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Tom Meighan

Tom Meighan
Meighan performing in 2014
Meighan performing in 2014
Background information
Birth nameThomas Peter Meighan
Born (1981-01-11) 11 January 1981 (age 43)
Blaby, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active1997–present
Formerly ofKasabian
Spouse
Vikki Ager
​
(m. 2021)​

Thomas Peter Meighan (/ˈmiːən/; born 11 January 1981) is an English singer and musician. He co-founded the rock band Kasabian in 1997 and was its lead vocalist until 2020, when the other members fired him following his domestic violence charges.

With Meighan, Kasabian released six studio albums and enjoyed commercial success, including five number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart and four top-10 hits on the UK Singles Chart. He is said to have an intense and frenetic personality both on and off stage.[1] He has been compared to Liam Gallagher, whom he has referred to as the "perfect frontman".[2] He finished 13th in Radio X's poll of the greatest frontmen.[3]

Early life

Thomas Peter Meighan was born in Blaby on 11 January 1981,[4] the son of English nurse Patricia and Irish window cleaner Tom Meighan Sr.[5] He attended Countesthorpe Leysland Community College. He passed Art and English Literature at school, but was ungraded for many other exams after failing to attend them.[6] He enjoyed music ranging from Motown to hip hop, and constantly sang Cypress Hill songs during his youth.[7] He said, "It was a very musical house with Motown and a lot of soul music. That's what I grew up on. It was just a very loving house. It's got a very warm feeling."[8]

Career

Meighan became the lead vocalist of Kasabian at the band's inception in Leicester in 1997.[9] He sang lead vocals on the majority of the band's recordings. He did not play any instruments within the group, apart from percussion on occasion and guitar on live renditions of "The Nightworkers" and "Test Transmission".[10][11][12]

Meighan was a guest vocalist on the Dark Horses track "Count Me In",[13] which he performed with that band when they opened for Kasabian on the West Ryder tour. Additionally, he sang backing vocals on the Jersey Budd single "She Came Back".[14] Meighan has also appeared onstage with Zak Starkey's band Penguinsrising.

Meighan performing in 2010

In 2013, Meighan began a project with rapper Wottee Watnot (Andrew Wattie) called Mic Rockers, described as "a hip hop/rock collaboration". The first video from the duo, "Mic Rockers", was released on 13 November 2013. In addition to the numerous musical awards he shares with the rest of Kasabian, he was named the 19th-best frontman of all time by a Q magazine readers' poll,[2] and 13th-best frontman of all time by a 2012 Xfm listeners' poll.[3]

Meighan took his first acting role in early 2011, as Terry Graham in the sitcom pilot Walk Like a Panther.[15] Reportedly, he had previously rejected offers to appear in Marie Antoinette due to being committed to Kasabian.[16]

On 6 July 2020, it was announced that Meighan was stepping down from Kasabian by mutual consent due to personal issues.[17][18][19] The next day, he pleaded guilty to assaulting his fiancée (and later wife) on 9 April 2020.[20] The rest of the band said, "As soon as we found out about the charges made against Tom, we as a band made the decision that we could no longer work with him. Ultimately, as much as Tom hurt us all, we're not the victims in all of this. Domestic violence is something that can never be excused."[17]

In October 2020, Meighan announced that he was working on solo projects.[21] A year later, he shared a snippet of a song called "Would You Mind" on his Instagram account, explaining that the song was about "asking for help when you need it the most but can't find the courage to ask." He also added that he had recorded several songs that were "ready to share."[22] On 31 October 2021, "Would You Mind" was released as a free download.

On 5 May 2023, Meighan released his debut album, The Reckoning, which peaked at number 17 in the UK album charts.

Public image

Meighan has been a critic of the internet's effects on the music industry,[23] and was one of a number of celebrities to criticise Simon Cowell's handling of Susan Boyle in 2009: "It will torture her for the rest of her life. She is not ready for it and she is not made for it. She is being manipulated. It's horrible."[24]

As of 2009, Meighan was making an attempt to tone down his controversial image. He told the Daily Record, "When we released the first album, it didn't help in interviews that we slagged everyone off. We were only messing about, we were having fun but everyone took it a little too seriously. We did it for effect but we were portrayed as monsters instead of just a bunch of lads in a band. They got us so wrong. I don't regret anything we said but it was ridiculous."[25]

Meighan has supported numerous charities including Oxfam,[26] UNICEF,[27] and the Teenage Cancer Trust. In support of the latter, he assumed the role of Ace Face in The Who's 2011 benefit performance of Quadrophenia.[28]

Meighan's status as a fashion icon and well-known football fan led him to be chosen to unveil Umbro's away football kit for England in 2010, the first singer ever to do so.[29] He has also modelled for Gio-Goi[30] and Deadly Sins.[31]

Personal life

Meighan dated Kim James, with whom he has a daughter named Mimi, until 2016.[32]

On 7 July 2020, one day after leaving Kasabian, Meighan pleaded guilty to assaulting his fiancée Vikki Ager. Prosecutor Naeem Valli said the "sustained assault" had left Ager with bruises on her knees, elbow, and ankle, as well as red marks around her neck. The court was told that Meighan "smelt heavily of intoxicants" during the assault. He was ordered to perform hours of community service.[20] He issued a public apology in which he said he had been struggling with alcohol addiction and ADHD, had left rehab three weeks prior and was intent on staying sober, that his ADHD diagnosis did not excuse his behaviour but had helped him to understand more about his "behavioural issues", and assured his fans that the assault was an isolated incident.[33] He married Ager on 13 July 2021, one year after pleading guilty to assaulting her.[34]

Discography

See also: Kasabian discography

Solo album

  • The Reckoning (2023) (No.17 UK Charts)
  • ‘’Roadrunner’’ (2025)

Singles

  • "Would You Mind" (2021)
  • "Movin' On" / "Out of This World" (2022) (No.100 UK Charts)
  • "Let It Ride" / "Icarus" (2022)
  • "Put Your Foot Down" (2022) (No.37 UK Charts)
  • "Don't Give In" (2023)

References

  1. ^ Garrat, Rob (2 May 2015). "Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan on books, reputations, hotel smashing ... and ET". The National. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Liam Gallagher crowned best frontman". The Daily Telegraph. London. 26 March 2010. Archived from the original on 30 March 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Radio X". Xfm.
  4. ^ "Interview: Interview with Tom Meighan (Velvetreaction.blogspot.com)". kasabiandatabase.blogspot.gr. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Tom Meighan". Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  6. ^ Kasabian on Alan Carr: Chatty Man - Season 13 Episode 1 - 12 Sep 2014. YouTube. 13 September 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021.
  7. ^ [1] [dead link‍]
  8. ^ "Kasabian's Tom Meighan joins anti-orphanage 'End The Silence' campaign and reveals favourite childhood song". NME. 2 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017.
  9. ^ Kasabian biography Archived 2 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine – Absolute Radio
  10. ^ "Kasabian-Nightworkers (Live at Evry France, 2005)". YouTube. 23 May 2008. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  11. ^ "Kasabian: from Leicester squares to rock heavyweights". The Guardian. London. 4 September 2011.
  12. ^ Kasabian - Test Transmission (Benicàssim Festival 2005), 6 October 2011, archived from the original on 19 December 2021, retrieved 26 November 2021
  13. ^ "Dark Horses - Black Music". femalefirst.co.uk. 6 September 2012.
  14. ^ "Jersey Budd talks to Absolute Radio". YouTube. 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  15. ^ "Walk Like A Panther: TV Show". Walklikeapanther.tv. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  16. ^ "An Oscar for Kasabian's Tom Meighan?". Gibson. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  17. ^ a b "Tom Meighan: Kasabian singer admits ex-fiancee assault". 7 July 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  18. ^ @KasabianHQ (6 July 2020). "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" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Reilly, Nick (6 July 2020). "Kasabian confirm departure of singer Tom Meighan after struggling with "personal issues"". NME. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  20. ^ a b Halliday, Josh (7 July 2020). "Former Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan admits assaulting ex-fiancee". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Ex-Kasabian star Tom Meighan planning solo comeback after assault conviction". Metro. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Tom Meighan shares teaser of solo track 'Would You Mind': "Music is my therapy"". NME. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  23. ^ "Kasabian's Tom Meighan: 'The internet has killed rock stars' | News". NME. 20 February 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  24. ^ "The hex factor", Daily Record, 25 November 2009, p. 145
  25. ^ "Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan hits out over X Factor, Simon Cowell and Susan Boyle". Daily Record. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  26. ^ "Kasabian star Tom Meighan donates designer clothes to Oxfam". Metro.co.uk. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  27. ^ "Kasabian's Tom Meighan records new song with Leicester band for charity". NME. 22 September 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  28. ^ "The Who Close TCT Shows With Performance of Quadrophenia «". Powerlinead.wordpress.com. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  29. ^ Martin Pengelly (10 February 2010). "England book Kasabian to reveal new away shirt in Paris". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  30. ^ "Liam Gallagher, Tom Meighan Turn Models". Gigwise. 5 October 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  31. ^ [2] Archived 11 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  32. ^ "Tom Meighan Opens Up About Split From Partner & Death Of "Great Friend"". Radio X. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  33. ^ Harrison, Ellie (7 July 2020). "Tom Meighan: Former Kasabian frontman issues statement after domestic violence conviction". The Independent. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  34. ^ Dosani, Rishma (13 July 2021). "Tom Meighan marries Vikki Ager one year after pleading guilty to assaulting her". Metro. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Meighan