Kasabian

British rock group Kasabian was formed in 1997 in Leicester by three childhood friends, Tom Meighan, Sergio Pizzorno, and Chris Edwards. Sergio enjoyed music since middle school and wrote lyrics. For a long time, his friends didn’t know anything about it. One day, Tom heard one of the songs. When Meighan learned that Sergio has a few more, he got an idea to form a rock band. The three friends needed a drummer for the group to be complete. While looking for the drummer, the musicians met Chris Karloff. Even though he played the guitar, not the drums, the three friends invited him to join the band. The artists started rehearsing in a small room with a computer program as their drummer. At first, they decided to name the group Syracuse. The artists got a chance to record a demo album at a recording studio Bedrock where Chris Edwards worked as a sound engineer. However, the demo album wasn’t accepted by the labels, who called the songs raw. The young musicians started working harder to achieve perfection. In just a few months, they re-recorded the demo album entirely. The second try was successful. The album caught the attention of the BMG label representative. He offered the group a contract, which the artists signed immediately. The label asked the artists to change the group’s name. At that time, Chris Karloff was reading about Linda Kasabian, who was the leading witness against Charles Manson’s cult back in the 1960s. Chris offered the others to call the group Kasabian. The artists agreed. The musicians rented a warehouse in the suburbs and rehearsed their songs. They used the space as bedrooms as well. In order to promote themselves, the group performed at different local concerts. In the summer of 2004, Kasabian traveled all over the UK and Europe. They also visited Japan. The band easily acquired numerous fans.

In May 2004, the artists presented a leading single “Club Foot”, which reached the 19th spot of the UK Singles Chart. In August, they recorded a new song “L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)”, which reached the 10th position of the British chart. The third single “Processed Beats” climbed the 17th position. All three singles were featured in the debut LP, Kasabian, which came out in September. It reached the 4th spot of the UK Albums Chart. Many fans were hoping to book Kasabian for private events. In the fall of 2004, Kasabian went to tour Japan and then performed at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. In January 2005, the single “Cutt Off”, reached the 8th spot on the UK Singles Chart. In February, the artists went to tour the USA as an opening act for the group The Music. In April, the band members finally found a drummer. It was Ian Matthews. In the summer and fall of 2005, Kasabian worked as an opening act on Oasis concert tour. In 2006, while the group was working on the second LP, Karloff left the band due to disagreements with other members. In August, the album came out. Empire topped the UK Albums Chart and came in third on Irish Albums Chart. In 2007, Kasabian earned a prize at New Musical Express Awards for Best Live Band. In August, it presented an EP, iTunes Live: London Festival '07. In October, another EP, Fast Fuse came out. In 2008, the band worked on its third LP, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, which came out in June 2009. The album topped the UK Albums Chart, came in third on Irish Albums Chart, and reached the 26th position of US Independent Albums Chart.

In 2010, Kasabian won a prize at Brit Awards for British Group. In September 2011, the group released an LP, Velociraptor!, which the fans called one of the most successful albums recorded by the band. It topped UK Albums and UK Digital Albums Charts. In June 2014, the artists presented the 5th LP, 48:13, which earned mixed reviews from the critics, who appreciated the music but criticized the lyrics. It reached the top spot of the UK Albums Chart and came in 37th on US Independent Albums Chart. In 2016, Kasabian went on a short concert tour and started working on the 6th LP. It came out in May 2017. For Crying Out Loud sold 52,000 copies in the first week. To support the album, the group embarked on the world tour.