TWO years after their last arena tour and a storming performance at the BIC Kaiser Chiefs return to the Bournemouth venue tonight.

Frontman Ricky Wilson is the first to admit he’s not having much luck when it comes to Bournemouth.

The last time he was in town to play at the Night Air Hits on the Beach concert last August, his gig had to cancelled at the last minute because the beach flooded due to unusually high tides.

And then a freak thunder storm kicks off just a few minutes into our phone interview.

“What is going on in Bournemouth?” he asks as the line pops and crackles. “I’m in my garden at the moment and it’s beautiful here in London.”

Ricky, 38, says he couldn’t believe it when he suddenly had to abort his appearance minutes before setting foot on stage which was part of the air festival celebrations next to Boscombe Pier.

“It was so weird to be stood on the sidelines waiting to go on and then to be told it was cancelled - that’s never happened to me before.

“I didn’t realise how bouncing I get before going on stage - I kept thinking what am I going to do with all this energy now?”

Although I would love to report that he ended up partying until the wee hours with his fellow band members, he actually ended up sitting in a conference room for an hour before heading back to his hotel room.

But Ricky says he is looking forward to coming back and playing at BIC as part of his UK Arena Tour to promote their sixth album, Stay Together.

“I love playing there as there’s always a great atmosphere - although it’s got a weird backstage as it’s not that big so if there are several bands on you all end up on top of each other!”

As well as performing all their big hits, fans can of course expect songs from their latest album which was produced by Brian Higgins who has worked with bands including Girls Aloud, Pet Shop Boys and New Order.

It’s a spiky, surprisingly romantic affair, bursting with the verve, ambition and great tunes that first propelled the band to household name status.

“I think Brian has brought some of the passion back,” says Ricky. “When you’ve been doing this for a long time it’s easy to lose track of where your base is, but is important to keep changing. If we sounded like we did ten years ago we wouldn’t still be here.”

Whereas groups like Girls Aloud have split, reformed and split again, the Kaiser Chiefs have only lost one member over the past 12 years.

Ricky admits that his endless enthusiasm stems from the fact that he is terrified of the alternative.

“I appreciate what I do a lot more now and we don’t want to mess it up as none of us can do anything else - we would probably have to start a car washing business or something!”

His favourite track on the new album he says is the latest single, Hole in My Soul, which he admits was inspired by personal circumstances. Although he understands people are interested in his personal life, he is reluctant to elaborate any further.

Starring on national television as a coach on The Voice, he says, has changed him. He originally announced that the last series of the singing competition would be his last after the show was poached by rivals ITV.

“I went on The Voice because I don’t want my new record to go unnoticed and I understand that once you put yourself out there, then there will be an interest in what you do behind closed doors - I have no sympathy for people who think they can turn celebrity off and on like a tap.

“But equally I don’t want to drag other people who haven’t chosen to be in the public eye into it all so it is a tricky one.”

Just as I am about to ask whether he has had a change of heart about returning to The Voice, there is a terrific bolt of lighting, the phone line goes dead and the interview comes to an abrupt close.

Let’s just hope Ricky Wilson has more success when he returns to Bournemouth tonight - at least the BIC is weather proof!

The Kaiser Chiefs play at the BIC tonight. Tickets are now on sale via ticketmaster.co.uk or call 0844 811 0051.