Q&A

Simon Amstell: Ricky from Kaiser Chiefs, hi, how are you?
Ricky Wilson: Very good, thanks, a bit tired. We flew back from Tokyo yesterday.

SA: You've got quite a pink face, why is that?
RW: I've got a hereditary skin disorder called rosacea.

SA: [aghast] I am so sorry ...
RW: It's all right, you weren't to know. It's the first time I've mentioned it in an interview.

SA: A skin disorder exclusive in OMM! Do you use cream?
RW: I've tried many creams and potions, but they give me spots.

SA: Are you cleansing and moisturising?
RW: Yes, but I've given up on trying to look good. My girlfriend, Fleur, sometimes worries that I might be tempted by another lady on tour, but I always reassure her by saying 'you know what I look like on stage. I smell, I'm sweaty, I'm red in the face. Would you get off with that?'

SA: Well, she did at some point. Where did you meet her?
RW: I was her boss in a bar and used dirty tactics. I'd put us on the rota together and at the end of the night I'd say 'Would you like a drink?' while she was waiting for a taxi. I'd pretend to call a cab and when it didn't arrive I'd be like, 'This taxi firm, I'm not happy, I'm never going to use them again'. I confessed after we slept together months later, but she said she knew all along.

SA: What other jobs did you do before Kaiser Chiefs?
RW: I've always been in a band. But I was also an art lecturer at Leeds College of Art and Design. I did it for a year, a couple of times a week, and I don't think I was the best art teacher in the world.

SA: What was your specialist art skill?
RW: Colouring in.

SA: You're actually signed to a proper indie label, aren't you?
RW: We're distributed by Virgin, but we're signed to B-Unique. They've been fantastic. There's only three people at the label as well, and there's five of us, so we could probably have 'em in a fight.

SA: Last time we spoke, you said you weren't trying to break America, but to bend it slightly. How much did it bend?
RW: It's like a shatter-proof ruler. Remember at school when you started bending one and it went white in the middle before it cracked? I think we're at the stage where it's going a bit white.

SA: You were the only English band to play the US leg of Live8. How was that?
RW: I can't remember much about it. I was really nervous.

SA: Your debut album, Employment, is the bookies' favourite to win the Mercury Music Prize. Which is nice ...
RW: What I like about the Mercury is that it has nothing to do with 'best photo shoot' or 'nicest video'; it's based purely on the music. I really want to win ... Music is a competition.

SA: After Employment, what will you call your second album?
RW: We thought about Retirement, but that would leave us open to a lot of bad jokes. We were only going to do two albums, but now we're having such a good time, maybe we'll do another.

SA: Would you go solo?
RW: We'll do five solo albums.

SA: What do your parents think of all this?
RW: They're enjoying it more than me! My mum works in a ladies' outfitters in Harrogate and she'll ring me up and go, 'I was speaking to a woman the other day, and Kaiser Chiefs came up.' Really? So how did it come up, mum? 'Well, we might have been playing your CD. I might have been wearing a T-shirt.' I'm, like, 'Mum, you said to her: "Have you heard of Kaiser Chiefs?"'

SA: Do you like fame?
RW: Yes, but it's funny. Kaiser Chiefs are famous, but as individuals I don't think we're that famous.

SA: Are you sleeping well?
RW: Yes, like a baby. Although I've started dreaming about heights, and now when I'm awake I'm also scared of heights. I didn't use to be. I think it's just anxiety.

SA: Is it about climbing the ladder of fame and wealth?
RW: I think that's probably exactly it. You've missed your calling. You could've been a pop psychiatrist.

SA: What's your message to the youth, any advice?
RW: Erm, reach for the stars ...

SA: Wasn't that S-Club's advice?
RW: Yeah, it was good advice, they just didn't follow it.

· Simon Amstell presents 'Popworld' on T4. His Edinburgh show 'The Last Minute Alternative' runs from 22-29 August.

· Kaiser Chiefs play V Festival 20-22 August and Ibiza Manumission on 2 September. 'I Predict a Riot/Sink That Ship' is out on 22 August.