The Kooks formed at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music in 2005, where they were all students. Lead singer and rhythm guitarist Luke Pritchard and bassist Max Rafferty formed the base of the band for a college project, and subsequently incorporated lead guitarist Hugh Harris and drummer Paul Garred. They chose a band name from the song Kooks of the 1971 David Bowie album Hunky Dory. Note: There is also a Swedish band called "Kooks", which released an album called "Too Much Is Not Enough".