Righton's father, also a musician, encouraged him to be a part of several bands that performed regularly while he was still at Stratford-upon-Avon High School.

The three men began to record and perform live under the name of "Klaxons (Not Centaurs)", a name inspired by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's The Futurist Manifesto.

Righton's new project was announced in March with the release of the video for the first single, Shock Machine, directed by Saam Farahmand.

The first single Shock Machine, released on 8 March 2016 with accompanying video directed by Saam Farahmand, was featured on his four-track debut EP Open Up The Sky.

In February 2011, Righton began dating actress Keira Knightley[17] and on 4 May 2013 they were married in Mazan, Vaucluse, in the south of France.