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United States Ricky Wilson talks being recognised on Tube and why he can’t turn back on fame as he releases new album...
WITH seven studio records under his belt as the frontman of indie rockers Kaiser Chiefs, you’d forgive Ricky Wilson for having a bit of a swagger.
But when he dropped by Bizarre HQ yesterday to celebrate the release of the group’s Easy Eighth album, out today, he couldn’t have been more grounded.
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In fact, Ricky seems so content with his life now, juggling his Virgin Radio Drivetime show with being a dad of two, he admits getting back into his groove took a little encouragement and the help of Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Rudimental’s Amir Amor, who worked with the group to create the ten-song record.
“I’m confident but I can’t back it up,” Ricky admits.
“Amir is confident and he can back it up.
“Working with him was incredible because he was enthusiastic about our band and what we can achieve.
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“It’s not that I wasn’t excited about making the album. It’s just that I’m not 20 years old any more and, it sounds bad, but it’s not my main priority because I’ve got kids.
Inner ego
“But then you think, ‘My kids are my number one priority, so I should probably provide for them’.
“And the only way I know how to provide for them is by making records.”
While he is a natural performer, who in conversation is dry and witty, Ricky can see both sides of the coin when it comes to fame.
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And although he isn’t the most forthcoming frontman, Ricky admits the fame, with all its spoils, would be hard to turn his back on.
“I can shop anywhere without people coming up to me, no one recognises me on the street,” Ricky says, before adding sarcastically: “I would wear my Virgin Radio pass on the Tube just to be recognised.”
Seriously he adds: “You are as famous as you want to be, to an extent.
“There is an element of fame which is quite satisfying to your inner ego.
“But the older and wiser you get, I don’t think you need that as much.
“If I won the EuroMillions would I just disappear? I’ve thought about it a lot and I don’t think I would.
“I would still want to be on the radio and I would still want to do stuff in my career.
“In a way does that mean it is about the fame and not the money? I like the bits when I am entertaining people.”
The group’s fans will be impressed with the record with, I think, killer lead track Feeling Alright and The Job Centre Shuffle nailed on to become firm favourites.
Ricky’s twins, who will turn two this year, and his wife, stylist Grace Zito, are undecided.
He said: “Grace put a couple of videos on YouTube the other day on the TV.
“The boy likes it and the girl just does this, ‘No, no, no’, until we turn it off.
“Grace is the outgoing one. I’m not shy but I can’t be bothered. I only do it if I’m getting paid and my kids don’t pay me enough to entertain them.
“When they start making me some money, then I’ll start giving them entertainment.”
The Kaisers will head out on tour in April, playing seven dates across the country. Five of the shows have sold out and tickets for the remaining ones are going fast.
Ricky says of hitting the road with bandmates Andrew White, Simon Rix, Nick Baines and Vijay Mistry: “It’s always fun and I don’t laugh as much when I’m not with them.
“When I was younger I used to get really excited about going on tour but then I’d hate it when I was there. I hated it.
“It was hard work, I was tired and it was awful.
“Now I’m older, I really dread going on tour but love it when I get there.”
Ricky now prefers to stay sober before going on stage after admitting he let down fans in 2022 when he went on stage at the O2 Academy in Leeds after drinking too much.
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Ricky said: “I have always been a nervy guy and sometimes you make bad decisions.
“It is a very easy way out of a hard situation. It always had bad consequences.
“I would love to say it won’t happen again. The fact of the matter is I am in a band and we go on tour.
“I really have a fear of disappointing people and that was really s****y when I disappointed people.
“But you know things happen in people’s lives, they mess up.
“I have also never put myself out there as being perfect so I don’t think it really matters.”
I couldn’t agree more, Ricky.
Wedding four days of fun
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THEIR wedding was a small affair thanks to the pandemic, with Ricky and Grace saying, “I do” in front of 20 close family and friends back in 2021.
But last summer the Every Day I Love You Less And Less singer threw a massive party at his pal’s hotel in Somerset, The Pig, to make up for it.
Speaking about the bash for the first time, Ricky said: “It was like four days of fun.
“[The wedding] was during the arse end of Covid and we could only have a few people so we did that: official. Then we could have kids – good Catholic girl.
“Then we had the kids and then we had another wedding and the kids could come to that one.
“It was an incredible wedding and I can’t imagine it being any better.
“Everyone went away having a good time. Even I had a good time and I wasn’t getting paid – I was paying.
“And we had the best wedding band I’ve ever heard.
“Everyone kept saying, ‘Are you going to play?’ No. I’m not going to play at my wife’s wedding.
“And you know what? It was my wife’s wedding but I did get to invite some people.
“We had Function Band. I think we should have them on tour as our support act because they’re incredible.”
RICKY'S ROWS
We might like Ricky, but it turns out not everyone is a fan.
Ricky has had his fair share of showbiz beefs…
Liam Gallagher called Ricky a “naff c**t” in 2019.
Ricky says: “He did? I don’t mind naff, I am a bit naff. I love Liam I think he is the most hilarious man in rock. Long may he reign.”
It’s claimed Will.i.am and Ricky didn’t get on when filming The Voice in 2016 – with producers keeping them apart.
Ricky says: “I don’t think Will.i.am remembers who I am, so that is fine.”
Boris Johnson branded the Kaiser Chiefs “weeds from Leeds”.
Ricky says: “He didn’t like us, I don’t know why. I did meet him once at some traffic lights. He was on a bike. “He bitches about us when he can. He keeps having a go. Just calm down Boris.”
The frontman was overheard branding Olly Murs a “c**t” at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2017.
Ricky says: “That was a bit of fun. I like Olly. My house key ring is in one of his music videos as my wife worked on it and they used it as a prop in the door. I don’t mind him at all. I think he is a brilliant pop star and we need more Olly Murs.”
Girls show their Pride
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GIRLS ALOUD looked like the cats that got the cream as they were announced as headliners for Brighton Pride.
Nicola Roberts, Cheryl Tweedy, Kimberely Walsh and Nadine Colyle posed in these skin-tight outfits as it was revealed they will top the bill at Preston Park.
They will be following in the footsteps of stars like Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue and Christina Aguilera.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Billy Porter are among the acts who will join the reunited girl group at this year's event on August 3.
It will follow their hugely lucrative comeback tour, which kicks off in Dublin on May 17 and will continue through to Liverpool on June 30.
St Vincent Grohls with it
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ST VINCENT is back with her seventh album and it features some of the biggest names in music, including Foo Fighters legend Dave Grohl.
In London yesterday, at an exclusive playback of All Born Screaming, out April 26, St Vincent said: “I met him in 2014 when I helped induct Nirvana into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“He is the best and we have been buddies ever since. He is the coolest.
“In the studio I’ve never seen a man drink so much coffee and espresso, who doesn’t have a heart explosion.”
Dave appears on two tracks on the record, which St Vincent said is a mixture of darkness and light.
She added: “There are some places, emotionally, that you can only get to by taking the long walk into the woods alone — to find out what your heart is really saying. It sounds real because it is real.”
Katy's poor start
KATY PERRY has revealed her family relied on food banks when she was younger.
The Roar singer, now worth £270million, said: “You want to talk about food stamps? I can talk about food stamps. You want to talk about food banks? I can talk about food banks.
“You want to talk about busking in the street as a teenager, hoping to make $20, I can talk about that too.” She made the comments while promoting her Firework Foundation, which she launched with her older sister Angela Lerche in 2018 to help kids in under-served communities get into the arts.
She told People magazine: “If in a hundred years nobody knows Katy Perry, but they know what the Firework Foundation is, then I’ll have fulfilled my purpose.”
THE MTV Europe Music Awards are finally coming back to the UK.
The annual awards ceremony will be held at the soon-to-be-opened Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester on November 10 and I’m expecting a pretty star-studded guest list.
They were last here in 2017.
There was another exciting announcement yesterday too, as it was revealed Stevie Nicks will headline London’s BST Hyde Park on July 12.
Ed's treat is from the art
THE way someone treats their parents is a strong indicator of how they are as a person, so I know Ed Sheeran is a good egg.
His dad John, a retired art curator, has revealed the Bad Habits singer hired the entire Louvre museum in Paris for an “unforgettable experience” with the pop star’s mum Imogen.
John said the treat, following Ed’s performance at the Global Citizen Live charity concert in 2021 , was “the only time I’ve been able to study the Mona Lisa without the crowds.”
He explained: “Imogen and I went to see Edward perform in front of the Eiffel Tower.
“He then surprised us on Sunday evening by taking us with his wife Cherry to the Louvre.
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“I think it was his way of saying thank you to us.”
What a ledge.
