Nick Hodgson always planned Kaiser Chiefs exit before 35th birthday


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Former Kaiser Chiefs drummer Nick Hodgson has said he always planned to leave the band by the age of 35 and concentrate instead on studio work.

Speaking to NME, Hodgson explained how his departure from the Leeds band, which was publicly confirmed last year, had been planned for some time as he looked to embark on a more substantial role behind the scenes.

“I’d always thought I’d do it,” he says. “I like studios a lot, I like producing, I like finding bands, I like working with bands, I like writing songs. And now I can do them all. It’s been 10 years on the road. When I was a kid I reckoned I’d love to be a drummer in a band, and then a record guy.”

“I’d said a year ago that this was what I wanted to do, and that was it really. No-one was surprised, we’d talked about it for a year and everyone was happy. I feel good and I’d like to think they do to. It was obvious really, because they know I love the studio and I love writing and I’m not mad about touring. I loved touring at some point, but I didn’t love it all the time and I didn’t love it as much as everyone else.”

Since leaving the Kaiser Chiefs, Hodgson has set up the Birthday Records label, and now concentrates on full-time producing and songwriting duties at his own East London studios.


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