Kasabian Survives Firing Their Singer and Scores a 7th No. 1 Album with ‘Happenings’

Kasabian emerged in 2004 with a familiar sound: part ’90s lad culture, part Stone Roses, and a touch of The Chemical Brothers’ block rockin’ beats.

The Leicester band had the Gallagher brothers’ swagger and regardless of whether it had all been done before, their breakout single “Club Foot” was undeniable.

With six neo-psychedelia and electronic rock albums, Kasabian rose to a stadium level—outlasting the chart-topping bands they once opened for.

Then they parted ways with singer Tom Meighan in 2020 as he faced charges of assaulting his partner Vikki Ager. Meighan pleaded guilty to assaulting Ager, whom he married the following year. A judge ordered Meighan, then 39, to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Life After Tom

The band’s leader and songwriter Sergio Pizzorno became the singer and Kasabian released The Alchemist’s Euphoria in 2022. Yet another album that topped the charts. Meighan’s voice is more recognizable than Pizzorno’s, but the band survived.

On their latest Happenings, Pizzorno sounds more comfortable as a singer as the group evolves from beat-heavy lad-rock to electropop. Happenings is a concise 28 minutes. And the album became Kasabian’s seventh consecutive No. 1, bumping Taylor Swift from the top spot.

On the band’s second act, Pizzorno told NME, “Kasabian’s trajectory is exactly where it’s always been, and always will be.”

Victoria Park Homecoming

Kasabian debuted 20 years ago. It’s been 10 years since they headlined the Glastonbury Festival and four years since Meighan’s departure. They recently played a homecoming show at Victoria Park, a venue they played a decade earlier in front of 50,000 fans.

Pizzorno reflected brightly on his first time playing Victoria Park. On British station Radio X, he said, “It was just that amazing feeling of inviting everyone from your town.” He said the atmosphere was like “a World Cup win.”

Though not as a headliner, Kasabian returned to Glastonbury last month for an unannounced appearance on the Woodsies stage. Following the explosive set, Pizzorno was visibly moved. “I love each and every one of you,” he said, “I’m lost for words.”

Past the survival stage, Kasabian is evolving further still. Pizzorno isn’t showing up to play the hits for nostalgic fans. He’s bringing his band into its third decade with the same fire heard on early bangers like “L.S.F.”

Will the new albums have the same cultural impact as the old ones? Who knows. But the fans are still showing up, as evidenced by Happenings’ surge to No.1. Once Kasabian announced they were Glastonbury’s “secret” act, overflowing crowds shut down the area.

When NME asked if Pizzorno sees the band returning to the pinnacle of UK festivals, he answered, “Genuinely, those things don’t excite me.” He added, “What excites me is going out there, not knowing what the f–k is gonna happen at a show.”

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