The Leicester-raised musician on avoiding ‘nasty lads’, the power of putting on costumes and his anguish at having to sack the band’s frontman

Born in Salford in 1980 and raised in Leicester, Serge Pizzorno is the co-founder and songwriter of Kasabian. Its four members met at school in the 90s. Inspired by Britpop and rave, they signed to Sony in the early 00s and released a string of hits including LSF, Club Foot and Fire, scoring six UK No 1 albums and headlining stadiums. In 2020, Kasabian announced it had asked singer Tom Meighan to leave the band before his conviction for assault against his partner Vikki Ager. Pizzorno now fronts the band. Their eighth album, Happenings, is released on 5 July, with a hometown show in Victoria Park on 6 July.

This is me in Victoria Park in Leicester. I was a curious, quiet and thoughtful three-year-old, and I loved that jumper. I suppose the colours are like the Italian flag – my dad was from Genoa and he was keen his heritage was passed on to the next generation.