Kasabian...

Leicester having previously given the world such musical giants as Engelbert Humperdinck, it is perhaps more modern to celebrate the 4-piece band who clocked up their 5th album last year, and often provide good copy, good videos and good songs. A character like Serge Pizzorno in the gang is a plus, of course. It took me a few albums to catch up with what the fuss was about, but I get it now. Here are a few of their finest:

L.S.F.

Empire

Fire

Re-Wired

Eez-Eh

Probably a good bet for a very long career, if they want it

Kasabian: From Club Foot to now (Dec 11)
Simple run-through of all their videos. I didn't get them at first, but I've been more and more impressed as the years have gone by. The best noise to come from Leicester since Engelbert Humperdinck.

On Set: With Kasabian
The self-styled Leicester Beastie Boys (!) are back with a new album, and this half-hour covered the making of their new video, 'Eez-eh', somewhat more fun-seeking than usual. Notable aspects were actress Noomi Rapase mimicking the band members in performance, whilst the band larked for the cameras. I do like the song, though.

Kasabian @ Glastonbury
Closing the festival by headlining the Pyramid stage on Sunday night with over an hour & a half, mixing material from all their 5 albums. They even brought along Noel Fielding to reprise his Vlad The Impaler non-hilarity. Closer L.S.F. hit the right note with the crowd. Overall, entertaining stuff.

Kasabian: World Stage
From the Ulster Hall, Belfast, Nov 2011, a short burst of hits old and new, notably Club Foot and Empire.

Kasabian @ T in the Park
July 10, a lengthy set with material from all across their career, plus a few surprise cover touches thrown in along the way (Word Up, People Are Strange, Lust For Life, etc). The crowd went wild, as they should for such a good show. They've really got it down.

Kasabian : Live @ V Festival 2015
A short burst from Chelmsford, with Eez-eh, Underdog, their Praise You/L.S.F. mash-up, and Fire.

Soundchain with Zane Lowe: Kasabian
A short chat with performance to plug their most recent album, this 2014 prog tries to pin down their influences, which are unusual in the case of both Serge and Tom (Cypress Hill, Michael Jackson and DJ Shadow, for example). They spoke fondly of Noel Gallagher, and having the occasional fight. The music sounded good, of course.

The Leicester rockers managed to be part of yesterday's victory celebrations for Leicester City FC after their triumphant shock win of the Premiership. Tracks like "Underdog" really summed it all up

They're back with a new LP soon, called "For Crying Out Loud", and a lead single "You're In Love With A Psycho":

Kasabian video 'sad and tired' say mental health campaigners

Kasabian's latest music video has been called "damaging" by a mental health organisation.
The video for You're In Love With A Psycho sees band members dancing around a mental institution with presenter Noel Fielding and Taboo actor Stephen Graham.
Mental health campaigners Time to Change said the video played into a "sad and tired" stereotype.

Let's judge for ourselves:

You're In Love With A Psycho

I thought that single was excellent, certainly more spirited and fun than the follow-up "Bless This Acid House".

Kasabian at Reading Festival 2017
They headlined on Friday night and did a solid and lengthy set which tracked across all their albums, and they even got regular friend Noel Fielding on for the encore as Vlad the Impaler.

The Ged Doherty Story
Another CherryRed gem, with a busy bee who realised quickly he wasn't skilled enough to play music, but moved to the other side of the curtain and after a frustrating time as an agent, found more satisfaction as a manager with Paul Young. He felt obscure covers were vital to their success. He was drawn to run Epic Records in NY in 1992, then Columbia Records in 1996, onto Arista in 1999, BMG in 2001 and finally Sony in 2004. His motto was "Have fun, have hits, make money". He focussed on building good teams, and always managing the boss. Once the art is sorted, the commerce will follow. He played a part in identifying Kasabian's talent, which worked out well. Oddly, he reckoned Tom was the star, not necessarily Serge. He helped run the Brit Awards from 2008-11, and now chairs the BPI when not working on film projects.

Isle of Wight Festival 2018 - Kasabian
A lively headlining set that ranged across their career, ending with Fire. They really feel Praise You is the perfect precursor to L.S.F.

Serge has embarked on his own solo project, The SLP

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48541256

misery guts wrote:Serge has embarked on his own solo project, The SLP

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48541256

The S.L.P. : Upfront
Serge talks about what he wanted to achieve with his solo project that he couldn't do with the band. Working with upcoming acts like Little Simz, for one. He says he now has ideas and a direction for the next Kasabian album, which is good news.

Not so good news on the line-up front:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53306138

Kasabian star Tom Meighan is stepping down from the band after 23 years.

The singer behind hits like Fire, LSF and Empire is leaving "by mutual consent", the band said in a statement.

"Tom has struggled with personal issues that have affected his behaviour for quite some time," they said.

Oh dear. Hope it's for the best 

Further to the above, Tom pleaded guilty to assault yesterday, and today the band admitted they sacked him, knowing about the court case

Isle of Wight Festival 2022: Kasabian
They're also back with a new album and did a big headline spot to show it. Serge sings now, and seemed to be making the best of it. Peter Crouch appeared for the finale.

The album, The Alchemist's Euphoria, will be out next month.

misery guts wrote:
The album, The Alchemist's Euphoria, will be out next month.

It went straight to #1! 

Former frontman Tom also had a solo album out of late, which went top 10.

TRNSMT '23: Saturday night
Another busy selection with Inhaler, Mimi Webb, Brooke Combe, Mae Stephens, the Wombats, Maisie Peters, Aitch and LF System. Nothing of headliner Sam Fender, but quite a lot of Kasabian, firstly with Serge and Chris talking to Edith, and then 9 songs from their set. Actor Robert Carlyle seemed to be enjoying things from the sidelines. Despite inclement weather, the crowd were not to be dampened down.

Their new album Happenings is out this week.

Kasabian: Sound, Movement & Empire, by Joe Shooman (2008)
A rather unofficial biography covers the era of their formation and first two albums, so does at least explain their early line-up issues about drummers. Some of the explanations are a bit vague, but it would be interesting to know more about later albums too.

misery guts wrote:Their new album Happenings is out this week.

It went straight to #1 also