Leicester Bangs

Last year they were an unknown bunch of stoners from Leicester. This year they’ve got a top ten-charting album, an almost self-sufficient merchandise industry and an army of devotees. And if that’s not enough – altruistic beings that they are - Kasabian are committed to breathing new life into the “comatose state of British music”.

Bands need good names, great hair, an angry frontman, a serious work ethic and - most importantly - good shoes. Having publicly denounced The Darkness, Keane, The Strokes, The Datsuns and Jet, Kasabian have claimed, “if you cut our skin we bleed rock n roll”.
And it seems they’re not the only ones who believe the hype. They’ve also garnered the all-important celebrity endorsements, not least from their hero Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield: “They’ve got the attitude of the fucking Roses, the good looks of the Scream and the fucking having-it-largeness of the Mondays, and where can you go wrong with them three attributes?”
Well, as this interviewer found out – catching Kasabian in an early morning state of sobriety – angry frontmen simply shouldn’t let their guard down.
A friendly Tom Meighan tells Hot Press he’s flattered by the band’s success.
“We always believed it was gonna happen, but it’s happened and it shocked us. We’re still in shock now.”
Having grown up together in the same village, the Kasabian boys (now aged 23) make no secret of their humble beginnings.
“Our first gig was absolutely awful and our old name [Syracuse] was shit,” says Meighan. “We were just little shits – cocky arrogant bastards. We just thought we were the best and we ruled everything. We were only about 15 or 16 so I suppose you’ve gotta believe it then.”
Times change, names change (Kasabian is the name of Charles Manson’s getaway driver) and friends-of-friends extend the offer of a farmhouse.
“It was this really old, 18th century farmhouse and we locked ourselves away for a year to rehearse and record,” explains Meighan. “It was a crop farm, so there’s a lot of sheep, a few cows, but no chickens – they got killed by the fox. It was a really beautiful place.”
It seems that the band’s strict discipline didn’t extend to chemical experimentation.
“We’ve had a few freaky moments,” he admits. “We thought a UFO was outside one night. We heard a noise coming from outside so we went and looked out the window and we could hear this kinda ‘FF FFF FFFF’ [makes noise of a helicopter]. We were like ‘What the FUCK is that?’ and we thought it was a UFO! I think it was a fan or a heater in the cupboard. We’re such fucking idiots, man.”
‘Skittles and smarties’ aside, the boys did surpass all expectations of productivity.
“It came together amazingly,” enthuses Meighan. “We’ve got another 25 songs on the computer knocked out, so album two is pregnated. There’s a baby on the way.”
With this much genius, where can Kasabian go wrong? Nearing the end of the interview, hotpress reminds the decidedly charming frontman of a particularly memorable Jet-dissing quote: “I’m not knocking Australian music but what do they know about rock ‘n’ roll? They just go out with their didgeridoos and throw boomerangs around.”
Now it’s time for Kasabian to learn a lesson: faux-imperial superiority won’t get you far with Hot Press, particularly if your interviewer is a subject of said colony.
“Who said that? You sure I said that? Fucking hell, I do apologise, I take it back. I can’t really remember saying that. I must have been really off my head. All I can say is, keep drinking your Foster’s – I’m really sorry!”
So once the ego sufficiently shrinks to fit the proverbial boots, can Kasabian’s Irish fans expect some live dates?
“We’re coming to Dublin very soon and I’ll be able to meet you for a beer and apologise properly.”
Hot Press awaits the live dates with baited breath.

Kasabian’s self-titled album is out now on Arista.