"I won't stop until I've got an apartment in every major city in the world. New York, Helsinki - and Harrogate," jokes Kaiser Chiefs' frontman Ricky Wilson, making fun of his drive to win against all the odds.

"Also, I want all my ex-girlfriends to recognise me on television. But above all, I want to get a new filling for my tooth."

Ricky is happy to admit the road to Kasier Chiefs' gargantuan success hasn't always been easy. They have years of struggle and disappointment behind them, suggested in part by the fact the band (named after a South African football team), were all pushing 30 by the time they signed to Universal Records in 2003.

As Ricky says, "A&R men see human ages as dog years. If you're past 25, you're dead." Before becoming the Kaiser Chiefs, the five Leeds-based musicians - Ricky Wilson (vocals), Andrew White (guitar), Simon Rix (bass), Nick Baines (keyboards) and Nick Hodgson (drums and vocals) were a garage rock group called Parva (originally Runston Parva named after a small village in Yorkshire).

Parva had signed to a small indie record label Mantra and put out three singles before the company folded unexpectedly, leaving them with an unreleased album and a seemingly bleak future.

"We were really skint and I was quite depressed at the time," says Nick, aka Peanut. "There's lots about that period that I don't remember."

But Parva's failure laid the foundations for everything good that has happened since. The band went back to their roots (and the drawing board) and adopted a brasher, more exuberant Britpop sound, which paved the way to their current popularity in the UK and beyond.

"We scrapped every song we'd ever done," says Nick. "It was a complete change of direction, songs, outlook and everything."

The group were determined to reemerge triumphant. "We've been playing together for such a long time," says Ricky, "people think, 'What's he doing? He's still trying to make a career out of music? It'll never work. One in a million people do it.'

"But we still had the opinion that we were five of the people in a million, so we carried on." Tuesday's gig will be one of the Kaisers' few performances this year before they begin recording their new album, set to be released in time for Christmas.

The band suggest their second effort will be "heavier sounding" than their debut, with their more aggressive live sound influencing their approach. But they don't want to make any sweeping statements.

"I hate it when people say, 'It's going to be ballsy and more electronic,'" says Ricky. "There's no point saying that because the songs dictate that and you shouldn't push things in a way they don't want to go.

"It's going to be a Kaiser Chiefs record, and it will be the best Kaiser Chiefs record released!"

Starts 6.30pm, tickets cost £17.50. Call 0870 900 9100