Kaiser Chiefs have reflected on Marcelo Bielsa’s exit from Leeds United and how sad it made the band.
The group, known arguably as Leeds United’s most famous fans, spoke to LeedsLive to mark the announcement of the upcoming arena tour which will see Kaiser Chiefs take to the stage at Leeds First Direct Arena in November. Of course, no catch up with the Kaisers could be complete without a brief Leeds United health check.
As we all know, Argentine Marcelo Bielsa, 64, left his role with the Whites at the end of February after Leeds dropped towards the top flight’s relegation zone. A move that brought great distress to many of the club’s supporters with Jesse Marsch taking charge.
Of course, Bielsa ended Leeds United’s Premier League exile. Something many fans will never forget - the Kaiser Chiefs certainly won’t.
Bass player Simon Rix said: “I’m sad. I think Leeds will be fine and I think it would have been fine anyways. I think it is sad because he’s a real iconic person and made Leeds United a special club. We played football differently and the morals were different. It is a shame, all good things have to end though.”
There’s a huge affinity between Kaiser Chiefs and their football club. Of course, the band’s name is inspired by Whites icon Lucas Radebe and his former club Kaizer Chiefs. Back in 2019, the band headlined a packed day of music performing to over 16,000 people at Elland Road to celebrate Leeds United’s centenary.
This is a memory that holds a special place in the musicians’ hearts. It saw football icon, and former Whites star, Chris Kamara introduced Kaiser Chiefs to the stage.
Bass player Simon said: “That show feels so long ago, like it was 10-years-ago, but I always think that show was really weird. We planned that show as a celebration of Leeds United and our album was going to be out - so it felt like a moment of celebration.
“What actually happened was Leeds didn’t get promoted and our album (Duck) didn’t come out until September. There was a brief ‘what’s the point of this gig?’ which then became obvious.
“The point was to cheer everybody up. We got on stage and it felt amazing. It was a celebration of Leeds and that triumph over adversity with everyone being a bit upset about not getting promoted.”
The centenary concert came not long after Leeds United’s painful Championship play-off defeat to Derby County. Thankfully, Bielsa led the Whites to promotion the following season.
Dates
If you’d love to see Kaiser Chiefs on tour then they are playing lots of UK venues later this year. As well as Leeds, you’ll be able to see them play in Birmingham, Glasgow and Liverpool among other locations.
Fans look set to enjoy sets filled with class songs and the band are currently also working on new material. You can see the full list of tour dates below:
- Swansea Arena - November 2
- Cardiff Motorpoint Arena - November 3
- The O2, London - November 5
- Newcastle O2 City Hall - November 7
- Hull Bonus Arena - November 8
- Liverpool M&S Bank Arena - November 10
- Glasgow OVO Hydro - November 11
- Leeds First Direct Arena - November 12
- Brighton Centre - November 14
- Plymouth Pavilions - November 15
- Bournemouth International Centre - November 17
- Birmingham Utilita Arena - November 18
- Nottingham Motorpoint Arena - November 19
Tickets
If you want to see Kaiser Chiefs on tour tickets then you’ll be able to get your hands on tickets soon. You can buy them from 9am on Friday, March 25.
You’ll be able to get tickets from Gigs and Tours as well as Ticketmaster. You can visit our What’s On homepage for the latest big gig news.
