Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan is not known for mincing his words, having given his opinion on everyone from Showaddywaddy to the Spice Girls in the past. Here are some of his best quotes: On coming from Leicester:
"I had ambitions to be in a rock band but most people thought I was a dreamer – I'm from Leicester, it doesn't happen.
"We had Showaddywaddy. They slagged us off in the Leicester Mercury, said we were out of tune. Pretty sad coming from a bunch of plastic teddy boys. You just think, 'We'll show 'em'." (The Guardian, 2006)
"We get looked down upon because we're from Leicester and nobody gives anyone any credit. Not that that matters." (Leicester Mercury, 2007)
"Someone wrote into the Mercury to say none of us live here anymore and we do. We do, we still live in Leicester. State that fact." (Leicester Mercury, 2010) On playing Coachella last year:
"We did really well. We tore Coachella apart, we were the best band of the weekend and I'm not just saying that. We won that battle there, I'm telling you.
"On our day, we won't be beaten by any band on the planet, and I've said this before. We're a match for anyone – even the giants of the universe." (Leicester Mercury, 2012) On DJing:
"I just basically stand there and press play, though, I'm not like Carl Cox or, erm, what's his name, Fat Boy Slim or anything like that. I'm not bad at DJing but I'm not a mixer. I just stand there... like a mannequin, ha ha." (Leicester Mercury, 2013) On insults:
"Posh f***ing skier, Julian Casablancas. F***ing tramp, Doherty. Midget with whiskers, Justin Timberlake. Looks like my old gym teacher was Madonna. And a tranny who forgot the wig … Britney!" (The Guardian, 2009) On Lord of the Rings:
"I'd love to be a hobbit. I'd be from Shycester. I'd be a really bad hobbit. I wouldn't be like Sam. I'd kill Gandalf, wipe out all the hobbits, marry the princess and claim the throne. Ha ha!" (The Guardian, 2009) On the Spice Girls and the Olympics:
"We were on tour during the Olympics but I saw some bits on telly. There were some horrifying bits, like The Spice Girls. That really didn't do the place justice. That was the most horrifying bit. It was just horrible." (The Sun) On the Conservative party:
"They're f***ing horrible! I'd set fire to them! I mean, they're just horrible aren't they?! I would actually set fire to them. Every single one of them, one by one!" (NME) On Coldplay: "Chris Martin is all right if you're 35 and feeling sad that your mortgage repayments have gone up." (Q) On the Royals: "Prince Charles just wants slappin' round the head with his big floppy ears." (NME)For a look back at pictures of previous big gigs at Victoria Park click here
