Australian actress Rebel Wilson revealed that her surprise performance with rock band The Kooks at Reading Festival was arranged just 12 hours beforehand. Wilson, 45, best known for her role in Pitch Perfect, joined the band on the Main Stage during their Friday set, performing a rendition of Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise.
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The actress explained that she opted for a cover to avoid “butchering” one of The Kooks’ songs. “The Kooks are super popular in Australia, where I’m from, and they said they were open to a collab. Because we only worked this out 12 hours in advance, I didn’t want to butcher one of their songs… so I suggested we do Gangsta’s Paradise,” she said. Wilson added: “The boys were really into it so we whipped up a rendition over the night. The fellas are so great. It was so fun.”
Formed in Brighton, The Kooks are known for hits such as Naive, She Moves In Her Own Way and Junk Of The Heart (Happy). Fronted by Luke Pritchard, with Hugh Harris on guitar and Alexis Nunez on drums, the band shared a video on Instagram after Friday’s performance, praising Wilson for joining them: “Joined by the incomparable @rebelwilson to perform one of our favourites. Truly unforgettable, thank you @officialrandl.”
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The Kooks released their debut album, Inside In/Inside Out, in 2006, which reached number two in the UK charts, followed by 2008’s Konk, their first UK number one album. The indie band is set to perform again at Leeds Festival on Saturday, alongside Chappell Roan, Hozier and Rudim3ntal, while Reading Festival will feature acts including Bring Me The Horizon, Becky Hill and Conan Gray.
