On Air Now
The Evening Show with Dan O'Connell 7pm - 10pm
Tom Meighan is "stepping down" from Kasabian due to "personal issues"
6 July 2020, 12:11 | Updated: 6 July 2020, 14:45
The Leicester band have announced that their frontman will be leaving the band "by mutual consent" after suffering with personal issues.
Tom Meighan has announced his departure from Kasabian.
The Leicester rockers took to Twitter this Monday (6 July) to announce the news and reveal the decision was made by "mutual consent".
Their statement reads: "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."
They added: "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
Last month, Meighan told Sky News that he was working on solo material and "writing lots of songs". He said: "We'll see what happens. I've got a few cookies in the jar... and they're not bad, you know."It's very autobiographical, like the story of my life. It's kind of... heartbreaking. Well, not heartbreaking, just to the core, you know. Very real."
Asked about bandmate Sergio Pizzorno's solo project, The SLP, which released an album last year, Meighan replied: "His music was incredible... He's doing his thing, I'm doing mine but Kasabian are still solid. You know, it's just a bad time at the moment, for rock 'n' roll. For human beings in general."
Tom Meighan was one of Kasabian's founding members, forming the band in 1997 with Serge Pizzorno, Chris Karloff and Chris Edwards.
The Leicester outfit went on to release six studio albums in Kasabian (2004), Empire (2006), West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, Velociraptor! (2011), 48:13 (2014) and For Crying Out Loud (2017).
Tom Meighan previously opened up about his mental health in 2017, admitting that he was impacted greatly due to splitting up with his partner and the death of a friend.
"Basically my life changed. I'm by myself. Because I lost myself," he told Q Magazine.
He added: "I had to sort my head out. My attitude. Stuff I was doing. People I was associating with. Not bad people.
"I was the one that was bad, I was in the haze. I was very unhappy, just down. You block it out by just carrying on."
The band - whose line-up now consists of Pizzorno, Edwards and drummer Ian Matthews - have not revealed whether they plan to replace Meighan or continue as a trio.
QUIZ: Do you know the lyrics to Kasabian's Where Did All The Love Go?
Kasabian were due to play Solstice II last month - a huge homecoming gig at Leicester's Victoria Park - which was forced to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Talking about their first Solstice gig, which took place at the same place in June 2014, the guitarist and chief songwriter told Radio X's Johnny Vaughan: "It’s hard to put into words because it felt… It was quite emotional actually because it felt like we’d taken 15 years to get there".
He added: "As exciting as it was to play in front of 50,000 you know, the actual gig itself... everyone’s families were there. All the pals, and then you have that moment of reflection and then remember the rehearsals.
"I mean as a band we just sat and talked about the journey so far.
"We really took it in. It was sort of incredible”.
Serge Pizzorno relives Solstice I gig
READ MORE: Kasabian's Serge Pizzorno is “writing tunes” and doing PE with his kids in lockdown
Getting help with mental health
Samaritans
Confidential support for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair.
Phone: 116 123
(free 24-hour helpline)
Website: www.samaritans.org
CALM
The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is leading a movement against suicide. Every week 125 people in the UK take their own lives. And 75% of all UK suicides are male. CALM exists to change this.
Phone: 0800 58 58 58
(daily, 5pm to midnight)
Website: www.thecalmzone.net
Papyrus
Are you, or is a young person you know, not coping with life? For confidential suicide prevention advice contact HOPELINEUK.
Phone – 0800 068 4141
Monday to Friday, 10am to 10pm, and 2pm to 10pm on weekends and bank holidays
Website: www.papyrus-uk.org
Anxiety UK
Charity providing confidential advice and support if you have anxiety, stress or anxiety-based depression.
Phone: 03444 775 774
(Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 10pm; Saturday to Sunday, 10am to 8pm)
Website: www.anxietyuk.org.uk
Men's Health Forum
24/7 stress support for men by text, chat and email. Fast, free, independent health information.
Website: www.menshealthforum.org.uk
Heads Together
Too often, people feel afraid to admit that they are struggling with their mental health. This fear of prejudice and judgement stops people from getting help and can destroy families and end lives. Heads Together wants to help people feel much more comfortable with their everyday mental wellbeing and have the practical tools to support their friends and family.
Website: www.headstogether.org.uk
Mind
Mind provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.
MindInfoline: 0300 123 3393
(Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm)
Website: www.mind.org.uk
