# Kasabian
**Kasabian** (カサビアン in the Japanese market) are an English rock band formed in [Leicester](https://www.edgepedia.org/leicester) in 1997, originally comprising vocalist [Tom Meighan](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-meighan), guitarist and vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) • [2](https://www.sonymusic.co.uk/artist/kasabian/) The current lineup is [Serge Pizzorno](https://www.edgepedia.org/serge-pizzorno) (vocals), Chris Edwards (bass), Ian Matthews (drums), and Tim Carter (guitar).[3](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/kasabian/profile/) • [4](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce301e7w2qvo) Across nine studio albums the band has taken seven consecutive UK number-one albums, won the 2010 Brit Award for Best British Group, and headlined Glastonbury.[5](https://stereogum.com/2278093/kasabian-legacy-20-years-later/columns/sounding-board) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) • [6](https://www.nme.com/big-reads/kasabian-cover-interview-2022-the-alchemist-euphoria-3291816)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Formed | Leicester, England, 1997, by Tom Meighan, Sergio Pizzorno, Chris Karloff, and Chris Edwards[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) |
| Name origin | Taken from Linda Kasabian, Charles Manson's getaway driver-turned-state witness[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) |
| Chart record | Seven consecutive UK number-one albums, from Empire (2006) to Happenings (2024)[5](https://stereogum.com/2278093/kasabian-legacy-20-years-later/columns/sounding-board) |
| Biggest single | "Fire" (2009), the band's only UK Top Three single[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) |
| Awards | Brit Award for Best British Group, 2010; nine NME Award nominations in 2015, breaking Oasis's record[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) • [3](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/kasabian/profile/) |
| 2020 change | Tom Meighan left after a domestic assault conviction; Pizzorno became frontman[6](https://www.nme.com/big-reads/kasabian-cover-interview-2022-the-alchemist-euphoria-3291816) |
| Latest album | Act III, released in September 2026; Happenings (July 2024) was produced with Mark Ralph[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) |
## History and formation
Meighan, Pizzorno, and bassist Chris Edwards grew up together in Leicester and began making music from the age of 17, later joined by local guitarist Chris Karloff.[7](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4164149.stm) Pizzorno, born in Salford in 1980 and raised in Leicester, is the band's co-founder and chief songwriter; the four members met at school in the 1990s, inspired by Britpop and rave.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jun/29/serge-pizzorno-of-kasabian-looks-back) For a while the embryonic band were called Saracuse, gigging around Leicester at venues like the Half Time Orange.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/sep/04/kasabian-austria-album-festival-interview)
In 2001 they chose the name Kasabian, plucked from a book about the [Charles Manson](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-manson) murders, and a London DJ playing their demo of "Processed Beats" within hearing of a BMG scout led to a multi-album deal.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/sep/04/kasabian-austria-album-festival-interview) They signed to RCA.[7](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4164149.stm) Karloff left early into the Empire sessions in 2006, citing creative differences, and Jay Mehler replaced him live; Mehler departed in 2013 to join [Beady Eye](https://www.edgepedia.org/beady-eye), after which Tim Carter became a full member.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) From West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum onward, songwriting was handled entirely by Pizzorno.[5](https://stereogum.com/2278093/kasabian-legacy-20-years-later/columns/sounding-board)
## Discography and commercial record
The self-titled debut, released in September 2004, cracked the UK Top Five the following month, with four singles in the Top 20 within six months; early singles "Club Foot" and "LSF" reached numbers 19 and 10 in the UK singles chart.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) • [7](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4164149.stm) Empire (August 2006) debuted at number one, the band's first, and sold more than a million copies.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/sep/04/kasabian-austria-album-festival-interview) West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (2009) contained "Fire", the band's only Top Three single, and earned a [Mercury Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/mercury-prize) nomination.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/sep/04/kasabian-austria-album-festival-interview)
The number-one run continued through [Velociraptor](https://www.edgepedia.org/velociraptor)! (2011), 48:13 (2014), recorded with Pizzorno as sole producer, For Crying Out Loud (May 2017), The Alchemist's Euphoria (August 2022), and Happenings (July 2024).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) 48:13 was the fourth UK number one and Happenings the seventh.[3](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/kasabian/profile/) Act III, the third installment of the trilogy, was released in September 2026 on Columbia.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541)
## Musical style and critical standing
Kasabian mix traces of the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, and [Primal Scream](https://www.edgepedia.org/primal-scream) with [DJ Shadow](https://www.edgepedia.org/dj-shadow)-influenced electronics, which distinguishes them from guitar-only post-punk revival peers; the BBC described the debut's indie dance stance as drawing comparisons to [The Stone Roses](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-stone-roses), Primal Scream, and The Happy Mondays.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) • [7](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4164149.stm) In a Brit-rock landscape left gappy by the decline of heavyweights such as Oasis, Kasabian prospered and became one of the country's biggest acts.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/sep/04/kasabian-austria-album-festival-interview) From West Ryder and Velociraptor! onward, the band showed a greater effort at sonic experimentation outside of the big singles.[5](https://stereogum.com/2278093/kasabian-legacy-20-years-later/columns/sounding-board)
## Tom Meighan's departure and the Pizzorno era
On 6 July 2020, Tom Meighan announced that he was leaving the band to deal with "personal issues"; the next day, news broke that he had pleaded guilty to assault charges stemming from a domestic violence incident that April.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) The band's own account differs in emphasis: Kasabian said they had asked Meighan to leave after he was charged with assaulting his partner Vikki Ager, resulting in a domestic assault conviction.[6](https://www.nme.com/big-reads/kasabian-cover-interview-2022-the-alchemist-euphoria-3291816) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jun/29/serge-pizzorno-of-kasabian-looks-back)
Pizzorno stepped up as frontman, and The Alchemist's Euphoria (August 2022), produced with Fraser T. Smith, was the first album with him as sole lead vocalist; it continued the UK number-one run.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) The post-2020 lineup features Edwards on bass, Matthews on drums, and Carter on guitar and backing vocals.[6](https://www.nme.com/big-reads/kasabian-cover-interview-2022-the-alchemist-euphoria-3291816)
## Live performances and festivals
Kasabian headlined [Glastonbury](https://www.edgepedia.org/glastonbury) in 2014, and in June 2014 a show at Victoria Park, Leicester drew 50,000 attendees.[3](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/kasabian/profile/) A decade later, the 2024 hometown Summer Solstice II show at the same venue drew an estimated 35,000 people, and a 2024 Glastonbury secret set drew a bigger crowd than [Sleaford Mods](https://www.edgepedia.org/sleaford-mods)' headline set that night.[5](https://stereogum.com/2278093/kasabian-legacy-20-years-later/columns/sounding-board) In June 2025 they delivered the biggest headline show of their career at Finsbury Park, London.[4](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce301e7w2qvo) As far back as 2004 the band opened Glastonbury and [T in the Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/t-in-the-park).[7](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4164149.stm)
## By the numbers
- Seven consecutive UK number-one studio albums, Empire (2006) through Happenings (2024).[5](https://stereogum.com/2278093/kasabian-legacy-20-years-later/columns/sounding-board)
- Empire sold more than a million copies.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/sep/04/kasabian-austria-album-festival-interview)
- Brit Award for Best British Group in 2010, after nominations in 2005 and 2007.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541)
- Nine nominations at the 2015 NME Awards, breaking the record previously held by Oasis; the band also won a variation on Best Live Act at the NME Awards in 2007 and 2018.[3](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/kasabian/profile/) • [6](https://www.nme.com/big-reads/kasabian-cover-interview-2022-the-alchemist-euphoria-3291816)
- Six Top 10 albums as of 2022, before Happenings and Act III.[6](https://www.nme.com/big-reads/kasabian-cover-interview-2022-the-alchemist-euphoria-3291816)
## What has changed since 2023
Happenings, released on 5 July 2024 and produced with Mark Ralph, became the band's seventh consecutive UK number-one album, displacing [Taylor Swift](https://www.edgepedia.org/taylor-swift)'s The Tortured Poets Department, and was followed the next day by a hometown show at Victoria Park.[5](https://stereogum.com/2278093/kasabian-legacy-20-years-later/columns/sounding-board) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jun/29/serge-pizzorno-of-kasabian-looks-back) The band conceived The Alchemist's Euphoria, Happenings, and Act III as a three-part mini-opera, with Act III released in September 2026 on Columbia.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541) A 2024 arena tour with the Streets was announced, with tickets at £70 before fees.[5](https://stereogum.com/2278093/kasabian-legacy-20-years-later/columns/sounding-board) Plans for a tenth album were already taking shape in the studio during the Act III sessions.[4](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce301e7w2qvo)
## References
1. [Kasabian Biography & History, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kasabian-mn0000361541)
2. [Kasabian, Sony Music UK artist page](https://www.sonymusic.co.uk/artist/kasabian/)
3. [カサビアン | ソニーミュージックオフィシャルサイト プロフィール](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/kasabian/profile/)
4. [In the studio with Kasabian, BBC News](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce301e7w2qvo)
5. [Two Decades Later, Why Are Kasabian Still Such A Big Deal In The UK?, Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/2278093/kasabian-legacy-20-years-later/columns/sounding-board)
6. [On The Cover – Kasabian on carrying on, NME (2022)](https://www.nme.com/big-reads/kasabian-cover-interview-2022-the-alchemist-euphoria-3291816)
7. [Cult band Kasabian surge forward, BBC News (2004)](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4164149.stm)
8. [Kasabian's Serge Pizzorno: 'I'm not an extrovert; I'm a songwriter', The Guardian (2024)](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jun/29/serge-pizzorno-of-kasabian-looks-back)
9. [Kasabian: from Leicester squares to rock heavyweights, The Guardian (2011)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/sep/04/kasabian-austria-album-festival-interview)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Rock, indie, and pop groups › Indie and alternative bands › Post-punk and new wave bands › Post-punk revival and 2000s acts*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license