26.06.2026
There was a time when the announcement of Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan playing a 200-capacity London pub would have had fans queuing around the block for a chance to witness such an intimate show. Now the band’s former frontman, Meighan’s return to the capital was met not with unbridled excitement, but with a degree of controversy.
Despite a local MP’s attempt to have the show cancelled amid renewed backlash over events from more than half a decade ago, Meighan’s loyal following sold out the 200-capacity venue well in advance. Both the venue and promoter stood firmly (excuse the pun) by his side. It seems, then, that Meighan has had almost everything stacked against him in his pursuit of redemption and a second chance.
None of it did anything to dampen Meighan’s spirit on the night. Opening with solo single Shout It Out, he immediately justified the decision, delivering a performance worthy of kicking off a set packed with some of the greatest British rock songs of the past two decades.
The band then exploded into Underdog, a track that is distinctively Meighan. You are suddenly zapped back to 2009 and forcefully reminded of how he made such a prominent mark on Kasabian’s sound.
Don’t Give in, arguably the strongest of his solo output, was delivered with chaotic passion that’s distinctively Meighan. The band had no intention of taking their feet off the pedal (excuse pun again) and smashed into Ill Ray (The King), West Ryder’s Where Did All The Love Go and Kasabian no.1 single Empire.
It’s hard to contain a mosh pit in a room this small when the opening bass riff of Shoot the Runner kicks in and why would you want to? Meighan and co. had no intention of slowing the sweaty, swirling chaos unfolding in front of them.
Solo cuts White Lies and Exorcist more than held their own, sitting comfortably between the Kasabian anthems that helped shape the landscape of British rock.
Initially, it could be very easy to take for granted that every loyal Kasabian fan in that room on that night had witnessed one of the greatest frontmen of the twenty first Century perform timeless ballads that he originally sang. It wasn’t until tracks like Fire, Club Foot, Empire and L.S.F, were thrust upon you, with a handful of truly dedicated Kasabian fans, that you realised what an emotional spectacle it was.
More than half a decade on, the controversy surrounding Meighan still lingers, and for some there remains a stigma attached to attending one of his shows. Yet that only reinforced the feeling that everyone in the room was there for one reason, the music. Nothing else mattered.
Review and Photography by Luke Stanley