THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

464-Kaiser Chiefs-I Predict a Riot.

2004-Number 22 single. When it was re-issued in 2005 it peaked at Number 9.

Best Bit-At 2.17. The best song in the world ever to include Yorkshire Dialect, since ‘On Ilkla Moor Baht ‘at.’

It pains me to say it, being born and bred myself in Leeds, but when it comes to producing the successfully elite musicians, and the very best songs, we as a city sadly lack a long way behind the likes of Liverpool and Manchester, and the question is, why?

The Kaiser Chiefs were formed in Leeds, England, in 1996 by Ricky Wilson, (vocals) Andrew White, (guitar) Simon Rix, (bass) Nick Baines, (keyboards) and Nick Hodgson, (drums) Hodgson left the band in 2012 and was replaced by Vijay Mistry, (drums) and at the time of writing they remain active. At the time of their formation they called themselves ‘Runston Parva,’ a deliberate misspelling of a small East Yorkshire hamlet called ‘Ruston Parva.’ After ‘Runston Parva’ failed to secure a record deal, the group re-formed as ‘Parva,’ in 2000. They were signed by the ‘Beggars Banquet’ record label, but after the release of their debut Album ’22,’ and their first three singles they were dropped by the label. Realising that no label would sign a band who had already failed commercially, they decided to start afresh, changing their sound, and their look, and their stage name to the ‘Kaiser Chiefs,’ in honour of the former Leeds United footballer Lucas Radebe, who had played previously for the ‘Kaiser Chiefs Football Club’ in South Africa.

The discography of the Kaiser Chiefs includes eight studio Albums released between 2005-2024, and 33 singles released between 2004-2024, there is also one extended play (EP) ‘Lap of Honour,’ released in 2005, and one official compilation Album, ‘Souvenir: The Singles 2004–2012,’ which was released in 2012. All eight studio Albums have reached the UK top 10, with two of those Albums, ‘Yours Truly, Angry Mob,’ (2007) and ‘Education, Education, Education & War,’ (2014) both reaching the Number 1 spot. Nine of their singles have made the UK top 40, with ‘Ruby,’ from 2007 reaching Number 1. In America they have met with limited success, with only ‘I Predict a Riot,’ (2004-Number 34) and ‘Ruby,’ (2007-Number 14) making the ‘Billboard Alternative Airplay’ top 40 chart.

‘I Predict a Riot’ was the second of five singles released from the Kaiser Chief’s debut studio Album ‘Employment,’ from March 2005, the song was co-written by all five group members at that time, with the production being by Stephen Street (see also best songs 940-595-256 and 21.) According to the Kaiser Chief’s manager James Sandom, the Album was recorded in a rush because the band were under very tight time constraints and touring at the time. As a result, they did not have enough time to get to know Stephen Street and relax in his company.

‘I Predict a Riot’ tell of the perils of being on the streets of Leeds at ‘chucking out time’ at night, from the pubs and clubs, although it could apply to any big city. Nick Hodgson had the original idea for the song, and has said, ‘I used to DJ with my friend Nick at the Cockpit in Leeds. We’d drive home past a big nightclub and there were always lots of police and people fighting. I went home and wrote the riff on the piano and started singing some words. It says: ‘A friend of a friend, he got beaten.’ That was a friend of Nick the DJ. At our club night, Pigs, we had a band on, Black Wire. They were going mad and so were the crowd. You could see the bouncers moving in and I said to the club’s boss, ‘I predict a riot.’ The structure was there, then everyone invented their own parts. The groups lead singer Ricky Wilson who contributed to the song has said, ‘The only way to write a universal song is to not try to write a universal song: It’s weird because people get it when you write personally. If we’d have tried to write a song about being at a club and having a time, it wouldn’t work because it wouldn’t be us. So, we’ve gone back to that on this record, which is don’t worry about the outside world; be yourself, and the rest will fall into place.’

The lyrics to ‘I Predict a Riot’ mention ‘John Smeaton,’ (1724-1792) who was a very successful civil engineer, and a son of Leeds. The song also makes reference to an ‘Old Leodensian,’ which is a former pupil of ‘Leeds Grammar School,’ which Smeaton, and Ricky Wilson both had been. At ‘Elland Road,’ the home of Leeds United football club, the song continues to grow as an anthem, and is played regularly after the football team wins a game.The song thrives on it’s Yorkshire heritage, with the use of pronouns such as ‘thee’ and ‘thou,’ words that are still in use to some extent in areas of Yorkshire to this day.

‘Watching the people get lairy, is not very pretty I tell thee. Walking through town is quite scary and not very sensible either.’