Frontman admits that without anti-Nickelback crusades such as the recent Kickstarter campaign, their career would have died out years ago

Chad Kroeger has praised a campaign that aims to prevent Nickelback from ever returning to the UK, calling it the kind of “hilarious” crusade that keeps the band in business.

“I love it,” the Nickelback frontman told the Pulse of Radio (via NME). “[The] more controversy that surrounds either myself, my personal life, the band, whatever – I think it’s hilarious. All these critics, they’re just tireless ... They don’t know that they’re still responsible for us being around today.”

Nickelback are encouraged by their own haters, Kroeger explained. “If [critics] had stopped writing all this stuff about us, there would be no controversy left in the band and we probably would have died out years ago.” Instead, four years after Nickelback lost a major online popularity contest to a pickle, the Canadian rock band are preparing to release their eighth studio album.

The latest anti-Nickelback operation was founded by London’s Craig Mantel, who is satirising the recent, successful campaign to crowdfund a Foo Fighters concert in Richmond, Virginia. Instead of collecting money to stage a gig, Mantel is raising funds to prevent Nickelback from coming to the UK. “With your help, we can ensure that the band do not schedule any gigs here, do not attempt to come here - nor even phone here,” he wrote. “Just imagine, thousands - perhaps tens of thousands of music lovers - all not witnessing an exclusive concert by Nickelback in London. It will be glorious.”

Thus far, Mantel’s #DONTLETNICKELBACK page has raised only $282 (£175) of its $10,000 (£6,200) goal. But Mantel has been spurred by Kroeger’s recent comments: since Nickelback “love” the campaign, he wrote, “[we] expect all Nickelback fans to immediately contribute, as it will make him very happy”. “If you don’t support our efforts to ban Nickelback, you’ll be going against Nickelback. Is that what you want?”

Whether successful or not #DONTLETNICKELBACK’s funding drive is due to end in 20 days. Nickelback last played in the UK at Leeds’ First Direct Arena, on 27 November 2013.

• This article was amended on 13 October to correct a misspelling

