i think that helicopter is waaaaay about bush daddy and bush son--ometzit&lt;col&gt; 16:27, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Or maybe you should try this (unbroken) link: http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6128-bloc-party/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.9.55.162 (talk) 19:28, 20 January 2010 (UTC)

Tone of the article
Ok... What Can I say? This article was crap. It needs to be re-formulated big time, because it sounds like either a) a fanboy's late night ramblings or b) something copied from an article. I'll try to do some dits myself later when I have more time, but until then, please take a look at the article, and edit the sentences that can/should be changed... --NuclearFunk 09:07, 10 August 2005 (UTC)


 * Agreed, this is terrible.


 * I think you're right with b). See: http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/preciously-private/2005/07/14/1120934357864.html

It doesn't need merging
The quality of the article needs improving, that is all. It would be akin to saying that a Jimmy Page article should be merged with Led Zeppelin--Knucmo2 22:45, 14 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Jimmy Page is a rock and roll legend who is notable for more than just his membership in Led Zep. Okereke, while a very good singer and a member of a popular band (who I happen to like very much) is best known as a member of Bloc Party. All of the material in this article directly relates to his membership in the band, except for the blurb about the guest vocals on the Chemical Brothers track. Until Okereke launches a solo career or otherwise does something notable or newsworthy outside of the context of Bloc Party, the reader is best served by having all of the Bloc Party-related information in one article. a ndroid 79  23:02, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Remove merge suggestion?
The quality of this article has much improved. Though the content of the article is Bloc Party related, it is also Kele specific and would be rejected in some measure on the Bloc Party article.

A few additions/considerations for the article
It is unfair to say someone is 'notoriously difficult to interview' when it is, in fact, a few failed interviewers who are painting this picture for their own sensational cover stories. Interviews with Kele on NPR in the United States, not to mention those in local papers and on independent music websites, are typically quite candid and insightful, largely because of the pertinence of the interviewers' questions.

In concert, Kele is one of the more giving, personable and charismatic stagemen in rock 'n roll. He and his bandmates feed off of the energy of the crowd and are very conscientious about providing their fans with a great show and a great time. Kele will stop the performance to rescue an injured fan or stop a fist-fight in the crowd. At a show in New York, he asked the crowd who had paid the most for a concert ticket, and when he found a woman who had paid over $200, he gave her his stage credentials and told her to sell it on eBay.

"Okereke" is a Nigerian name as the singer's parents are Nigerian-born. "Kele" is pronounced the same as "Kelly." - Joanjettson 8/06/2006

alot of the interviews that said he was difficult to interview were also magazines looking to sell more copies, rather that inlighten themselves and others about this musicians work. the answers he gave in those that i have read were fine - they just weren't the best questions to begin with. the 'difficult to interview' idea was more to cover the author from disappointed fans.

I've amended the first sentence to state that Okereke is British rather than "English". English is an ethnicity and while no-one can dispute that he is a British citizen, English he is not.93.96.45.251 (talk) 22:28, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Copyvio
a large portion of the article was taken from http://www.towleroad.com/2007/01/in_an_interview.html Koubiak 23:49, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
 * It looks okay to me now, although the quote taken from the guardian is long and rambling. I will try to summarize it.--DCo1 02:28, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Gay?
Is it appropriate to mention that he's gay? Myke251 00:25, 24 January 2007 (UTC).

he's not gay, he's bisexual. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.252.171.13 (talk • contribs).


 * Well, should we put that then? Myke251 04:59, 24 January 2007 (UTC).

Didn't he "come out" in The Gaurdian? It was quite ambiguous but I presumed he did. The Gaurdian article should be put there and left there.
 * http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,,1982746,00.html has a couple of half-examples, but I think he's still only about 80-90% likely to be gay.--MartinUK 22:25, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
 * I was almost certain he was gay. Did the category of gay musicians get removed? I've also heard that the band's guitarist is also gay.--h i s  s p a c e   r e s e a r c h 12:11, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
 * I was pretty shocked reading the article cuz he is like the anti thesis of what should be in a indie band (black, Nigerian and gay/bi?wtf) but we can`t put him on the gay/bi category until he doesn`t come in exact words--ometzit&lt;col&gt; 16:27, 22 February 2007 (UTC)


 * He has confirmed that "I Still Remember" had autobiographical aspects, as well as it being about two school boys (Paste magazine, January 2007). Listening to the lyrics, it can be said that he had feelings for another boy, but was too shy to come out and admit it.

If it's true (which at the moment seems ambiguous at the most), then by all means post it. Just link to the source, it's that simple. Dextrous 12:47, 17 January 2008 (UTC).

Kele Okereke Comes Clean: "I Like Gents" + --86.144.80.64 (talk) 13:21, 23 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Per WP:BLP, until and unless there is a reliable source where Kele Okereke states outright that he's gay or bisexual, we cannot put him in the Category:Gay musicians or any similar ones. -- SatyrTN (talk / contribs) 03:11, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Yea, but he's totally gay =p -Domokato (talk) 00:38, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Vandalism
The section about his sexual orientation is being continuosly deleted. We should think on putting it on semi-protection--ometzit&lt;col&gt; 21:03, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

I have to admit I'm not all that comfortable with it being there. No-one has been able to cite a concrete source and to have an entire paragraph about it in the introduction just smacks of tabloidism and doesn't seem all that encyclopaedic to me. 194.75.129.200 17:10, 8 March 2007 (UTC) Above comment was by me, thought I was signed in. I now somewhat retract some of the above after reading the observer article but my comment on placement still stands. Potkettle 17:21, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

"Kele"
How do you say his name? is it like 'keel', or 'kelly', or 'ka-lee' ? i think the last one is clossest, but i'm not sure. wondering if anyone else knew.


 * It's 'Kelly.' Tarff 23:57, 25 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that's how he says it in English, just like the girl's name Kelly. It's probably not the correct Nigerian pronunciation, though.  Incidentally, I remember him once saying that chicks dug him having a female name.  I don't know whether he was bullshitting me there.  — Chameleon 11:11, 22 July 2007 (UTC):

GA fail
Basically need more references for quotes, sales, chart positions and when talking about style make sure to attribute the quote to the person who said it. Also expand the lead to include a brief mention of his style/career/early life. M3tal H3ad (talk) 03:50, 26 December 2007 (UTC)
 * First off the lead to too small and does not summarize the article, see WP:LEAD
 * I suggest renaming "Early days" to "Early life" as Early days is a title you would expect on a band page.
 * Every sentence under "Early days" changes topic and has no flowm for example Okereke (nicknamed "Rowly" as a child) was born in Liverpool to Catholic Nigerian parents, though he grew up in London. His mother was a midwife, and his father a molecular biologist. He has one sister. He went to school at Ilford County High School, sounds choppy as the subject changes each sentence
 * number three in the UK charts, and propelled the band to fame - reference?
 * UK is linked on the second mention
 * The album debuted at #12 in the Billboard 200 with 48,000 copies sold.[3] - uh there is no reference here
 * November 22, 2006 - link full dates
 * The next single, "I Still Remember", is their first American single - repetition of single
 * Myspace is linked on the second mention
 * Skyscraper magazine - Skyscraper should be in italics
 * Okereke is a shy and private person -> according to whom
 * "public feuding between bands is completely pointless." direct quote needs a reference
 * On RTÉ science television show Scope, he nominated the iPod as his favourite invention. pointless trivia
 * As a songwriter, Okereke's approach is somewhat unconventional. this is opinion and needs to be given context to who said it
 * It has the lyrics - lyrics must be removed due to copyright
 * "A band off of University Challenge", intending it as an insult, while Noel called them "indie shit" references
 * In 2004 he collaborated with The Chemical Brothers, singing on the track "Believe" from their album Push the Button. is in the style section but has nothing to do with style

John Lydon controversy
This section needs 100% clarity over what exactly happened, I have already removed the statement that Lydon himself has been accused of physically assaulting Okereke. Each individual statement in that section requires sourcing, preferably multiple times. The nature of the accusations has led to me adding the controversial claims tag at the top of the article. Tom Green (talk) 15:07, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

The Sex Pistols thing
Let's be clear on this - if what's supposed to have happened actually happened, by all accounts, it was Lydon's security team, not Lydon himself. Let's not have Kele's wiki page turn into a tabloid weasle-fest, okay? Unreadablecharacters (talk) 15:53, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Various controversies
Why is there nothing regarding Kele's various outbursts against Green Day, Babyshambles/Peter Doherty, Oasis, Art Brut, The Killers & The White Stripes? Also the time he punched Eddie Argos of Art Brut? If you need sources I can provide them.
 * Per WP:BLP we would have to start with the sources and see what they state. Please ensure as well they are considered reliable sources. -- Banj e  b oi   23:17, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

most of the stories have been reported by music news sites like nme, contactmusic etc - are they reputable enough for wikipedia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.152.52.159 (talk) 04:31, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

Misplaced contribution(s)
This is placed inside the section 'Bloc Party';
 * "Okereke moved to Berlin to seize the city's music oriented spirit.[4]"

Not really sure why it is since the two are seemingly unrelated. Surely it should be under 'Personal life' with a little more detail as it currently sticks out like a sore thumb.

On another note, I'm not entirely sure this should be under 'Bloc Party' either;
 * "Also Kele makes a guest appearance on Tiësto's song "It's Not the Things You Say"[5] on his new album Kaleidoscope, released October 6, 2009."

Not sure where this should go. Probably best to expand 'Solo Album' into any musical contributions other than Bloc Party that Kele has made, I'm pretty sure he used to DJ and probably still does to name one. Anyway, would be a great help if somebody could help me out here, thanks - Georgebrown92 02:35, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Why is this guy on an article for a Folkearth album?
The page is suppose to be "Fatherland" but it redirects to Kele Okereke.

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