Kasabian were formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and second vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff and bassist Chris Edwards, and were originally christened Saracuse. They started recording at Bedrock Studios in Leicester, where Edwards had once worked as a sound engineer, and in 1998 they recorded three songs for a demo tape, comprising 'Whats Going On', 'Life Of Luxury' and 'Shine On', and which was produced by Scott Gilbert. Saracuse had several tracks included on a triple CD album called 'RED', which was produced by Bedrock Studios and showcased Leicester bands in late 1999, and they were also invited to take part in the event of the same name at Leicester De Montfort Hall later the same year, but declined following the advice of their then-manager Alan Royland. When they signed to BMG Records by London DJ and producer Sam Young, they changed their name to Kasabian, named after Linda Kasabian, a member of the Charles Manson cult who later went on to testify against Manson at his trial. Their eponymous debut album was released in the UK on 13 September 2004, receiving good sales and generally positive reviews, and the next year the play the Glastonbury Festival 2005 on the "Other Stage". Despite having two prior single releases, with debut single 'Processed Beats' and lead single 'Reason Is Treason', it was their third single release 'Club Foot' that broke them into the UK Singles Chart, and it's become one of their most popular songs, being performed at nearly every Kasabian live performance since its release.
During this period, various drummers played with the band, including current keyboard player Ben Kealey, DJ Dan Ralph Martin, Martin Hall-Adams, and brothers Mitch and Ryan Glovers, but while recording in Bristol, they met Ian Matthews, who played on a number of tracks on their debut album, and he became a permanent member in April 2005. During the recording of Kasabian's second album, 'Empire', Christopher Karloff, one of the band's chief songwriters, had "artistic and creative differences" and was asked to leave the band, and the album, was released in the UK on 28 August 2006. The title track 'Empire', a Karloff co-write, was released as the first single and reached No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart, followed by 'Shoot The Runner', which reached No. 17 , and 'Me Plus One'. In late 2007 they released an EP titled 'Fast Fuse', which featured the songs 'Fast Fuse' and 'Thick As Thieves', both of which would later feature on their third album. Work on the record started in late 2007 with producer Dan the Automator, and eighteen months later it was revealed that the album title would be 'West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum', with a release date of 8 June 2009. The song 'Vlad The Impaler' was released as a free download for a period of 4 days, as a preview for the album, and latwer singles were picked up by advertisers, with 'Fire' being used as the theme song for the English Premier League from the 2010–11 season onward, and 'Underdog' was used in the mobile and PC game 'Asphalt 8: Airborne', as well as in the movie 'Takers', and in the 2009 TV advert for Sony Bravia 200hz televisions.
'West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum' reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart, spending two weeks there, and was also shortlisted for the 2009 Mercury Prize, as well as being named "Best Album" at the 2009 Q Awards. Kasabian started work on their fourth album, 'Velociraptor!', in November 2010 with Dan the Automator as producer, and promised a 19 September 2011 release date. 'Switchblade Smiles' was the first song to be heard from the sessions, and it was available for visitors to listen to on the Kasabian website, and was available as a download for people who pre-ordered the album. In November 2011 the band went on a full tour of the UK, including two sold-out gigs at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, supported at the shows by Miles Kane and Australian band ME. Following early 2012 dates in Japan, Australia, and Europe, Kasabian launched their North American leg in Dallas on 12 March, with 19 dates in U.S. and Canada until late April. In March 2013, Sergio Pizzorno confirmed via Facebook that touring rhythm guitarist Jay Mehler had left the band to join Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye as a touring bass guitarist, and he was replaced by Tim Carter. In November 2013 they announcing that they had been working on new material for the previous six months, and the resultant Sergio Pizzorno-produced album '48:13' was released in June 2014, being named after the length of the record.
At the NME Awards 2015 Kasabian were nominated for 9 awards, beating the 2009 Oasis record of 7 nominations, and on this high they played a short tour in May, culminating in two concerts at Leicester City Football Club's ground, the King Power Stadium, to celebrate the club winning the Premier League. In March 2017, it was confirmed that the band's sixth album would be titled 'For Crying Out Loud', and released in May of that year, with the album cover featuring a photograph of the band's guitar technician Rick Graham. In July 2020, it was announced that Meighan was stepping down from Kasabian by mutual consent due to personal issues, although it later emerged that he'd assaulted his then-fiancée in April, and in light of the revelations, the band had decided to sever their professional relationship with him. Following Meighan's sacking, remaining band founders Pizzorno and Edwards met to discuss Kasabian's future, and they decided that the band should continue, with Pizzorno taking over lead vocal duties. On 27 October 2021, Kasabian released their first single, 'Alygatyr', in over four years, and followed this with 'Scriptvre' in May, before the parent album, 'The Alchemist's Euphoria', appeared in August. Their latest album, 'Happenings', has just been released, so now is the perfect time to take a retrospective look back at the work of the band by collecting all their non-album b-sides into a two-disc set of rare and hard to find music from them.
Track listing
Disc I - 2003-2006
01 The Nightworkers (b-side of 'Processed Beats' 2003)
02 Pan Am Slit Scam (b-side of 'Cutt Off' 2004)
03 Beneficial Herbs (b-side of 'Cutt Off' 2004)
04 Out Of Space (b-side of 'Cutt Off' 2004)
05 Trash Can (b-side of 'Club Foot' 2004)
06 Sand Clit (b-side of 'Club Foot' 2004)
07 The Duke (b-side of 'Club Foot' 2004)
08 Bang (b-side of 'Club Foot' 2004)
09 55 (b-side of 'Club Foot' 2004)
10 Lab Twat (b-side of 'L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)' 2004)
11 Doctor Zapp (b-side of 'L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)' 2004)
12 Black Whistler (b-side of 'Empire' 2006)
13 Ketang (b-side of 'Empire' 2006)
Disc II - 2006-2014
01 Stay Away From The Brown Acid Pt. 1 (b-side of 'Shoot The Runner' 2006)
02 Pictures Of Matchstick Men (b-side of 'Shoot The Runner' 2006)
03 Somebody To Love (b-side of 'Me Plus One' 2006)
04 Caught In Her Mind (b-side of 'Me Plus One' 2006)
05 Runaway (b-side of 'Fire' 2009)
06 Julie & The Moth Man (b-side of 'Underdog' 2009)
07 Pistols At Dawn (b-side of 'Days Are Forgotten' 2011)
08 Narcotic Farm (b-side of 'Goodbye Kiss' 2012)
09 Beanz (b-side of 'Eez-eh' 2014)
10 Gelfling (b-side of 'Bumblebee' 2014)
