Former Kaiser Chiefs drummer turned solo star Nick JD Hodgson has shared a video of him and The Killers‘ frontman Brandon Flowers grilling each other on the important issues. Check it out on NME first below.

The video was shot at The Killers’ recent headline show in Leeds, where Hodgson joined the band to perform a cover of ‘I Predict A Riot’ by hometown heroes Kaiser Chiefs.

During the interview, the pair discuss their first meeting on the NME Tour in 2005, Hodgson’s debut solo album ‘Tell Your Friends’, whether Nick could ever replace Flowers in The Killers, whether they prefer Liam or Noel Gallagher, and Flowers’ desire as a young man to get an Oasis tattoo.


Speaking about the NME Tour in 2005, in which The Killers and Kaiser Chiefs performed alongside Bloc Party and The Futureheads, Flowers said: “It was just an exciting tour. Everybody had great songs, and everybody was hungry, and that was a really fun time.

Pitting the Oasis brothers against one another, Hodgson replied: “I’m currently Liam. I really think that because of Noel’s songs on the first few albums, especially the first album when I was 17, a section of me is me now because of those songs – but then Liam is… I’m both, how about that?

Flowers added: “I don’t have any tattoos but when I was 18, if I’d have had the extra money I would have gotten an Oasis tattoo. I was this close.

“I was blaring out ‘Gas Panic’ and driving around the streets of Las Vegas. I was so in. I don’t know if I could choose.”


Hodgson, who co-wrote all of the band’s songs during his 15 years as a member, left Kaiser Chiefs in 2012 – claiming that he wanted to spend more time in the studio as a producer and songwriter. In those interim years, he’s worked with the likes of Ratboy, Mark Ronson, Hurts, John Newman and many more.

Now, he’s back as a solo artist – recently unveiling lead track ‘Suitable’ ahead of his debut album ‘Tell Your Friends’, which is out now.

“On the Kaiser Chiefs’ records, if I had a song on them it would be a smaller song near the end,” Hodgson told NME. “There was a song called ‘Boxing Champ’ on the second album. It’s just me and a piano. It’s very delicate. And I just thought ‘OK, I’ll make some little delicate songs and put them out’. Then I kept writing and was like ‘OK, this one’s a bit better actually’. Then I’d get rid of some of the weirder ones, the ones that didn’t really go anywhere and started to replace them with songs I thought were really good actually. “So the ambition kept changing. I always knew I didn’t want to sign a record deal. Then Ross from The Cribs texted me saying, ‘do you and your new band want to support us in Leeds at ‘Cribsmas’ in December?’ And I was thinking ‘I haven’t got a band’. But I said yes, and I got a band… So it keeps changing… Basically I would like to see how thorough it goes. I don’t want to just let it out and then no one be bothered about it the next week.”

Nick JD Hodgson on tour

Hodgson’s upcoming tour dates are below. Tickets are available here.

Saturday 14 April – Dublin The Grand Social

Sunday 15 April – Birmingham The Actress and Bishop

Tuesday 17 April – London 100 Club

Wednesday 18 April – Manchester The Deaf Institute

Thursday 19 April – Newcastle The Cluny

Friday 20 April – Glasgow King Tuts

Saturday 21 April – Leeds The Wardrobe