KULA SHAKER

Random and bite-sized facts on all things on the mythical band Kula Shaker. Totally random but totally fascinating if you're into it. Do you know Kula Shaker now?

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Kula Shaker Began Life as a Band Called the Kays

Before becoming Kula Shaker, Crispian Mills, Alonza Bevan and Paul Winter-Hart played together as the Kays. The group had already performed at Glastonbury in 1993, long before their major-label breakthrough. Keyboard player Jay Darlington joined later, helping complete the line-up that recorded their debut album, K.

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The Band’s Roots Go Back to a Psychedelic Nightclub in Richmond

Before the Kays took shape, Mills and Bevan played in a group called Objects of Desire. They also helped run the Mantra Shack, a psychedelic nightclub behind Richmond ice rink. The venue gave them a place to perform and experiment before the band developed its distinctive blend of British psychedelia and Indian influences.

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The Name Kula Shaker Refers to an Indian Saint-King

The band took its name from Kulashekhara, a South Indian ruler traditionally counted among the twelve Alvar poet-saints devoted to Vishnu. Crispian Mills was drawn to the name partly because it carried spiritual associations and was considered auspicious. It reflected the group’s growing interest in Indian philosophy and devotional music.

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“Govinda” Was Already in Their Live Set Before They Had a Record Deal

Kula Shaker performed “Govinda” at Glastonbury in 1993, when they were still known as the Kays and had no recording contract. The song’s Sanskrit lyrics and devotional melody were unusual for a British guitar band of the period. Its early live history shows that the Indian influence was present well before their chart success.

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“Tattva” Was Inspired by Sanskrit Philosophy

The word “tattva” is a Sanskrit term associated with truth, principle or the nature of reality. Mills used the concept as the basis for a song that combined a psychedelic rock arrangement with Indian spiritual ideas. The single became one of the tracks that established Kula Shaker’s identity during the Britpop era.

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The Band’s Debut Album Knocked R.E.M. Off the UK Number One

Released in September 1996, K entered the UK album chart at number one. Its success was striking for a debut so heavily influenced by late-1960s psychedelia and Indian devotional music. The album helped make Kula Shaker one of the most distinctive British bands to emerge during the Britpop years.

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“Grateful When You’re Dead” Began with a Joke About the Grateful Dead

The title of the track on K was initially a joke rather than a grand statement about psychedelic music. The band had begun playing it shortly before Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia died in August 1995. Crispian Mills later recalled that the timing seemed eerie, and the song acquired its subtitle, “Jerry Was There”.

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The original “Tattva” 7-inch had several different sleeve variations

The UK release appeared in a matt, textured paper sleeve, while another first issue used a numbered picture sleeve. There was also a jukebox version with a small tab, and a later reissue used glossy paper instead.

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“Govinda” had a CD single designed around a watch face

The original UK CD single came in a purple-tinted, watch-face-style card sleeve, with the design carried through to the printed disc. Its tracks included “Gokula”, “The Leek” and a live recording of “Hey Dude” from London's Astoria.

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The “Hey Dude” CD single came with a poster

The 1996 UK CD edition was packaged in a card wallet and included a free poster reproducing the cover artwork. The Australian edition also came with a fold-out poster, but its design was different from the UK version.

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“Grateful When You’re Dead” had a distinctive mauve-and-blue sleeve

The first UK 7-inch featured a mauve and pale-blue picture sleeve with a lilac barcode. Copies can also be distinguished by their hand-scratched matrix information in the run-out groove, rather than just the printed catalogue details.

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The debut album “K” included an illustrated lyric inner sleeve

The original 1996 UK vinyl edition did more than reproduce the elaborate outer cover: it also included an illustrated inner sleeve containing the lyrics. Later reissues have different inserts, so the original packaging is worth checking when identifying a first pressing.

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The first “Tattva” release was not the familiar hit version

Before the better-known 1996 release, the song appeared as “Tattva (Lucky 13 Mix)” in 1995. When it was reissued in 1996, it had been re-recorded from the version on “K”, and the sleeve and track listing changed too.

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Five early singles were later collected in original-artwork-style sleeves

A limited UK reissue set brought together 7-inch editions of “Tattva”, “Grateful When You’re Dead”, “Hey Dude”, “Govinda” and “Hush”, each housed in a paper sleeve based on its original artwork. It made the visual differences between the band's early releases easier to compare.

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Crispian Mills originally wanted to be Ritchie Blackmore, not a singer

Mills has said that he began as a guitar enthusiast who wanted to emulate Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple or Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. He particularly loved the heavy, organ-driven rock made between 1968 and 1972, which became a defining influence on Kula Shaker.

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A teenage crush helped shape Kula Shaker's spiritual direction

Mills has recalled falling for a girl when he was about thirteen or fourteen. She was interested in philosophy, and he began connecting those ideas with music and art. He has described this personal experience as part of the beginnings of what became Kula Shaker's distinctive musical world.

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His childhood surroundings introduced him to Indian culture

Mills grew up in Norwood Green, between Southall and Hounslow, and has explained that the local Asian community was part of his everyday environment. Images of Krishna, Bollywood films, incense and spices were familiar long before Indian spirituality became central to Kula Shaker's public identity.

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His first concert was My Bloody Valentine with the Pastels

Mills has recalled going to see My Bloody Valentine and the Pastels with a friend at a pub in Hammersmith. It was a revealing early musical experience: alongside his later devotion to classic hard rock, he was also exposed to the alternative guitar sounds that were reshaping British music.

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Alonza Bevan met Crispian Mills at college in the late 1980s

The pair met at Richmond upon Thames College in 1988 and began playing together in a band called Objects of Desire. Their musical partnership therefore pre-dated Kula Shaker by several years, surviving a change of band name, personnel and musical direction.

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He helped run a psychedelic nightclub behind an ice rink

Before Kula Shaker existed, Bevan and Mills were involved in running the Mantra Shack, a psychedelic nightclub behind Richmond ice rink. Their early band, Objects of Desire, sometimes performed there, giving the musicians a place to develop their sound outside the conventional pub-gig circuit.

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He joined Johnny Marr's band after Kula Shaker split

When Kula Shaker broke up in 1999, Bevan went on to play bass with Johnny Marr & the Healers. It was a striking change of setting for a musician best known for Kula Shaker's Indian-influenced psychedelia, putting him alongside the former Smiths guitarist.

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He formed a musical duo with his wife

Bevan formed Tumblewild with his wife, Audrey Evans, a former singer with the medieval-inspired vocal group Mediæval Bæbes. Their single “Sinnerman” appeared in 2011, and the project later released the album When The World Had Four Corners in 2014.

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Paul Winter-Hart briefly played with punk pioneers X-Ray Spex

In 1995, before Kula Shaker became a major chart act, Winter-Hart played with a reunited line-up of X-Ray Spex. He was credited under the playful name “Pauli OhAirt”, a very different musical setting from the psychedelic rock that would make him known.

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He answered a Melody Maker advert to find his future band

Winter-Hart moved from Somerset to London to pursue music and answered an advert in Melody Maker. That led him to Crispian Mills and Alonza Bevan, who were playing in the band Objects of Desire. He joined in 1991, several years before the group became Kula Shaker.

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He came from a musical family in Somerset

Winter-Hart grew up in East Pennard, Somerset, and his father was a jazz drummer. He was therefore exposed to drumming through family life before making his own way into London's band scene, where his playing became part of Kula Shaker's distinctive blend of rock and psychedelia.

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After Kula Shaker split, he joined several very different projects

Following the band's 1999 split, Winter-Hart played with alternative rock group Thirteen:13 and worked with singer-songwriter Aqualung. He later formed the blues-rock outfit Zero Point Field, before joining Reef guitarist Kenwyn House in the psychedelic rock band Goldray.

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Jay Darlington was already a veteran of mod-revival bands before Kula Shaker

Darlington joined Kula Shaker in 1994, when the group were still known as the Kays. Before that, he had played in several mod-revival bands, bringing a background in British mod and garage music to a group that would soon become famous for its psychedelic rock and Indian influences.

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“House of the Rising Sun” was an early musical revelation

In a 2025 interview, Darlington recalled hearing “House of the Rising Sun” as an important early musical experience. He was also drawn to The Doors, the West Coast psychedelic scene and the obscure garage-rock recordings collected on the Pebbles compilation series.

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His grandmother played the cinema organ

Darlington has spoken about discovering that his grandmother had played piano and was a cinema organist. That family connection is an intriguing detail given his own reputation for the swirling Hammond-organ sound that became central to Kula Shaker's recordings.

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He insisted on taking a real Hammond organ on tour

When Kula Shaker toured in their early days, Darlington brought a full Hammond organ and Leslie speaker to pubs and clubs. He recalled that carrying the equipment was so cumbersome that arriving at a gig could look like a funeral procession, but the band refused to compromise on the sound they wanted.

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Jay Darlington taught himself by trying to copy his favourite records

Darlington had no formal music lessons at school. Instead, he worked out keyboard parts by listening to records and attempting to reproduce what he heard. One of his major influences was Ray Manzarek of The Doors, although Darlington admitted that he still couldn't play exactly what Manzarek did.

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The Small Faces helped turn him on to the Hammond organ

Darlington has credited listening to the Small Faces with making him curious about the Hammond organ. He became fascinated by the swirling sound behind their songs and began searching for an instrument of his own, eventually finding a Leslie speaker in a junk shop for around 100 dollars.

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Brian Auger became one of his important keyboard influences

Darlington has singled out British organist Brian Auger as a major influence on his playing. Auger's work with the Trinity, including their version of Bob Dylan's “This Wheel's on Fire”, and his later jazz-rock group Oblivion Express helped shape Darlington's appreciation of the Hammond beyond straightforward rock music.

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He still owns the Hammond used on “K”

When discussing his return to Kula Shaker, Darlington revealed that he still had the original Hammond organ used on the band's debut album, K. By then, he had begun using a compact digital instrument for live performances, although he explained that modern keyboards were only recently becoming convincing enough to satisfy traditional Hammond players.

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Harry Broadbent replaced Jay Darlington when Kula Shaker reunited

When Kula Shaker returned in 2006, Broadbent took over keyboard duties from original member Jay Darlington, who was committed to touring with Oasis. Broadbent remained with the group for more than fifteen years before Darlington returned in 2022.

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He joined a band whose sound depended heavily on vintage keyboards

Broadbent stepped into a group whose records drew extensively on the Hammond organ and the swirling psychedelic keyboard sounds of the late 1960s. His role was not simply to reproduce the original parts, but to help recreate that sound onstage while the reunited band developed new material.

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He played on three Kula Shaker studio albums

Broadbent's time with the band included Strangefolk (2007), Pilgrims Progress (2010) and 1st Congregational Church of Eternal Love and Free Hugs (2022). These albums trace the group's evolution from their comeback into a more expansive and sometimes experimental psychedelic sound.

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A family commitment led to Jay Darlington's return

When Kula Shaker needed a keyboard player for an American tour, Broadbent was unable to take part because of family circumstances. The band contacted Darlington, who was available, and the reunion proved lasting: Darlington returned as a full-time member during the making of Natural Magick.

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“Govinda” was already part of the band's live set before they had a record deal

Kula Shaker performed “Govinda” at Glastonbury in 1993, when they were still called the Kays. The song was developed from the band's exposure to Krishna temple music and George Harrison's 1971 recording with the Radha Krsna Temple, long before it became one of their best-known singles.

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The band's name came from a ninth-century Indian ruler and saint

Crispian Mills proposed the name Kula Shaker in 1995, drawing on Kulashekhara, a South Indian king associated with the Alvar tradition of devotional poetry. The band liked the idea that the name carried spiritual significance, and the change coincided with a shift towards more explicitly Indian-influenced music.

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The band once played under the name the Kays

Before adopting the name Kula Shaker, the group performed as the Kays. Their first Glastonbury appearance came in 1993, after Crispian Mills returned from travelling in India and formed the new line-up with Alonza Bevan and Paul Winter-Hart.

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“Govinda” is sung entirely in Sanskrit

Unlike most British chart singles of the 1990s, “Govinda” uses Sanskrit devotional lyrics rather than English verses. The band worked with Bengali musicians from East London while recording the track, helping bring traditional devotional sounds into a British psychedelic-rock arrangement.

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Noel Gallagher invited them to play at Knebworth

After seeing Kula Shaker perform in London, Noel Gallagher contacted the band and invited them to support Oasis at the huge Knebworth concerts in August 1996. The booking placed Kula Shaker in front of an enormous audience during the height of Britpop, just as their own debut album was taking off.

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Their version of “Hush” was not the first famous cover

Kula Shaker's 1997 hit “Hush” was originally written and recorded by Joe South in 1967. Deep Purple had already made it a hard-rock favourite with their 1968 version, so Kula Shaker were drawing on a song that had travelled from American soul-pop into British psychedelic rock before reaching the 1990s charts.

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Their second album featured a guest appearance by a 1960s folk icon

Donovan, the Scottish singer-songwriter associated with “Sunshine Superman” and “Hurdy Gurdy Man”, visited Crispian Mills for a songwriting session and later became part of the story around Kula Shaker's musical influences. Mills has described Donovan arriving with a Tupperware box of hash cakes, an anecdote that captures the band's connection to the counterculture of the 1960s.

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“K” contained songs that were left off the finished album

When Kula Shaker revisited their debut for its 30th anniversary project, they returned to recordings made during the original sessions. “Shower Your Love”, “Hush” and “Drop in the Sea” had all been recorded around the time of K but did not make the original album's final running order.

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An unfinished 1996 recording was rediscovered decades later

While preparing their 30th-anniversary re-recording of K, the band recovered an unfinished song called “She's So Free” from a two-inch master tape. The track had been misplaced as the group moved between studios in 1996. In 2026, the reunited line-up completed it with new instrumentation and vocals.

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The band recorded their debut album in several different studios

Although K has a unified psychedelic sound, its recording credits list a number of studios, including Eden, RAK, Townhouse, Chipping Norton, Livingston, Wessex and Maison Rouge. The album was produced by John Leckie alongside Shep and Dodge and Crispian Mills, reflecting a recording process spread across different locations and collaborators.

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Their first album sold more than 100,000 copies in its opening week

When K was released in September 1996, it sold 105,768 copies in its first week in the UK and went straight to number one. That made it the fastest-selling British debut album since Elastica's self-titled album the previous year, an extraordinary achievement for a group whose music was so far removed from conventional Britpop.

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David Gilmour's houseboat became part of their second album's story

Kula Shaker recorded their second album, Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts, at Astoria, the houseboat studio owned by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. The album's expansive sound reflected the band's interest in late-1960s psychedelia, but its costly production and difficult period with their record label also became part of the story behind their 1999 split.

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The original line-up reunited on “Natural Magick”

The 2024 album Natural Magick marked the first Kula Shaker studio album since 1999 to feature Crispian Mills, Alonza Bevan, Paul Winter-Hart and original keyboard player Jay Darlington together. Darlington's return restored the classic quartet that had made the band's biggest 1990s records.

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The band chose to re-record “K” rather than simply recreate it

For their 30th-anniversary project K-Reinkarnate, announced for release in February 2027, the original quartet recorded the songs live to two-inch analogue tape at Middle Farm Studios in Devon. Rather than copying the 1996 album note for note, they approached the material as musicians who had spent three decades playing it together.

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