Kula Shaker were a British psychedelic rock band who came to prominence during the Britpop era. Their biggest success was circa 1996-1997 with their debut album K, which became the fastest selling debut album since Oasis' Definitely Maybe. The album went on to sell over a million copies in the UK and a further 250,000 copies in the US. The album spawned four hit singles. Their debut UK Top 40 single Grateful When You're Dead was a slice of Acid Hendrix-esque rock. Their success continued with their Sanskrit-warbling hit Tattva, which made number 4 in the UK charts. This single was nominated for A Brit Award for best UK Video. The band's success grew in 1997 with their number 2 single "Hey Dude", a guitar-based track which was kept off the top spot by the Spice Girls. The fourth and final single from K was another top 10 hit with a cover of Radhe Krishna Temple's, Govindam (released as Govinda), remade with swirling guitars and Indian traditional music.
Kula Shaker became the only band of their era to have consistent Top 5 and Top 10 hit singles in succession — a feat only matched at that time by Oasis. The band at this time had sold 250,000 singles from their first album. Their success peaked with four nominations in the Brit awards (and winning "Best Newcomer"). Some ill-advised remarks on the traditional mystical properties of Swastikas by lead singer Crispian Mills (son of Hayley and grandson of Sir John Mills) put the band in the firing line of some of the press. However, the band resurfaced in March of that year with their biggest hit, a cover of Joe South's "Hush", which peaked at number 2. The song also proved successful in the US, where it was used on the soundtrack to blockbuster movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer". The song was also placed at number 224 by Virgin Radio, in a poll for the 20th century's greatest songs.
