'Playing my hometown is special' - Kasabian drummer

The drummer from rock band Kasabian said returning to his hometown to play a gig is "special".

Since joining the band in 2004, Ian Matthews, from Bristol, has recorded eight chart-topping albums and played to fans all around the world.

The five-piece band is currently on tour to support their latest album, Happenings, which reached number one on the Official UK Albums Chart.

They will perform at the O2 Academy in Bristol on Monday night.

The Bristol-born-drummer first met the band in 2001, a year before they were signed.

He played for the first album's demos but parted ways in 2003 to work on his own projects.

A year later, he was invited back as a full-time member as the band were in need of a drummer.

"It's great. We do so many gigs all over the world," he said.

More recently, the band played a secret set at Glastonbury Festival, which drew in a crowd so large that organisers had to restrict access to the Woodsies Stage.

Despite the constantly changing music scene, Kasabian have maintained and expanded upon their loyal following of fans.

Matthews said lead singer Serge Pizzorno was "always hungry to move forward".

"We don't hang about on our laurels - we're constantly trying to evolve.

"Music is a vast enterprise. There's so much you can do with music, the way you can present a song, the flow of the song and the beats you put to that.

"We're not afraid to experiment and it turns out our audience - since day one - has come with us on that ride," he added.

Recently, bass player, Chris Edwards, discovered that the band has played their second single L.S.F. more than 1,000 times.

The song became their first UK Top 10 hit and stayed in the Top 75 for five weeks.

“We’ve got such a back catalogue that we kind of surprise ourselves by dragging out a tune we haven’t played for several years," Matthews said.

“We’ve got plenty to be getting on with and then of course hitting the crowd with their favourites."

He added that each performance is "fresh" and fans can still expect to hear their cult classics, such as L.S.F., Fire and Club Foot.

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