- Coldplay are one of the biggest groups in the world, but I still consider them an alternative band.
- It's nice to make a bit of room on Saturday-night TV for alternative acts like myself.
- [2011] If I smoked cigarettes I'd probably have one now.
- [2005] The verses [of "Oh My God"] are about the fact that we've been playing together for such a long time and people think, 'What's he doing? He's still trying to make a career out of music? It'll never work. One in a million people do it.' But we still had the opinion that we were five of the people in a million, so we carried on.
- [2005] [Elvis Costello once said one of his driving motives was revenge. Would Kaiser Chiefs say the same?] Er, yeah. [laughs] It wasn't just to prove it to ourselves, it's because you're making huge claims about what you're going to achieve in life in front of everyone and if you don't actually do it, it means you're a failure, aren't you? I do get some satisfaction from thinking there are certain people who are really annoyed by our success.
- [2005] A&R men see human ages as dog years. If you're past 25, you're dead.
- [2005] There are A&R men who turned us down sitting in meetings now going, 'We need a Kaiser Chiefs'. And there'll be bands out there going Ohhhhhhhhh and repeating one line four times in the chorus. [Interviewer: You've given away the secret now.] [Ricky grins] It's no secret.
- [2005] When there's five of us doing interviews abroad, they act really worried. 'Are you guys drunk?' No we're not drunk, we're just having a really good time.
- [2005] She takes every single opportunity to tell people she's my mum. She'll say, 'A woman came into the shop the other day and the subject of the Kaiser Chiefs came up.' [He pulls a dubious face.] How did that subject come up?
- [2005] Me and Nick have both got the same idea about free clothes. If we go somewhere and they say, 'Do you want some trainers?', we say, 'Bring us the stupidest pair of trainers you've got.'
- [2005] [Until recently, he used to throw up before every gig: it's called an intestinal migraine, apparently.] Then at Glastonbury I felt like we were good and I didn't need to be nervous any more.
- [2005] I was the kind of kid that called the art teacher by his first name. I always wanted to be in the plays but never got the big parts.
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