able to obtain both a record and publishing deal. However, after Beggars Banquet closed the Mantra label, Parva were dropped and left desolate and without any direction after the release of an album (22) and three singles ("Heavy", "Good Bad Right Wrong" and "Hessles"). According to manager James Sandom in an interview with HitQuarters, as a dropped band they had become damaged goods, "No one would touch them because they had a history. A lot of people used their history against them." The band decided that they would aim for a longer term record deal and started afresh with new songs and a new name: Kaiser Chiefs. The new name was taken from South African football club Kaizer Chiefs, the first club of ex-Leeds United captain Lucas Radebe. Manager James Sandom was tipped off about the band by Drowned in Sound founder Sean Adams, who persuaded him to go and see them live. Sandom said: "I went to see a couple of shows and you were just bombarded by a series of potential hit singles." Soon after Sandom became their manager, Kaiser Chiefs signed to B-Unique Records. Atlantic Records had also made an offer for the band. Employment (2004–2005) In July 2004, while still relatively unknown inside the UK, Kaiser Chiefs performed their first festival outside the UK at a festival in Moscow. One of the major factors in the band's breakthrough in 2005 was their involvement in the NME Awards Tour at the beginning of the year. Like Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand before them, their position as opening act proved an influential one, attracting a lot of positive media attention. The group's debut album Employment was released in March 2005, being primarily inspired by new wave and punk rock music of the late 1970s and 1980s. The album was well received by music critics, described as "thrilling from beginning to end" and "quintessentially British, without pretension and most importantly, a whole lot of fun". It reached number two on the UK albums chart, and was certified five times platinum. In 2005, Employment was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, an annual music prize awarded for the best British or Irish album from the previous year. Bookmakers made it favourite to win the award, but they eventually lost out to Antony and the Johnsons. In 2006, Employment won the Ivor Novello award for 'Best Album' The first single released from the