LMPYITP: The Random Passages

Reflective Statement - My Thoughts on Tom Meighan

            I've debated for months on whether or not I should write and post something about this. I wondered if anyone else on here would given there are other fans of Kasabian on here. But so far, nobody has. I think I've stayed quiet long enough, so here it goes. I appreciate you taking the time to read this but please proceed with caution. If anything I've written here offends you, I'm truly sorry.

Back in July of 2020, Tom Meighan, the frontman of Kasabian, was asked to leave the band. The band released a statement saying he was leaving by mutual consent to work on some personal issues. The next day, they released another statement saying he left because of being convicted of assaulting his girlfriend and they couldn't condone his behavior. They also said they had to wait until the court proceedings were over before they could discuss it any further.

Tom received 200 hours of unpaid community service and was later dropped from Kasabian's merchandising and other companies. I believe this means he will no longer receive any royalties from anything the band does.

Him and his girlfriend were interviewed in Cornwall back in December, 2020 to discuss the situation. They both insisted it was a one-off, drunken incident that would never happen again. Tom had said he'd been dealing with alcoholism and ADHD but didn't excuse his behavior.

As a fan of Kasabian, this whole thing was a complete shock to me. When I saw Kasabian's first statement on Facebook, I was so sad to hear Tom was leaving. Then, I became even more sad when I found out the real reason why.

I had a feeling Kasabian were on their way to a hiatus long before this even happened. Ever since Serge became The S.L.P., it just seemed like the whole band had other things to do. They were supposed to do a big concert in Leicester last summer but that of course got cancelled because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Apparently, Tom assaulted his girlfriend back in April, 2020. Her daughter witnessed the whole thing and called the police. It was so disgusting and heartbreaking to read about.

That December, 2020 interview they did was both filmed and written down. The video can be viewed on YouTube. One person commented on the video something along the lines of, "This is what Liam Gallagher would like if he lost everything." There was another comment that compared Tom and Liam too.

Tom said he's working on solo music in Cornwall and is being backed by women who used to work for Creation. His girlfriend (some media outlets refer to her as his ex-fiancée even though they're still together) is sticking by him.

I suppose now I should get to the reason as to why I posted this in The Random Passages instead of somewhere else. This issue has an impact on my fanfiction writing as well as my being a fan of Kasabian. I feel so torn. Should I continue listening to Kasabian? Am I wrong to like their music? Should I keep referencing them in my stories as I see fit given the timelines I'm following?

I sort of grew up with them and have been listening to them since I was in high school. I own all their CDs except 48:13 and For Crying Out Loud. While they aren't as big of a part of my life as Jet and Oasis, they've still been a part of it for all these years since I first discovered them. I wanted to go see them in concert when they came close enough to me but never got the chance.

They've been featured in Jules' story be it as minor characters or references to their music. I planned to include them in Addie's story when the time came as well. Even though my stories are complete works of fiction, I still try to include as many real-life events as I can.

The next story here in The Random Passages will be a story related to Tom's conviction. This impacts Jules just as much as it impacts me even if she doesn't exist in real life. Writing is a creative outlet for me so that's why I'm going to let her do some of the talking for me.

If you decide to read the story, I appreciate you taking the time to do so. If its content offends you in any way, I truly apologize.

Thank you for reading.