Kaiser Chiefs on preparing for Employment at 20, playing old songs, Temple Newsam and the Leeds crowd

“It always feels a lot more celebratory when we're in Leeds… everybody's excited for you as well,” drummer Vijay Mistry told the Yorkshire Evening Post, speaking on a typically grey and breezy morning at Temple Newsam. “You feel it in the atmosphere.

“And I think it is a mixture of your hometown show, friends and family being there, familiar faces, the surroundings, and everybody's excited for you as well."

On Saturday, May 31, the park in east Leeds will host what promises to be the band’s biggest-ever show on home turf. The special one-day event marks 20 years since Employment - their triple BRIT Award-winning debut - first exploded onto the UK music scene.

“We played at Elland Road in '08,” said bassist Simon Rix. “That was a big gig. And this could be as big or even bigger. And definitely the longest - with lots and lots of good music. It feels like we're playing our own music festival."

To mark the anniversary properly, the band will perform Employment in full, playing each track in order - something they’ve never done before.

"We're going to stick to the original album track listing," said keyboardist Nick "Peanut" Baines. "When you make an album, you choose the track order for a reason. Ricky [Wilson, lead singer] has lots of lyrical reasons why he wants certain songs near the beginning of the album - it actually tells a story."

The set will open with Everyday I Love You Less and Less, before launching into I Predict A Riot, which in recent years has taken on a whole new significance for fans in Leeds.

"In Britain, and especially Northern England, Riot is the big tune,” Simon said. “It's been played after Leeds United games, which is very exciting."

"It has taken on a new life in the last five or six years," Peanut added. "It was a big song at the time, and it feels like there's a new generation of fans that got into it, particularly through social media and performances. There are some album tracks that we haven't played for a while - and one of them ever - which are all important parts of the record."

Some songs, despite the time passed, still feel second nature to play.

"I think if you asked me to play a song from a couple of albums ago, I might struggle more for some reason," Simon said. "But with Employment, it feels like it's very natural like my hands know where to go."

Drummer Vijay, who joined the band in 2013 following the departure of original member Nick Hodgson, says he’s just as emotionally invested in the material despite not playing on the original recordings.

"I'm not actually on the original album, but I've grown up with these songs as much as anyone else has," he said. "I've been heavily involved in the Leeds scene since I came to Leeds in '97. So going from those local gigs to this is an amazing thing.

"The pride comes from what these guys achieved, and then what I've achieved with these guys together. It just feels like something to be proud of, especially because it's now 20 odd years."

Despite a career that’s taken them around the globe, from major festivals like Glastonbury to headline tours and supporting stadium rock giants, nothing quite compares to playing at home.

"When you look off the stage [in Leeds], one in twenty people is related to me," Peanut joked. "We've all been [to Temple Newsam] as kids, going around the farm. It feels like our festival, so it's gonna feel nice to celebrate here. It's great that it's near the city centre, and it's different from playing a football stadium."

The emotional connection with the crowd is something the band doesn’t take for granted.

"You almost feel a bit like it's not just our album, it's their album as well," said Vijay. "The songs - there's a little bit of pride there."

With thousands expected to pack into Temple Newsam, and Employment still standing as the best-selling album to ever come out of Leeds, this homecoming is shaping up to be more than just a gig. It’s a celebration of where it all began - and of the city that helped make it happen.

Tickets for Kaiser Chiefs celebrating 20 years of Employment at Temple Newsam in Leeds are still available via Gigantic.

You can find set times and all support acts here.

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