Kasabian’s lead singer Serge Pizzorno was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music by the University of Leicester on July 16, at a summer ceremony held at De Montfort Hall. The singer, songwriter and record producer has been a driving force behind the band’s incredible success, which includes seven UK number one albums, placing them as an iconic elite group alongside other bands such as Blur, Muse and The Prodigy.
Pizzorno also delivered a speech to the graduating class, saying: “I’d like to give a huge thank you to the university for this incredible honour, and all of you graduating today, nice one, let’s have a round of applause for you all. I encourage you to embrace the scary stuff, because that’s where the magic lives. Play with ideas, play with failure, play like it matters and sometimes play like it doesn’t. When you find something you love, pursue it with everything you’ve got.”
The city of Leicester is quite special to the band as that is where the members met, south of the city, at schools in Countesthorpe. The band’s 27-year tenure has seen countless highlights, including a headline slot at Glastonbury in 2014 and memorable performances at Victoria Park, near the University Campus but also, notably celebrating Leicester City FC’s Premier League title in 2016 with a show.
On top of being a key member to Kasabian, Pizzorno has had a massive creative input in the music industry, composing for films like London Boulevard in 2010, collaborating with famous comedian Noel Fielding on Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy as part of the project Loose Tapestries, and releasing a solo album called ‘THE S.L.P’ in 2019.
University President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nishan Canagarajah praised the singer’s impact: “This homegrown talent has not only delivered his iconic brand of music to vast audiences worldwide but here too in Victoria Park – helping Leicester celebrate huge moments of joy through our local football team and adding to the fantastic vibrancy of our multi-cultural city. Sergio has undoubtedly helped put the city of Leicester on the map and this accolade today is our way of acknowledging this and our sense of pride in his achievements.”
The singer told the BBC it was “mad” that after nearly 20 years they were still able to go out and perform in front of thousands of people all over the world. “Usually you’re on your way out 20 years in, everyone’s kind of going ‘oh thanks, move along’, but it’s kind of getting bigger and better than ever,” he said. Asked if he had any advice for those graduating today, he said: “Just try and enjoy life because it goes like that. “So don’t sweat the big stuff, the small stuff – just enjoy it.”
