Former Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan has arrived at court today charged with beating his former fiancee Vikki Ager.
The rock star, 39, appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court accused of assault by beating on April 9 this year.
He quit the band yesterday, with it releasing a statement saying he was dealing with ‘personal issues’ and wanted to concentrate on ‘getting his life back on track’.
Former Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan has arrived at court today (pictured) charged with beating his former fiancee Vikki Ager
The rock singer, 39, appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court accused of assault by beating on April 9 this year
Kasabian’s official account posted: ‘Tom Meighan is stepping down from Kasabian 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. We will not be commenting further.’
Meighan later wrote on his page: ‘Following today’s announcement I just wanted to let you all know that I am doing well.
‘I’m in a really good place now. Thanks for all your love and support. I’ll be seeing you all very soon. TM x.’
Ms Ager is Meighan’s former fiancee, with the rocker revealing they were engaged in 2017.
He told Clash magazine ‘I’ve just got engaged so there you go! A lot has happened this year… trust me, man, f**king hell!’
Meighan previously told Radio X he experienced a meltdown in 2016 after he split from girlfriend Kim James, with whom he has daughter Mimi, now six.
Referencing his local team Leicester City’s shock Premier League title win that same year, Meighan said: ‘Basically my life changed. I’m by myself. Because I lost myself.
The band have been together since 1997 and are most famous for songs such as Fire, Processed Beat and Club Foot (pictured in 2018)
‘In every way 2016 was great for Serge, great for Leicester City, s*** for me. I had to sort my head out. My attitude. Stuff I was doing. People I was associating with. Not bad people.
‘I was the one that was bad, I was in the haze. I was very unhappy, just down. You block it out by just carrying on. I was making myself ill, I ain’t gonna lie, my mind was jolted.’
He added he was not taking responsibility for what he was going through, calling the experience ‘horrendous.’
This year Kasabian was due to play a massive homecoming concert at Leicester’s Victoria Park on June 20, but had to cancel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
All change: This year, Kasabian were due to play a homecoming concert at Leicester’s Victoria Park on June 20, but they had to cancel the event due to the pandemic (pictured in 2018)
In 2018, band member Serge Pizzorno, (right), released his debut solo album under the name S.L.P. (Sergio Lorenzo Pizzorno)
With their live plans halted, Meighan revealed the band had been writing tracks for a seventh studio album – their first since 2017’s For Crying Out Loud – and he had been penning some ‘autobiographical’ solo songs in lockdown.
He recently told Sky News: ‘We’re going to try and make a new record as soon as we can but we can’t really do anything while we’re restricted. Serge has been writing songs for Kasabian so it’s all good.’
Discussing his own solo plans, Meighan added: ‘I’m writing loads of music at the minute.
‘We’ll see what happens. I’ve got a few cookies in the jar… and they’re not bad, you know.
‘It’s very autobiographical, like the story of my life. It’s kind of… heartbreaking. Well, not heartbreaking, just to the core, you know. Very real.’
Kasabian confirmed yesterday lead singer Tom had quit the band and said ‘personal issues have affected his behaviour for some time’ (pictured in 2017)
Kasabian has been together since 1997 and earned huge success with songs such as Fire, Processed Beat and Club Foot.
In 2018, band member Serge Pizzorno released his debut solo album under the name S.L.P. (Sergio Lorenzo Pizzorno).
He told the Sun at the time the band had no plans to go their separate ways, adding: ‘I am in my band and I love my band.
‘The best way to describe it is, it’s like another planet I can now visit whenever I want. It’s this planet that orbits and I can go there for a bit.’
Kasabian took a break following their 2017 For Crying Out Loud tour.
Pizzorno said: ‘When you get to six albums, you’ve got to keep it clever and make it interesting. Kasabian have had six albums — five No1 albums in a row.
‘We’ve headlined Glastonbury, Leicester Stadium, The O2 and got really big in Europe, Eastern Europe and South America.’
Meighan’s departure leaves guitarist Pizzorno and bassist Chris Edwards as the only remaining founding members, with drummer Ian Matthews joining in 2004.
It is not clear whether Kasabian will seek to replace Meighan as lead vocalist.