The Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard says he wishes his dad could see him singing now

The Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard has spoken of his grief over the death of his father, and revealed that the band’s new single is about his loss.

His father Bob, who was also a musician, had a heart attack when Pritchard was only three years old. He is the subject of the song See Me Now.

Pritchard, 29, said: “It is quite a strange feeling putting out a song that is so personal and also that is part song, part counsel.

“I think it has helped me in my search for answers and I really hope it will help others to find some peace when confronted by death.”

He said the surgeons had gone to great lengths to try to save his father, adding: “The doctors did all they could before he actually passed and he was in and out of operating theatres, including them giving him a pig’s heart and then a human heart when they could.

“It still cuts me up that he could never see me become a musician, being a songwriter and singer himself.”

Pritchard said he was given the courage to pen the song by Inflo, a London-based hip-hop producer who worked on The Kooks’ latest album, Listen.

The singer added: “It wouldn’t have happened without the help of my friend and writing partner Inflo, he helped me gain the confidence to write the song. He wrote the music, I told the story.”