Kasabian are cooking up a special surprise for their headlining stint at Concert in the Gardens – but the cheeky scamps won't tell.
"It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you what it is," says frontman Tom Meighan, and it's hard to argue.
Still, no harm in a little probing, so when it's put to the singer that the Leicester band could be joined on stage by none other than their pal Noel Gallagher from Oasis, he's visibly taken aback.
"Oh man, where did you hear that?" he laughs, firing the question straight back.
"Nah, seriously, who told you that?"
When Meighan is informed that a little birdy told us, he makes a not-very-convincing job of playing down said speculation.
"That's bull****, man," he begins earnestly, before saying, "No man, I don't know anything about it."
Then he adds: "I don't want to say too much about anything but . . . no man."
It was Meighan's bandmate, rakish guitarist Sergio Pizzorno, who set the rumour mill in motion, teasing, "Since we are headlining it, we have planned a surprise.
"I can't tell you what it is because it's one of those things that if it does not happen, then it will still be a great gig.
"But if we do pull it off it will be the greatest New Year throughout the whole world – I promise."
Back to Meighan, whose resistance to the rumour is wearing down. He says: "Oh man, right, all I'm saying is there's a very strong possibility of . . . Oh man, listen, if we can pull it off, let's just say that it's gonna be a corking Hogmanay.
"It's going to be awesome whatever happens, I can tell you that much," he adds.
This is the most forthcoming 26-year-old Meighan has been on the subject of Gallagher's possible cameo and, to be fair, it's not as if Kasabian aren't capable of providing their own fireworks on stage.
Leicester's biggest musical export since Engelbert Humperdinck, the band have visited the Capital on two previous occasions, and both resulted in bristling performances.
The band's two principal members, Meighan and Pizzorno (the others are Chris Edwards and Ian Matthews) met in Leicester, aged 11. The year was 1993 and Oasis ruled the airwaves.
Fast forward a few years and the lads set out to emulate their heroes, holing themselves up at a now-mythical farm where they "arrived for a party and never got around to leaving".
It was there they recorded their eponymous debut album, a release which may have bypassed most critics but connected dramatically with an audience that recognised them as one of their own – just as Oasis had done with Meighan and Pizzorno in 1993.
The band sold an impressive 700,000 copies of their first album in the UK alone, and went on to become the undisputed victors of the festival circuit, putting on sizzling performances at T in the Park, Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds.
But if their debut album announced their arrival then it was the follow-up effort, Empire, which put the band in the big league, shooting into the charts at Number 4, and going on to win a wedge of awards.
Like idols Oasis, Kasabian have since gained a huge and fiercely loyal following, and those who witness their show at Concert in the Gardens will be happy with what they get.
After all, this is the band who took home the Best Live Act award at the 2007 NME Awards.
"We were delighted when we were asked to play the Edinburgh Hogmanay gig," says Meighan, who adds the band didn't have to think twice before accepting the invitation.
"It's like, what else would we be doing on New Year's Eve anyway? Sitting at home in front of the telly watching Jools Holland and watching Big Ben, waiting for the bells. And then what? Phoning about 200 relatives and telling them how much you love them?
"Nah, we're coming up there and it's gonna be mental.
"Edinburgh's up there with New York and the rest of 'em for New Year's Eve, and we've heard it's the best Hogmanay party in the world.
"We've never been to the Edinburgh Hogmanay Party but we've seen it on telly and we can't wait for it. It's gonna be awesome. We're going to f****** rock that place."
After next week's gig it's back to the recording studio for the band, who aim to put out album number three in the summer.
"We're recording the third album just now on the outskirts of Leicester," explains Meighan. "We've got this little studio set up and it's like the Batcave – it's hidden away and no-one can find it.
"We did an EP a while back and it's along similar lines to that. We put a few right good demos down and it's sounding great.
"We'll get back in there at the beginning of January and hopefully it will be ready for release in the summer."
Asked what sort of year 2007 has been for the band, Meighan answers in his customary amusing manner. "Effin' mental, man," he laughs.
"It's been another mental year for us. Man, this was supposed to be a year when we took it a bit easier and it's been full f****** on. We've played about 85 gigs already, ridiculous, man, and next year we'll probably play about 800 more.
"We played two gigs in Brazil 'cos we've got a lot of fans there. Man, the place is horrible, horrible. Horrible man, it's completely poverty stricken and it wasn't a nice place to go."
Switching the subject back to Edinburgh and Pizzorno says he too can't wait to get up on the stage at Princes Street Gardens. "Playing there is going to be phenomenal," he smiles.
"I am really looking forward to it and now I couldn't imagine being anywhere else."
He adds: "Like I said, Edinburgh is well renowned for being the place to be on New Year's Eve. I've never been there to celebrate it but I've always wanted to.
"I've seen it on the telly and it looks fantastic – all the people on the streets going mental."
Getting the last word in, Meighan revels in telling of the band's plans for after the gig.
"Just get right in the middle of it and join in with all those mental Scots," he says.
"Yeah, I reckon we'll pull off a stormer of a gig and, as we come off stage about five minutes before the countdown to the bells, we can then just get right in there amongst it all. We're gonna 'ave it."
Kasabian headline the Concert in the Gardens on Hogmanay
Source: www.scotsman.com
