It's been a crazy few months for the Kaiser Chiefs, who are having to work very hard to keep up with the "next big thing" hype surrounding the band. Ricky says: "Being back in Leeds is fantastic. Last night I slept in my own bed for the first time in a long time - it was great!" A gig in Leeds may give the band a chance to get back to their own space, but Ricky has realised that even at home it's not possible to escape their newfound fame. "I went round the Co-Op this morning to buy toilet paper and that was really weird, for the first time in my life people were following me around the shop. I got so embarrassed about buying toilet paper in front of a group of girls that I didn't get any." As well as making a huge impression on the UK music scene, the band have been surprised to find that they are managing to break through in the usually tricky US market as well. "We've been really lucky and got playlisted on a station called KROQ in LA" Ricky says. "Usually bands travel around America in order to get on the radio but they took us totally by surprise and started playing our record without us even going there. It was a little bit early for us, even." No matter how far the Kaiser Chiefs go their hearts belong to Leeds, and their music is spreading the word about our city far and wide. Ricky explains the influence of his hometown on their debut album, Employment: "Even the songs that are about girls and relationships are about girls in Leeds, cos I've never really been outside Leeds all my life... There's a lot on there about Leeds - I even mention the Royal Armouries in one song... "It's not a concept album about Leeds, I'm not saying that, but it's about stuff we know and we're from Leeds so it's about Leeds." Listen to the whole interview by clicking on the link on the top right hand side of this page. | 
