Iconic 2000s indie band announce huge 20th anniversary comeback gig in Leeds

Noughties indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs, behind hits such as Ruby and Never Miss A Beat, are celebrating their 20th anniversary by returning to where it all began: their West Yorkshire hometown of Leeds.

The chart-topping band – made up of singer Ricky Wilson, guitarist Andrew “Whitey” White, bassist Simon Rix, keyboardist Nick Baines and drummer Vijay Mistry – rose to prominence in the early 2000s.

In 2005, Kaiser Chiefs released their debut studio album Employment, featuring classics such as I Predict A Riot and Oh My God.

To mark the 20th anniversary of their career debut, they will return home in May 2025 for their “biggest ever Leeds gig” in a special one-off show at Temple Newsam Park – a venue where they performed for the last time 23 years ago. .

In an official statement they said: “The last time we played there (at Parva) we joked that we were after Guns n Roses who had played the night before, so it’s been a long time. waiting to finally make the front page of the Park.

“We are a group that historically has always looked to the future, but after 20 years of people telling us how important employment is to them and how it was the soundtrack to people’s lives , we felt we needed to have a celebration.”

The concert will see the band perform the album in its entirety, as well as a selection of their other biggest hits over the years.

The statement continues: “We managed to convince a few of our old touring friends to come celebrate with us and of course everyone is invited. Come celebrate the 2000s, employment, when Leeds conquered the world. See you all in May.

As such, they will be accompanied by a stacked line-up also celebrating 20 years of their own albums, including Razorlight’s Up All Night album, The Cribs LP New Fellas and We Are’s hit album Scientists With Love and Squalor.

Hot Wax, Ellur and The Coral will also be present.

The 20th anniversary show also marks a turnaround for the band, who told NME in 2019 that they didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of other bands and would perhaps consider something special for the 25th anniversary.

In March this year, the UK award-winning band released their latest tracklist, aptly named Easy Eighth Album by Kaiser Chiefs. The album reached number six on the charts, proving that the band has no plans of slowing down.

Singer Ricky, 46, has also carved out his own media persona since starring as a judge on The Voice for three seasons and coming second on The Masked Singer in 2023 as Phoenix .

Today, the father of two is also a host of Virgin Radio’s weekday show Drivetime.

In a recent interview with The Times, Ricky spoke about the expansive nature of the Kaiser Chiefs’ appeal.

He said: “Very few groups have the scale that the Kaiser Chiefs have. We adapt anywhere and everywhere.

“We can play a fancy festival and a racetrack in the same weekend. We’re about to support Kasabian and we just did a roller disco. Light entertainment? Don’t hit.

On the other hand, in another interview with The Independent, Ricky admitted that his sensitivity prevented the band from growing even bigger than it is today.

“I wasn’t ready for a lot of things. Some things were quite hurtful. I think to be the biggest band in the world, you really don’t have to worry about people not liking you,” he said.

He continued: “That’s why we never really got into the territory of that stadium because I cared too much about people not liking me. If you have balls of steel, you don’t have than to move forward.

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