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The Arena Rock Specialists
KASABIAN
That ‘Biggest Band In Britain’ tag is not going away any time soon. Matt Wilkinson sits with Tom and Serge in a north London pub to discover just how they hold onto it
PHOTOGRAPH
DEAN CHALKLEY, LONDON, MARCH 23, 2010
It’s lunchtime in a Kentish Town gastropub, and everybody is staring at two men sat at a cocktail table. Not that Tom Meighan or Serge Pizzorno notice. Here, perched regally among the hordes of suits on their lunchbreaks, the co-frontmen of the “biggest band in Britain” (their words, taken from the last time they graced these pages) are mulling over the months ahead.
If all goes to plan, Serge predicts that Kasabian’s forthcoming headline slots at V and T In The Park will see them fired triumphantly into the really big league; something they’ve been on the cusp of since ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’ permeated the mainstream and kicked all previous accusations of loutish laddism into touch. Later, both he and Tom will talk about how luck and timing have played their part in the Kasabian story; how they’ve worked hard while other, less talented acts have triumphed. Sure, we’ll get bursts of Gallagher-esque tongue-lashing, but for the most part the duo are more like the snuggle brothers; finishing off each other’s sentences and affectionately comparing their clobber. “These’d look like fucking shorts on you, bruv!” Tom jokes of his immaculate D&G jeans to Pizzorno, whose sparkly, tassled blouse is nothing short of absurd. “I want everything to be wild,” the songwriter explains, which is kind of the exact statement that makes him so perfect for this stardom stuff anyway.
The new songs are flowing too, apparently, with Serge hinting at a Motown-inspired direction and proudly asserting that he “can’t stop writing at the moment” despite the fact he’s meant to be taking a break. “We’ve fought so hard to get this far, and now we’ve got it,” says Tom of the band’s ever-expanding horizon, before Serge butts in to big-up those burgeoning festival slots: “It’s starting here (puts his hand in line with his shoulders), and it’s gonna finish with us making people’s heads fucking explode!”
Given guitar music in 2010 sounds like Kasabian, it was inevitable we’d talk to them for this special issue. Take it away, lads.
NME: When people look back in future decades,
how will they describe music in 2010?
Tom Meighan: “Well there’s no bands in the Top 40 at the moment, is there? That fucks me right off! What’s up with that?”
Serge Pizzorno: “Hopefully this year’s the start of something new. Things need to change. I mean, the way things are now, with the internet and that, new bands are kind of dying far too quick because
no-one gives them the time.”
Tom: “Personally I think the internet’s massively took
the shine off rock’n’roll. It’s definitely fucked it up.
It might be good for some things but its massively
fucked music over. Everything’s so splintered now.”
Serge: “I suppose you can’t argue that it’s fantastic
in some ways, but I don’t think it’s been that massive
a thing for us so far, really.”
Is it time we all accepted that recorded music has
to be free?
Tom: “No. N-O. No!”
Serge: “The way I see it is this if you like a band, go on the net and download whatever you want. Then if you like it, go and buy the album. Simple.”
Name three things every new artist needs.
Tom: “Tunes, tunes, tunes! Not the fucking sweets…”
Serge: “Tunes is all you need. It really is. It’s not about aesthetics. In any case, if you’ve got a good tune you’ll pretty much have something good to say anyway.”
Which artist are you most excited about in 2010?
Serge: “I’m hoping there’ll be some cheeky little shits who’ll come along and mess things up a bit!”
Tom: “Tame Impala, they’re fucking cool. They sound so ’60s, but it’s dancey too.”
Serge: “Yeah, this goes back to what I was saying before about the internet – Tame Impala are a band that deserve a chance, but will they get one? That’s what worries me. With us, when we got signed it’s like we jumped on the last boat out of Armageddon. Look what’s happened since – it feels like we’re one of the last remaining bands to actually make it to the shore.”
Do musical tribes still exist like they did in previous decades?
Tom: “Nope, no chance. All that’s gone now.”
Serge: “The emo thing, that was kind of something.”
Tom: “But it’s really hard to make a dent on culture now, ‘cos everything’s just rehashed all the time.”
Serge: “Yeah, but when Britpop kicked off it was everywhere – that hit British culture. At the same time that’s what killed it all I think.”
Is there any place for politics in music in 2010?
Tom: “If you’re into politics I’m all for it. Or if you wanna write about a girl you love, write about that. Or if you wanna write about fucking taking acid then do that! It doesn’t matter, as long as you actually know what you’re on about.”
What if the Tories used one of your tunes in their campaign?
Tom: “They’re fucking horrible! I’d set fire to ’em!”
Serge: “I’d let the Greens use one.”
Tom: “Yeah, they’re alright. The Tories, though, I’d just set fire to the fuckers. I mean, they’re just horrible aren’t they?! I would actually set fire to them. Every single one of them, one by one!”
Have the internet and TV talent shows ruined the mythology of rock’n’roll?
Tom: “Yeah. That’s the main killer right there, that’s the hole in the head. We’re a nation obsessed. I mean, we started this band in 1998. We were 17. Seventeen years old! It’s a long time. Eleven years we’ve been together [er, that’s 12 – Basic Numeracy Ed]. We worked so hard, and then you see some shithead on TV! It’s a killer.”
Serge: “I didn’t watch one episode of The X Factor and yet I know all about this fucking Jedward’ thing. I don’t wanna know anything about that shit! Why’s it in my life? I can’t escape it. I think Twitter, all
that communication overload, I think that’s ruined it a lot too. I just don’t wanna know. I really enjoyed the myths of rock’n’roll. I don’t care what Amy Winehouse had for dinner, you know?”
Who’s the last act who had the right mythology about them?
Serge: “Aphex Twin. He’s had some of the greatest myths ever. Whether they’re true or not I don’t care. I heard he lived in a disused bank and he drives a Securicor van!”
Is it still possible for a musician to sell-out in 2010?
Tom: “Yeah, of course. We do get approached for adverts and things – we’ve done loads for Sky Sports. But that doesn’t mean we’ve sold out. They want to use our tune for the football, so why not? I think it’s brilliant actually.”
Would you ever record a song for a Twilight soundtrack?
Both: “No.”
Tom: “Fuck that! I don’t even wanna see it!”
How important is image and visuals to the music you make?
Serge: “Massively important. I just fucking buzz off psychedelics, you know? I love Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix I want everything to be wild. I don’t wanna look back when I’m old and grey and go, ‘Why the fuck did I wear them jeans?!””
Tom: “It’s like when you [Serge] wore that coat at Glastonbury [2009] – people didn’t know what the fuck was happening!”
Serge: “Half the people thought I was a cunt but I could see the other half thinking, ‘Fucking hell!”
Tom: “I loved it – Serge looked like a cheetah and I looked like a fucking strawberry!”
What do you hope to be doing in 2020?
Tom: “Well, hopefully I’m still on this planet. Ha! And hopefully still making music. I do hope we’ll still be here in 10 years, doing what we do. Ten years is a long time, but I think we could be. Why not?”
To be in with a chance of winning one of five
Kasabian back catalogues, visit NME.COM/win
SHOT IN DEAN CHALKLEY’S STUDIO, NORTH LONDON GROOMING BY NATALYA HAIR @ BALCONY JUMP USING MAC COSMETICS