Chris Edwards, Sergio Pizzorno, Tom Meighan and Ian Matthews.
Kasabian are an English rock band from Leicestershire, currently comprising Sergio Pizzorno, Chris Edwards and Ian Matthews. They formed in 1997 with the name Saracuse, and after being picked up changed their name to Kasabian, releasing their first reasonably successful album in 2004.The latter six all reached #1 on the UK albums chart, and Velociraptor! especially received extremely positive reviews, although the band is yet to enjoy significant US success.
In 2020, longtime frontman Tom Meighan mutually left the band after being convicted of assaulting his ex-fianceé, Sergio was annouced as taking all lead vocal duties, with live guitarist Tim Carter being made a full time member.
Discography:
- Kasabian (2004)
- Empire (2006)
- West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (2009)
- Velociraptor! (2011)
- 48:13 (2014)
- For Crying Out Loud (2017)
- The Alchemist's Euphoria (2022)
- Happenings (2024)
Trope Foot:
- Arc Words: The Empire album and its related media utilize the phrase "shoot the runner". There's that very song, the video for "Empire" opens with a runner (messenger) getting shot, and a loose mention of the line is uttered in the chorus of "Me Plus One".
- Audience Participation Song: In live sets on the Velociraptor! tour, "Fire" is the closer to the encore (after "Switchblade Smile" and "Vlad the Impaler"), and the crowds join in.
- Badass Driver: According to the video for Re-Wired, Sergio Pizzorno is one.
- The Band Minus the Face: Lead singer Tom Meighan was let go from the band in 2020, and guitarist and primary songwriter Sergio Pizzorno has since taken his place as the band's frontperson.
- Bedlam House/Concept Album: According to a T4 interview, each of the songs on West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum is meant to represent an inmate of the eponymous asylum.
- From the spoken word opening of "West Ryder Silver Bullet": "Then I went down to the basement where my friend the maniac busies himself with his electronic graffiti."
- The Cameo: Noel Fielding reprises the part of Vlad the Impaler for a two-second scene in the video for "Re-wired".
- Continuity Nod:
- In the video for "You're in Love with a Psycho", the mental patients' clothing is labeled "West Ryder".
- The video
for "Are You Looking for Action" is full of so many nods to past albums and music videos it borders on Continuity Porn.- One table has a group wearing face-covering bandannas a la the band's self-titled album cover.
- Ian Matthews and Chris Edwards play a game of cards dressed in British royal regalia from the Empire cover.
- A third is dressed in the same outfits from the West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum cover.
- One crowd is wearing velociraptor masks, a nod to Velociraptor!
- One table is dressed in skeleton costumes, recalling the minimalist skeleton costume from the 48:13 tour. Two other groups are dressed in the white shirt with black text and beer-can baseball caps outfits and the googly-eyed glasses, both from the "eez-eh" video.
- The band's long-time roadie Rick Graham, who appears on the cover of For Crying Out Loud, is behind the bar.
- A few people, including touring guitarist Tim Carter, can be seen dressed as Noel Fielding's Vlad the Impaler.
- There's a small white rabbit on one table, referencing the lyrics to "Me Plus One".
- One table has people eating stacks of bread, referencing a line from "Days Are Forgotten."
- Downer Ending: Every album ends on a low-key song compared to the Epic Rocking of most tracks, but Empire ends with the bleak "The Doberman".
- Subverted with their self-titled debut. "U Boat" is a somber ending, but the hidden track at the end of the danceable remix for "Reason Is Treason".
- Epic Rocking: This live version of "Club Foot".
- Genre Mashup: Shifted into this in Velociraptor! and taken on full-on in 48:13 which is a '60s rock/hip-hop/electronic hybrid. Serge said the idea was to create a "new language."
- Gratuitous French: La Fée Verte.
- I Am the Band: Even though he is far from being the sole original founding member left, Sergio Pizzorno has taken main songwriting duty since Karloff's departure, and also handles rhythm guitar, keyboards and electronics; not only that, he also undertook main production duties starting from Velociraptor!, where he is also the only band member to appear in the cover art.
- Intercourse with You: "Re-Wired".
- Lighter and Softer: For Crying Out Loud, in part due to its' influences from 60s' pop music.
- Mushroom Samba: "La Fee Verte" is basically this, but with absinthe.
- New Sound Album: The first album is a Madchester-inspired Alternative Dance album ending with a jam session ("Butcher Blues") and a Space Rock ballad ("U Boat"), while Empire introduces Britpop and Glam Rock elements; the third one veers towards neo-psychedelia. Velociraptor! incorporates rap, experimental and industrial elements; 48:13 takes this to a whole new level, combining elements from jazz, EBM and ambient to make something akin to The White Album. Their sixth album, For Crying Out Loud, is a shift to guitar-heavy sounds, recalling 1960s acts like The Zombies and The Animals.
- The Oner: The video for "Are You Looking for Action" is an eight-minute-long single take.
- Protest Song: "Where Did All the Love Go?" "Reason Is Treason" and "Empire" all fit the bill, but 48:13 is made up of a lot of them, with "eez-eh" taking the cake.
- Rotoscoping: The video of "Shoot the Runner".
- Sanity Slippage Song: "Butcher Blues".
- Self-Titled Album: Guess.
- Shout-Out: The line Joker, I'll meet you on the other side in Vlad the Impaler is a reference to Heath Ledger, who died a month before the single's release. In some performances, they replace "Joker" with "Heath Ledger".
- The video for Empire is set during the Crimean War. Also counts as an internal shout-out as the video opens with a runner being killed by a bullet...a la Shoot the Runner.
- "Me Plus One" references a white rabbit taking the singer away.
- The video for "Eez-eh" is filled with them.
- Tom and Serge wear Mickey Mouse and Goofy hats.
- The band poses in Steve Jobs-like poses, complete with black turtlenecks.
- One shot of Tom running across a striped background is staged identically to Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain.
- The entire premise of the video for "Ill Ray (The King)" pays homage to the discovery and reburial of Richard III in Leicester, the band's hometown—with a Manic Pixie Dream Girl trying (and surprisingly succeeding) to resurrect him for a day. Also, the band is on record that it was not a coincidence that the person who resurrects Richard is played by Lena Headey, who's starring in a heavily-fictionalized version of Richard's own world/time period.
- Sixth Ranger: Jay Mehler, who was a touring guitarist with the band. After he left for Noel Fielding's band, Tim Carter fills the role, showing up in multiple videos from For Crying Out Loud.
- Step Up to the Microphone: Serge sings one or two songs on every album, but on 48:13 he sings lead or co-lead on more songs than Tom does. After Tom left the band, Serge became the band's full-time lead singer.
- This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: In Shoot the Runner:I'm a king and she's my queen, bitch
- We Used to Be Friends: Averted with Tom's departure; both parties made it clear that in spite of the unceremonious circumstances Tom left the band out of his own volition to focus on putting his life back on track, and the bandmates have pledged full support for him.
