'Hated' Keane

Keane say they are easy to hate.

The 'Spiralling' hitmakers have been reviled by critics and admit they understand why people dislike them.

Drummer Richard Hughes admitted: "We are very easy to hate. People slag off our music, image, education, Tim Rice-Oxley's double-barrelled name - there's an entire menu of things to mock our band for."

Frontman Tom Chaplin added: "I don't think we'll ever be cool."

Tom spent a stint in rehab in 2006 for alcohol and cocaine abuse and admits it was partly because of the effect criticism had on him.

He said: "I was quite surprised by the hatred that was out there. After all, it's only music.

"It got under my skin, made me quite a paranoid person because even walking around I constantly felt I was being judged in a negative way. I'd be constructing mad ideas in my head about what that person might think or why does this critic not like me. It got out of proportion."

However, despite the negativity levelled at them, the band insists they don't care because they still receive support from their loyal fans.

Richard said: "Every time we play a show, there are thousands of people singing our songs back to us with more passion than you could ever imagine when you write them. The connection to the audience is pretty staggering."