"I Predict a Riot" is a song by English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...

, appearing on their debut album, '' Employment'' (2005). It was originally released as their second single on 1 November 2004 and was the band's first release on the B-Unique label. It entered at number 22 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. When re-released in 2005 as a double A-side with "Sink that Ship", it peaked at number nine on the UK chart. It was used in the 2005 racing video game Gran Turismo 4 as a song that would play during races and race replays, and was also used in

Guitar Hero 3 ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero 3'') is a music rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the third main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' series, following ''Guit ...

Inspiration

Drummer Nick Hodgson used to DJ at a club in Leeds called

the Cockpit The Cockpit can refer to: * Cockpit Theatre, a 17th-century theatre in London (also known as the Phoenix) that opened in 1616 * The Cockpit, a theatre in London, England that opened in 1970 * ''The Cockpit'' (OVA), a three-part anime series made ...

. He would often drive home past another nightclub called Majestyk's which often had people and police fighting each other, and sometimes drunk clubgoers would even bang on the windows of his car at 3am. He took inspiration from this one night and wrote a riff on the piano when he got home. The "friend of a friend who got beaten" was a friend of a fellow DJ at the Cockpit. The title came from an event Hodgson DJed at a different club called Pigs, where a band called

Black Wire Black Wire were an English post-punk band formed in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England Members *Daniel Wilson (vocals) *Si McCabe (guitars, backing vocals) *Tom Greatorex (bass) *Danny Prescott (drums) History Black Wire formed in January 2003, ...

was playing. The crowd was so chaotic that he said to the club's boss, "I predict a riot".

Background

Portraying a rowdy night out in their native

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

with members from the former band

, "I Predict a Riot" is one of the group's signature songs. It is one of the three tracks the band played when they opened Live 8 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, alongside " Everyday I Love You Less and Less" and " Oh My God". The song makes a reference to

John Smeaton John Smeaton (8 June 1724 – 28 October 1792) was a British civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist. Smeaton was the firs ...

''("an old Leodensian")'', a Civil Engineer, born in

Austhorpe Austhorpe is a civil parish and residential suburb of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is to the east of city centre and close to the A6120 dual carriageway ( Leeds Outer Ring Road) and the M1 motorway. Location The area is situa ...

, Leeds. Singer Ricky Wilson's

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...

was named after him. The song thrives on its Yorkshire heritage with the use of pronouns such as "

thee The word ''thou'' is a second-person singular pronoun in English. It is now largely archaic, having been replaced in most contexts by the word '' you'', although it remains in use in parts of Northern England and in Scots (). ''Thou'' is the ...

", a nod to the band's origins, for "thee" and "thou" survived in

Yorkshire dialect The Yorkshire dialect (also known as Broad Yorkshire, Tyke, Yorkie or Yorkshire English) is a dialect of English, or continuum of dialects, spoken in the Yorkshire region of Northern England. The dialect has roots in Old English and is influ ...

and are still used to an extent today. Both "I Predict a Riot" and "Sink that Ship" were featured on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to the video game '' Gran Turismo 4''. "I Predict a Riot" appeared in '' Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock'' as downloadable content alongside present from the start, "Ruby". It has also been confirmed for release for ''

Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two gui ...

''. Currently the song is played at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Premier League club Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the ...

immediately before the band's hometown club Leeds United F.C. walk onto the pitch. "Take My Temperature", a B-side on the initial release, is a live favourite, notably at earlier gigs. Also, the guitar riff after "who doesn't want to be out there" is overdubbed with

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

, played by

Peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

. In live performances, the song begins with a drum solo played by Nick and Ricky around the same kit. It featured in a scene of ''

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

'' second season, episode 16 titled "Can You See What I See?". The song and the band are also referenced in Plan B's 2012 song " Ill Manors", specifically in the lyrics ''"London's burning, I predict a riot / Fall in, fall out who knows what it's all about / What did that chief say? / Something 'bout the kaisers"'' The song's lyrics were criticised by

Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a British newspaper columnist, Pundit, political commentator, journalist, author, and Left-wing politics, left-wing activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'' a ...

for expressing "pure class bile" and reproducing "the caricature of the undignified, 'slapper' chav girl".

Music video

There have been two videos produced for "I Predict a Riot". The first, made for the original release, was directed by Charlie Paul, and features the band performing in front of a crowded audience, who appear to start a " pillow fight". Notably, the video contains Ricky Wilson wearing a Nevile house tie, from the Leeds Grammar School. However, it was the second video, directed by Swedish collective StyleWar, that gained more airplay. The main plot is the band wandering and performing in an

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

town, catching the attention of a mysterious

freak show A freak show, also known as a creep show, is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with ...

owner. The climax of the features the band performing on the stage of a crowded replica of The Globe Theatre.

In popular culture

The song was heard playing in the background as

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down ...

gave her farewell speech on October 25, 2022. The incident was orchestrated by activist

Steve Bray Steven Bray (born June 1969) is a British activist from Port Talbot in South Wales who, in 2018 and 2019, made daily protests against Brexit in College Green, Westminster. He is variously known as Stop Brexit Man, Mr Stop Brexit or the Stop Br ...

Track listings

* UK 7-inch single (2004) :A. "I Predict a Riot" :B. "Take My Temperature" * UK CD single (2004) # "I Predict a Riot" # "Wrecking Ball" * Australian CD single (2005) # "I Predict a Riot" – 3:54 # "Wrecking Ball" – 3:50 # "Take My Temperature" – 2:35 # "I Predict a Riot" (video) * UK CD1 and 7-inch single (2005) # "I Predict a Riot" – 3:54 # "Sink That Ship" – 2:38 * UK CD2 (2005) # "I Predict a Riot" – 3:54 # "Less Is More" – 2:52 # "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" (

Boys Noize Alexander Ridha (born 22 August 1982), better known by his stage name Boys Noize, is a Berlin-based German-Iraqi electronic music record producer, songwriter, and DJ. It is similar to the name of Ridha's label, Boysnoize Records, which he esta ...

Remix) – 5:26 # "I Predict a Riot" (new version—video)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I Predict A Riot 2004 singles 2004 songs 2005 singles B-Unique Records singles British power pop songs Kaiser Chiefs songs Polydor Records singles Song recordings produced by Stephen Street Songs written by Andrew White (musician) Songs written by Nick "Peanut" Baines Songs written by Nick Hodgson Songs written by Ricky Wilson (British musician) Songs written by Simon Rix