Kaiser Chiefs: we were paying homage to Sturmey Archer

Earlier this week we predicted a riot after Sturmey Archer branded indie band the Kaiser Chiefs the Kaiser Theives after having been alerted to the band’s latest album cover artwork.

Now, via music paper NME, the Kaiser Chiefs have responded to Sturmey Archer’s claims.

A statement said the band didn’t mean to upset Sturmey-Archer: "The lyrics of our new album ‘Education, Education, Education & War’ look into Britain’s past and our designer has deliberately created artwork that references Britain’s Heritage.

"We hoped to pay homage to the legacy of Sturmey-Archer and by using this design we did not expect, nor did we intend to upset them."

Sturmey’s general manager Alan Clarke had said: "I have worked for the company for more than 40 years and I have never known anything quite as blatant as this. We are used to this sort of thing from backstreet suppliers but did not expect it from such a big band."