"I Predict a Riot" is a song by English

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band

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, appearing on their debut album, ''

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'' (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. When re-released in 2005 as a double A-side with "Sink That Ship", it peaked at number nine on the UK chart.

Background

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

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

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''("an old Leodensian")'', a civil engineer born in 1724 and a former pupil of

Leeds Grammar School Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded 1552 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a male-only school, in August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physica ...

, the same school attended by the band’s singer, Ricky Wilson.

Live performances

"I Predict a Riot" was one of the three tracks the band played when they opened

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, alongside " Everyday I Love You Less and Less" and " Oh My God".

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" (

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

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

In popular culture

When

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

gave her farewell speech on 25 October 2022, the song was heard playing in the background. The incident was orchestrated by activist

Steve Bray Steven Nicholas Bray (born 26 June 1969) is a British Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat activist from Port Talbot in South Wales who, in 2018 and 2019, made daily protests against Brexit in College Green, London, College Green, Westmins ...

. English professional darts player Luke Humphries uses the song as his walk-on music.

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 (singer) Songs written by Simon Rix