Klaxons had to choose between football and new rave

James Righton of Klaxons, stars of this week’s NME cover, has revealed that he used to be on the books of Leicester City Football Club.

He revealed that he was part of the club’s youth academy when he was 12, but he dreamed of being taken on by his favourite club, Tottenham Hotspur.

“I was pretty good,” he told Hotspur magazine. “The problem was I used to insist on wearing my Spurs kit. I used to dream Spurs would come in for me.

“One day my dad told me I should stop wearing it, because it was probably annoying the club, but I refused. Looking back, he was right – they soon stopped playing me."

Righton (pictured with the Premiership trophy, yep he's the one in the Spurs shirt) went on to reveal the extent of the rigours of professional football, compared to his current work in a band.

“When it comes to how clubs treat young players, football is ruthless,” he said. “It’s far worse than anything I’ve experienced in the music industry.

“To be honest, I didn’t care – I’d discovered girls and booze by then.”

Meanwhile get this week's issue of NME, on UK newsstands from today (September 26) for an exclusive cover interview with Klaxons.