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Kaiser Chiefs Tickets

Kaiser Chiefs have spoken out about frontman Ricky Wilson's decision to become a coach on BBC's The Voice - adding that Bloc Party's Kele Okereke would be unsuitable to sit in Wilson's spinning chair. 

The 'Ruby' stars split opinion when it was revealed that Wilson would be appearing on the show, but the band have remained honest in declaring that it was primarily to increase the profile of the band. 

Now, in an interview with Gigwise, bassist Simon Rix said their survival was different to other indie bands of their generation.

"I've said this before, but we've all had different paths because we've got different people," said Rix. "Kele from Bloc Party couldn't do what Ricky does on The Voice, he hasn't got the right personality. They've done something else and he's done his solo thing - and it's great. Everyone has a different path."

Frontman Ricky Wilson however, told us that he hopes his appearance on the show will 'open the doors' for indie acts to appear on more mainstream shows. 

"It was a gamble and we all knew that," said Wilson. "None of us were going 'this is gunna be wicked! Saturday night TV! Woo-hoo!' It was a little bit like 'fuck it, let's do it, it's got to be done'. It's working. We wanted to try and do everything possible to make this album successful, and then this offer came in.

"You've got to think about it laterally and not in an alternative way of 'oh, that's not cool'. The coolest thing we ever did was sell 2million records. It wasn't 'indie' but it was cool. Let's say, Saturday night TV ask us to go on and play our single. Would we do it? Yeah. They ask you to go on 12 weeks in a row, would you do it? Yeah."

He continued: "It works for so many people from so many different genres, why shouldn't it work for the alternative world? Why shouldn't the alternative world be invited to that party? We haven't been for a long time, but then I did and I took it up. Hopefully people see that as a foot in the door for the rest of us, so in a couple of years' time it's not just a case of sticking indie bands on Jools. I love Jools Holland, but it's the only place to go for bands like us. It sticks bands in the mainstream."

- Check back at Gigwise soon for our full and frank interview with Kaiser Chiefs

Watch the video for 'Coming Home' by Kaiser Chiefs below

Kaiser Chiefs release new album Education, Education and War on 31 March, 2014. 

As well as being confirmed for V Festival and T In The Park, Kaiser Chiefs will also be performing at the opening of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Thursday July 3. Visit Gigwise Gig Tickets for more information.

Below: 19 exclusive photos of Kaiser Chiefs at The Scala, London