Kasabian's Serge Pizzorno defends Tom Meighan exit: "He’d crossed the line"

17 May 2022, 13:57 | Updated: 17 May 2022, 14:33

Kasabian with former frontman Tom Meighan inset — Kasabian have discussed the "heartbreaking" time they lost their frontmanTom Meighan. Picture: 1. Neil Bedford/Press 2. PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

By Jenny Mensah

The Kasabian rocker has opened up about Meighan's departure fromof the band due to his conviction for assault and revealed it was like seeing his house "burnt down".

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Kasabian have opened up about the "heartbreaking" events surrounding Tom Meighan's departure and their decision to carry on as a band.

In a candid interview with The Guardian, Serge Pizzorno - who has now taken over as their frontman - described the period as feeling like he was watching his house burn down.

“The summer when Tom left was absolutely heartbreaking,” Pizzorno says. “It felt like leaving home and coming back and seeing it burnt down, walking round the ashes, seeing old pictures and artefacts and picking things up and sifting through the destruction. It was an intense time.”

He continued: "Over the years, we’ve dealt with a lot. When it all came out, you’d see things being said and written that were hard to take because you’ve lived it – you know the true story."

Meighan appeared at Leicester Magistrates Court on 7th July 2020 to face a charge of assault against his partner Vicki Ager. The rocker pled guilty to one count of assault by beating and was sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work.

The previous day, Kasabian shared a statement which read: "Tom Meighan is stepping down from Kasabian by mutual consent. Tom has struggled with personal issues that have affected his behaviour for quite some time and now wants to concentrate all his energies on getting his life back on track. We will not be commenting further."

Tom Meighan is stepping down from Kasabian by mutual consent. Tom has struggled with personal issues that have affected his behaviour for quite some time and now wants to concentrate all his energies on getting his life back on track. We will not be commenting further.
— KasabianHQ (@KasabianHQ) July 6, 2020

The band remained fairly tight-lipped at the time, but they later released a statement condemning domestic violence and violence of all kinds.

They also suggested that Meighan's assault came after a pattern of destructive behaviour- something Pizzorno stands by.

"It always amazes me how strong people’s opinions are when they don’t know anything about the actual truth,” Pizzorno said.

"There’s way more to it. Who in their right mind would sack a frontman if there wasn’t cause?

"Over the years, there have been some tough moments. I don’t want to go into them because I feel like that’s the band’s business."

He added: "With Tom, all we ever tried was love and support. There were times when we needed professional help – that was all taken care of. But when we were finally made aware of the incident, he’d crossed the line at that point.”

Asked if he misses the singer, he eventually said: “I miss who Tom used to be."

Bassist Chris Edwards added: "I think part of Tom wanted to go solo but he didn’t have the heart to tell us. A couple of weeks after the incident, Tom said he was going to go solo and the band had split up.

"As soon as we heard this, me and Serge sat down and said, ‘Do you want to keep doing this?’ It’s all we know, so if we can do it and the fans still want it, let’s go for it.”

Edwards, who hasn't spoken to him for over a year as well as Serge, recalled how things were left with Meighan, who has now married Ager and gone solo.

The Eez-Eh rocker revealed: “The last time we spoke, I said, ‘Mate, if you need help, if you fall off the wagon, if you have problems with anything at home, you can come and stay at mine.’

"That’s how we left it – with a hug and we said we loved each other. There’s no malice in the separation. It’s heartbreaking but it’s happened.”