Kasabian’s Tom Meighan speaks out on assault charge and exit from with band
Former Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan has spoken out for the first time about the assault conviction which resulted in his departure from the band earlier this year.
Meighan parted ways with the Leicester group back in July in order to “concentrate all his energies on getting his life back on track”, before appearing at Leicester Magistrates Court to face a charge of assault against his partner Vikki Ager.
He pleaded guilty and was subsequently sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work. Ager hit her head on a hamster cage after being thrown across a room by the singer, who had also threatened to hit her with a wooden pallet. The couple have now relocated to Cornwall.
In a new interview with CornwallLive, Ager and Meighan described the incident as a “one-off” and a “drunken squabble” – with the singer apologising once more.
“We had too much to drink,” said Meighan. “I regret everything that happened that night – what I can remember of it. I don’t condone it – it’s horrific. I love my partner to pieces.”
He continued: “I was at a boiling point in my life – I didn’t know where things were heading. I was drowning myself with drink because of my problems and things going on around me. We had a fight and I took the brunt for it. I was fully responsible for what happened but we love each other and we’re getting over it.”
Ager told the publication it was a “one-off” incident and claimed Meighan had never previously expressed violence. The singer admitted that the incident must have been “heartbreaking” for his Kasabian bandmates, but says he is now focusing on recording a solo album.
He is now being represented by Coalition Music Alliance, ahead of the record’s planned release.
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“I can’t say if the band will ever get back together again,” Meighan added. “It’s raw – it’s like a wounded animal, it’s infected but the infection’s dying out now. I spent my life with them … and it must be heartbreaking for them as well to have seen me like that.”
In October, it was also reported that Meighan has been removed from the companies that handle Kasabian’s live shows and merchandise sales, meaning that he won’t receive a share of the future profits from either.
After Kasabian initially announced that Meighan would be stepping down as frontman “by mutual consent”, the band then issued a second statement in which they elaborated on Meighan’s exit after the court case had closed.
“There is absolutely no way we can condone his assault conviction,” they wrote, and were therefore “left with no choice but to ask Tom to leave the band”.
For help, support and advice regarding domestic abuse, visit Refuge here or call the freephone, 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.