Nick Hodgson, Kaiser Chiefs' main songwriter, has left the band. The drummer said he is "moving on" and has already played his last concert with the group.
Hodgson announced his decision on Twitter, confirming that he had "left Kaiser Chiefs after 15 spectacular years". He then continued on his blog: "Having achieved such amazing things thanks to the support and loyalty of our fans, I have decided to leave and turn my attention to other areas within the world of music and to pursue new challenges. It has not been an easy decision and one that the boys and I have discussed throughout this year. The band have been incredibly supportive of my decision. I wish them all continued success."
Hodgson was a founding member of the Leeds quintet. Though Ricky Wilson is the band's lead singer, and albums are credited to the whole band, Hodgson has long been cited as their principal songwriter. "I'm good at starting ideas, but sometimes I have to rely on Ricky to finish them," Hodgson told the Guardian last year.
According to an official statement, Kaiser Chiefs' Reading festival performance in August marked Hodgson's last gig with the group. The musician's former bandmates aren't showing any hard feelings. "I can exclusively confirm we will still be collaborating on pints in pubs," tweeted bassist Simon Rix. At first, Wilson offered just a frowning face, but added, "The door is on the latch and the key under the mat."
Around the release of 2011's The Future is Medieval, Hodgson revealed that he had begun feeling distanced from his work with Kaiser Chiefs. "My dad's been ill with Alzheimer's," he told Gigwise. "Obviously, that changes things, because music just feels irrelevant and becomes sort of peripheral. A year ago I wasn't even really thinking about music much at all. I was messing about in my studio, but I wasn't particularly focused. If your head's not there, your head's not there."
