Inside shamed ex-Kasabian star Tom Meighan’s fall from grace as he moans ‘pals abandoned me’ ahead of band’s Glasto gig

KASABIAN are set to steal the show at Glastonbury this weekend after we revealed they will perform as the secret act.

But as Serge Pizzorno and the group prepare to be mobbed by thousands of fans on Saturday, a different fate awaits shamed ex-bandmate Tom Meighan.

Six years ago, the former frontman, 43, was sacked by the band after attacking his then-fiancee, Vikki Ager, in a drunken row during lockdown. 

Chilling CCTV footage revealed the singer struck his partner, had his hands around her throat and dragged her into the garden by her ankles. 

Meighan, who initially denied domestic assault in a police interview, was described as having “smelt heavily of intoxicants” and was acting “aggressively” and “uncooperative”.

In court, he was ordered to undertake five days in rehabilitation, carry out and received an 18-month community order. 

Kasabian - who The Sun revealed will return to play this year’s Glastonbury Festival after 10 years away - said they were “completely heartbroken” but couldn’t stand by what he had done. 

In a statement after the conviction, they wrote: “As soon as we found out about the charges made against Tom, we as a band made the decision that we could no longer work with him.

"Ultimately, as much as Tom hurt us all, we're not the victims in all of this. Domestic violence is something that can never be excused."

Meighan returned to performing after his conviction, but has lived in the shadows of his former success, explaining he lost his home, job and friends.

While he has continued to tour the festival circuit, the stages are smaller and he has faced regular boycotts from furious performers who refuse to share them with him.

In a recent bitter interview, he lashed out at the "hundreds of friends" who "disappeared out of my life". It followed a series of swipes at his former bandmates, who he alleges were desperate to force him out even prior to his shock trial.

Battle with booze

Shortly after the court case, Meighan publicly apologised, insisting it was “a wake-up call” for “who I was and what I was becoming”.

He said he had “struggled for many years with alcohol addiction” and said he was “spiralling out of control” before the attack.

However, some were appalled by his initial denial of the incident.

Police were alerted to the assault at the couple’s Leicestershire home when a child, who was described as “panicked and afraid”, called 999.

Vikki was heard yelling “get off me, get off me" as she tried to fight Meighan off during the attack and was said to be “visibly upset” by officers.

The mum, who did not support the prosecution, was left with bruises to her head, knees, elbow and ankle as well as "a reddening around her neck".

Meighan and Vikki went on to marry the following year - they had been engaged since 2017. 

Ahead of the nuptials, she told Cornwall Live: “He apologies daily. He really does. A lot of people have arguments and ours got taken to an extreme level.” 

Swipes at Serge

In 2021, Meighan released the song Would You Mind?, which he said was written “when I felt I had nowhere or nobody to turn to”.

Lyrics for the track included: "Would you mind? If I lean on you for a little while. Would you mind? If I ask you one last favour cause (sic) we've always been like brothers."

By 2022, the singer’s tune changed as he hit out at his former band members, accusing them of trying to silence him and eject him from the band years prior to his conviction. 

On the YouTube series James Hargreaves Guitar, Meighan said: “I felt like I was being watched. Serge (Sergio Pizzorno) was edging and edging to be the frontman for a long time.