The Yorkshire indie rock legends Kaiser Chiefs have announced a 20th anniversary release of their groundbreaking debut album Employment. This comes after they announced a series of very special outdoor party shows, including a huge hometown show at Leeds’ Temple Newsam Park later this month. It will be out on July 18.
Kaiser Chiefs will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their famous first record Employment with three brand new, expanded “China Anniversary” formats. The 1LP version is on white vinyl and includes the “bonus” track “Take My Temperature.” The 2LP set has 15 extra tracks, including B-Sides and CD single bonus tracks, as well as two songs that have never been released before and are only available on this format. Along with the original album, the band has added 40 tracks to the 3CD set. These include demo recordings, covers, radio sessions, and live tracks that show how quickly they went from playing small club dates in Leeds to being the main act at a festival. The original record was remastered at Abbey Road Studios, and the band chose the extra tracks from their own collection.
When it came out in March 2005, the album got a lot of good reviews and went on to become one of the most popular debut records from a UK band. The album peaked at No. 2 on the UK album chart and has been on the Official Top 40 chart for more than 17 months, selling more than 2.1 million copies and earning 7x Platinum status from the British Phonographic Industry. The album launched the band into the stratosphere of the music world with hit songs like “Oh My God,” “I Predict A Riot,” “Everyday I Love You Less And Less,” and “Modern Way.” They went on to become arena mainstays and festival headliner all over the world.
“20 years ago, a brand-new band put out a brand-new song.” For some artists from Leeds, “I Predict A Riot” was the start of something really special, the band said. “The next album, ‘Employment,’ changed our lives and, since 2005, has changed the lives of millions of others as well.” We are celebrating 20 years of that record in 2025, and everyone is welcome. Come enjoy the 2000s, when people loved everything less and less and striped blazers took over the world.
On top of that, Kaiser Chiefs will be celebrating on the road this summer to go along with the release. The band will play a string of outdoor shows across the UK, starting on May 23 in Port Talbot and going to Leeds, Bristol, Edinburgh, London, Brighton, Cumbria, and Newquay. See full list of events below.
2025 OUTDOOR SHOWS
May
Thur 22nd Live at Argyle Home Park Stadium,Plymouth, UK
Fri 23rd In It Together Festival, Port Talbot, UK
Sat 31st Temple Newsam, Leeds, UK
June
Sun 22nd Pinkpop Festival, Amsterdam, NL
Thur 26th Bristol Sounds, Bristol, UK
Sat 28th Glastonbury Festival, Somerset, UK
July
Fri 4th Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, UK
Thu 10th Weekend Beach Festival, Malaga, ESP
Fri 11th Mad Cool Festival, Madrid, ESP
Sat 12th Cruilla Barcelona, Barcelona, ESP
Sat 19th Alexandra Palace Park, London, UK
Sun 20th Splendour Festival, Nottingham, UK
Mon 21st Tall Ship Races, Aberdeen, UK
Sat 26th Latitude, Suffolk, UK
Sun 27th Brighton Beach, Brighton, UK
Thu 31st Kendal Calling, Cumbria, UK
August
Sat 2nd Suikkerock Festival, Tienan, BE
Sun 3rd Ronquieres Festival, Braine-la-Comte, BE
Fri 8th Boardmasters, Newquay, UK
Sun 10th The Weekender, Belfast, UK
Sat 23rd The National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, ROI
Sun 24th Live at the Docklands, Limerick, ROI
