Catch Kaiser Chiefs bandmates on the decks at Chi

Every Thursday afternoon Nick "Peanut" Baines would leopard crawl past the window of an art class where he was meant to be sitting with a paintbrush in hand.

His destination: the music room.

His career choices were massively misguided aged 13, but luckily for him, the Kaiser Chiefs and their millions of fans worldwide, music always seemed to light the way.

"As you get older and you look back on your life, you could say everything happened for a reason," said Baines, still laughing, recalling the lengths he went to in order to skip a lecture on Picasso.

"Or, you could look at it more realistically and know it's because, deep down, you know what you want and you go for it without even being aware. I made a decision to take art, and I chose to work in numerous office and bar jobs, but I never opted to be a musician. It just happened. There was never a decision. No question. Yet we opted to eat, sleep and breathe music at the expense of pretty much anything else."

That included free time as detentions for missing class were often handed out at St Mary's School in Bradford, UK, where band members Nick Hodgson, Simon Rix and Peanut, as Baines is fondly known, met.

Andrew White and Ricky Wilson climbed aboard during the university years, keeping the band based in Leeds.

Speaking ahead of a DJ set at Chi @The Lodge this weekend, tabloid! caught up with keyboard-playing Peanut, an interview which had to open with one question and one question only.

What's with Peanut?

"I feel like I've achieved so much, been on tours, seen the world, played to thousands but all people want to know is ‘why Peanut?'" he sighed, ready to recite his well-practised response. "At primary school, kids are mean. The bully of the class said my head looked like a peanut and it just stuck. I guess I didn't think it would stick quite this long, but it's okay. I've learnt to live with it and I've even forgiven the kid.

"My mum always told me to take the high road, which at seven is hard to swallow. I remember wanting to have a fight. Instead I embraced it and I urge everyone else with an annoying nickname to do the same."

The three schoolboys met aged 11. Some 21 years on (Peanut not wanting to talk about the fact that he's 32) and with two additional members The Kaiser Chiefs (named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs, where former Leeds United captain Lucas Radebe once played) have enjoyed chart-topping singles, No 1 albums and sell-out European and UK tours.

‘Could Still be 11'

"It's weird. We were recently on a conference call to a newspaper in Australia and I had this surreal moment when I looked across and saw two guys I went to school with and thought about what we had achieved," he said, his voice laced with pride.

"We could still be 11 sometimes. It's strange. Like honestly, had you told me when I was a boy I'd be talking to a reporter from Gulf News in Dubai ahead of a gig, I would have laughed."

Fans of the five-piece shouldn't get too excited, though, as Peanut and fellow bandmate Rix are in town to spin tunes, not to do a full performance.

"The DJ thing happened because we all took some time off after the last tour and album," he said. "I tell people I've been doing ‘admin and filing' if they ask. I had a massive clear-out at home and it felt good. So when the opportunity to DJ came up, I jumped at the chance. It's our thing to be honest, but I'm sure the others are trying to jump on the band wagon — they've realised we're onto a good thing."

Fans will be pleased to know work has started on a fourth album, although the guys remain tight-lipped about what to expect, Peanut just saying, "It'll be worth the wait."

Expect a mix with a difference on Friday night. "It's Motown, Northern soul, indie and everything else you can squeeze in. There'll be some Beach Boys, Ramones and even a bit of Depeche Mode. We sometimes mix one of our tracks in, Ruby, I Predict A Riot or Everyday I Love You Less And Less, just to see if people are listening."

Don't Miss It

Kaiser Chiefs on the decks marks the opening of Chi Garden after a long, hot summer. Entry is Dh120, which includes the first drink before midnight. For table bookings, call 04-3379470.