“We’re definitely looking forward to being back in England. The album came out almost a year ago now and with the success we’ve had with it since last year I think it’s going to be a bit of a celebration!”
Leeds based indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs need very little introduction. Formed in 2000, they have three Brit awards under their belt and their fifth studio album “Education, Education, Education and War”, released back in March 2014, landed at number one in the charts. Almost a year on, the five lads are in São Paulo, Brazil, touring with old friends Foo Fighters, whom they met whilst touring in Australia back in 2005. TAG’s Léo Rahban caught up with Simon Rix before sound-check to talk about the tour, their UK home-coming and what to expect during their tour this month…
It’s been a busy year at Kaiser Chiefs HQ, from the release of their last album at the start of last year, through to opening for Foo Fighters at their first show in Cape Town, South Africa December 10. Whilst a lot of preparation goes into the show, there are always great perks to make up for all of the hard work, such as jet-setting off around the world – as Simon explains.
“This South American tour is like the perfect way to start the year really, and a great warm up for the UK tour in February. We only play for just under an hour so we finish nice and early and we visit places. The Brazilians and the Argentinians have been amazing!”
And what’s the difference between a UK audience and a South American one, we want to know? “There are always good things and bad things – like at the hotel there are big groups of people waiting outside, which you don’t really get in the UK, you only get this in South America and in Japan. They’re quite fanatical but I think they really appreciate when bands do make the effort to come. And for that Brazil is one of the best places to play a gig as a band”.
So back to the end of 2014 again now and the five-piece’s support slot with Dave Grohl and his crew in South Africa. Simon happily recalls “Obviously we got some great reactions in South Africa because of the name of our band (Kaizer Chiefs, spelled with a Z, is a South African football club) – and it was the first time we’d been down there, so that was a really good trip.”
Speaking of football, footy fan Simon was hoping to squeeze in a little kickaround if he got the opportunity … “today’s gig, and Saturday’s in Rio are at World Cup venues” he explained – “…so I’m looking forward to that! I brought a football from England so I always try when we play in stadiums to have a kick around. I’ve done it before in the Nou Camp in Barcelona and the Kaizer Chiefs stadium in South Africa”.
Back to music now, and with the UK tour starting in Liverpool on January 31, the lads will swap tropical climates and World Cup stadiums for the familiar chill of good ol’ Blighty … “When we leave the sun here it’s going to be a big shock as we get to Liverpool! But we’re definitely looking forward to being back in England. The album came out almost a year ago now and with the success we’ve had with it since last year I think it’s going to be a bit of a celebration!”
During their tour the boys will take to the stage at the Brighton Centre February 11 – last time they played was a secret show at the Great Escape in Brighton, 2014. “It’s always exciting for a band to do a secret gig. Even though we were worried that no one was going to come on a Friday at lunchtime to a gig that no one knew about! So we were quite nervous about playing to an empty room, but as it turned out lots of people came and it was a fun gig.
What about the tour, what can we look forward to? “We are making some plans! Sorting out the video – it’s going to be an impressive show! We’ll sing a lot of songs from the new album, as we haven’t played it that much in the UK”.
Well we’re all looking forward to it! What you’ve got to love about Kaiser Chiefs, besides their music, is how involved they are with their fans, and how down to earth they’ve remained… “With no fans there is no band and we’ve always been aware of that” Simon elaborates “ … I think it’s obvious by what we do on stage that we’re an involving band, we’re not the kind of band that just stands there and expects people to adore us”. On their recent tour, the band even flew some of their fans out to South Africa to record a song with them and a local band! “The opportunity came up and I thought it was really good! You know sometimes recording in a studio can be quite boring. You do it quite a lot and it’s just 5 guys hanging out in a room. Sometimes it’s creative but sometimes it’s quite techie. To have all these people in there made it quite exciting, we all had a good time.”
And we’ll look forward to more of the same when the band are back on home-turf this month. Are you going to sing your single “Coming home” on the plane back to the UK next week? (Laughs) I don’t think I’ll do anything on the plane, I’ll probably sleep!
For more information about the band and the tour, see kaiserchiefs.com
instagram.com/kaiserchiefs
facebook.com/kaiserchiefs
Full Tour Dates:
Saturday, January 31 Echo Arena, Liverpool
Monday, February 02 Caird Hall, Dundee
Tuesday, February 03 Usher Hall, Edinburgh
Thursday, February 05 Newcastle Metro Arena, Newcastle
Friday, February 06 Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
Saturday, February 07 Capital FM Arena, Nottingham
Monday, February 09 Pavilions, Plymouth
Tuesday, February 10 BIC, Bournemouth
Wednesday, February 11 Brighton Centre, Brighton
Friday, February 13 The O2 Arena, London
Saturday, February 14 First Direct Arena, Leeds
