KASABIAN FRONTMAN Tom Meighan has quit the band with immediate effect.
The 39-year-old singer is taking time out away from music to address “personal issues”.
A statement from the band read: “Kasabian have announced today that Tom Meighan is stepping down from the band 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.”
The rest of the band are refusing to be drawn on the circumstances around his departure or whether Kasabian will continue to perform together in his absence.
“We will not be commenting further,” the band’s statement concluded.
Meighan is one of the founding members and lead vocalist of Kasabian, who were first formed in Leicester back in 1997.
He started the band alongside guitarist and vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards.
Drummer Ian Matthews joined the group in 2004 with Edwards departing soon after.
They hit the big time that year with the eponymous debut album Kasabian, which featured breakout hits like Club Foot, Processed Beats and L.S.F.
The band went on to achieve sustained success with a further five studio albums including Empire (2006), West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (2009), Velociraptor! (2011) and 48:13 (2014).
Their most recent effort For Crying Out Loud (2017) received favourable reviews and marked the band’s fifth consecutive number-one album with the group showing little sign of fatigue.
Born in Blaby, Leicestershire, Meighan boasts Irish heritage on his dad’s side of the family.
“I'm half-Irish,” he told entertainment.ie back in 2013.
“My granddad emigrated [from Ireland] in the 1950's. My dad was born in England but his parents were both Irish, which makes him a Plastic Paddy!
“Unfortunately, I never got to meet my grandparents because they died when my dad was really young. My dad's called Thomas John James Patrick Meighan.”
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