Kaiser Chiefs’ Ricky Wilson on love for Volkswagen’s Multivan, why it beats Toyota Rav4 & what TV icon left him in will

IT’S not every day you ask an international rock star to review a van.

But if you think about it, it makes perfect sense.

4

4

Bands probably spend more time in a van, travelling to gigs, than your average plumber or sparky.

Step forward Ricky Wilson, frontman of the Kaiser Chiefs.

You might have heard of him/them. They’re playing Glastonbury for the seventh time in 20 years next month.

Here, Ricky talks about his love for Volkswagen’s Multivan . . . as well as Henry the hoover, Richard Whiteley’s tie and packet ham.

It was an entertaining 20 minutes.

The I Predict A Riot singer said: “The thing is, you start off in a van. Then you say, ‘We don’t like vans’, because, y’know, we don’t want to be cramped in the van together and we’re fed up of them.

“Then you get limos and tour buses and jets and all this stuff. Then you get to our age and you go, ‘Why are we paying to arrive somewhere separately in swanky cars? Let’s just get a van again’.

“So now we’re using vans more than ever. Because we’re looking at the bottom line. I want to go home with the money. I don’t want to spend it on the road.

“We spend a lot of time in people carriers. I’ve even got a favourite seat. I go right at the back. No one’s worked it out. Even though it’s a smaller seat and it’s not as comfortable, you get a lot more room atthe end of the day and you’ve got somewhere for your bag.

“I’ve got tricks. I sometimes take off the headrest and use it as a side pillow. I think now, if I could do it over again, I’d do a lot more driving. It whiles away the time a lot quicker when you’re driving than sitting in the back with a towel over your head.”

You boys must have some stories after 20-odd years on the road?

“We’ve had a couple of police escorts in our time, which I quite like. You feel like you are in Coldplay or U2 or something. It’s quite exciting.

“The tour manager probably told them we’re bigger than we are.
“And I do like a golf cart. We did find out once that the keys to golf carts aren’t really that secure.

“The key that undid the locker on the side of our truck also managed to start any golf cart. Once we found that out, festivals became a little bit of a nightmare. We could take any golf cart, whenever we wanted.”

Ricky borrowed a Multivan to take the wife, the kids, the dog and the kitchen sink to the Isle of Wight recently — and now he wants one.

He said: “When we go away anywhere, I’m quite fastidious with the packing. I get quite uptight about it.

“I have to know where everything is and it has to slot in. With the kids and the dog, that’s quite a lot of packing.

“When we got the Mulitvan, I chilled out a bit. I let go. We had more space. I was just chucking things in the back. I didn’t really worry about it.

I’ve got a Toyota RAV4 but try sticking a dog in between two car seats. It takes an awful lot of packet ham. Even the dog loved the Multivan.

“When my wife at the last minute says, ‘Can we put this in?’, I’m like, ‘Yeah, whatever, darling’. It was quite a thrill for me to let go.

“I’ve got a Toyota RAV4 but try sticking a dog in between two car seats. It takes an awful lot of packet ham. Even the dog loved the Multivan.”

The dog’s called Reedus, by the way. Because Ricky’s missus is a fan of actor Norman Reedus from The Walking Dead.

“It was either that or Tom Hardy. She liked him as well. I didn’t really want to be walking across Hampstead Heath shouting, ‘Hardy’. So his name’s Reedus.”

Ricky added: “I’m not trying to bang on about the Multivan but I was just happy to drive around in it.

“We went to the Isle of Wight. I love it there. We went to the zoo. I fed a tiger. I dropped the Kaiser Chiefs bomb and we went backstage.

“I didn’t feel like the dad who was the designated driver — and the kids loved it. They were sat higher than they’ve ever been in a car before. It’s got that great big roof you can see through.

“We were driving home and I said that even if we won the EuroMillions tomorrow this would be the car I’d get.

“And I really meant it. Because I was just happy in it. I just haven’t worked out what colour I’d get yet. Also, you get a bit older and your dreams turn from wanting a two-seater sports car that can go a million miles an hour to something you’ve actually got happy memories in. That sounds schmaltzy. But it made me feel really happy being in the van. The kids were really happy.”

4

As we chat, we discuss Ricky’s time as a Virgin Radio DJ and his obsession with TV game shows. He’s ticked most of them off.

‘When I didn’t win The Masked Singer I was livid’

He said: “Won Tipping Point. Won Catchphrase. Didn’t get the jackpot. Furious with myself. Knights Of The Round Table. Why couldn’t I see the round table?

“I am far too competitive. When I didn’t win The Masked Singer I was livid. Thank God I had a mask on. My body language must have shown some of it but I was swearing in that thing, ‘This is a f***ing outrage’.

“I’m doing Countdown next week. Dictionary Corner.

“Richard Whiteley left me one of his ties in his will. He was very pleased someone from Leeds had done so well in the charts. So that’s going to be my mascot.

“I actually had him DJing once at a nightclub in Leeds. He didn’t do much DJing but he stood behind the decks and put his hands in the air. We played the Countdown theme twice and The Final Countdown in the middle.”

Right, I promised you Henry the hoover. Ricky made sure he gave the Multivan a good clean before handing it back.

He said: “I had a lot of pride in it. It wasn’t even mine but I hoovered it before the guy picked it up. Always go with a Henry. I’m not going to say anything bad about any other hoover.

“You can try all the flashy new things with the chargers and all that but you can’t beat a Henry.

“You can do anything with a Henry. It also works as an occasional chair when you’ve got guests round.

“I was recording an episode of TFI Friday when they brought it back and we’d been out afterwards. Chris Evans was there and his wife. Kirstie Allsopp. Some other people. I said, ‘Come back to my flat’.

“I’d forgotten I’d ordered a sofa but I’d got rid of the other sofa. I think Kirstie Allsopp ended up sitting on the Henry.”

Thank you, Ricky.

4