If you love the world, rock it
April 14, 2009

By Therese Owen

In the 1990's a war raged between the rockers and the ravers. You were either a stoopid-ass raver who spent your weekends sucking on Ecstasy pills and lollipops, while waving glow sticks in the air to doef-doef music, or you were a Black Label-drinking grunge kid in Docs and black clothing who spent your time head-banging to distorted guitar - and ne'er the twain should meet.

That's until Prodigy came along.

I remember the first time I heard the track Their Law, from their album, Music For The Jilted Generation (1994). My metal-head boyfriend and I were horrified that they were playing techno in our alternative nightclub and even more horrified that people were dancing to it. Traitors! We stood at the edge of the dance floor and hurled abuse.

Then, in 1998, the band released the legendary Fat of the Land album and everything changed.

Prodigy's producer, Liam Howlett, had fused industrial and punk sounds with the dirtiest beats to emerge from the dance scene.

Vocalist, anarchist, rapper and all-round noise-maker Keith Flint had more punk attitude than Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious combined. He was backed by MC Maxim, who cast a depraved shadow behind Flint, thereby completing the unholy triumvirate that was The Prodigy.

It was the newest and most exciting music I had heard in a very long time.

Their hits Firestarter, Breathe and Smack My Bitch Up became dance floor anthems in rock and rave clubs alike. I was sold.

They were also part of a bigger revolution, along with Fatboy Slim and The Chemical Brothers.

The Prodigy toured South Africa with Faithless and Battery 9 in 2000 and again my relationship with them took a turn for the worse.

While the fans loved them, the critics gave them rave reviews and their venues were sold out, I thought their Durban show was quite disappointing.

The expected star of the show, Flint, who by then was the controversial face and wild rabble-rouser of the group, appeared for exactly three songs, ignored the crowd, gave a lacklustre performance and then disappeared.

Maxim was somewhere on stage while Leeroy, the then-supposed dancer who eventually left the band, kicked his gangly legs around every now and then. For the most part it was just Liam playing the tracks behind a console. The crowd might as well have stayed at home and played the CD really loudly, they were that uninteresting.

However, the group went on to sell over 16 million units, which remains unequalled in the dance music genre.

But with success came problems.

Already known as big party animals within a party scene that celebrated Ecstasy and LSD and the fast life, things took their toll on the group. Subsequently, their 2004 release, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, was not received well by critics or fans.

Now The Prodigy have made a comeback with Invaders Must Die.

Released in February 2009, the album went straight to No.1 on the British charts.

It has been hailed as a return to greatness for The Prodigy and their recent performances have received rave reviews from respected music magazines like NME and Kerrrang!
Click here!


Yet despite the British group's return to greatness, it was with some reluctance that I agreed to interview the Twisted Firestarter Flint, whom I remembered as a performer who had disrespected his fans in Durban.

I was expecting a foul-mouthed Londoner who would be an arrogant and difficult subject.

Do you remember touring SA?

"I do," he replies. "It was awesome." Oh, really…

"We're in pre-production at the moment," Flint continues.

"We're preparing for a world tour for our new album, logistics and so on. It's not that interesting doing pre-prod. But for the tour the band's gonna do what it normally does but we also want to make the sound as good as it can be.

"We're just excited about doing the new songs. That's the most important thing."

The new album contains, at times, strange Euro-trash beats which can be gimmicky. It certainly doesn't seem as hard as their previous offerings.

"I don't know, it depends what you are comparing it to," Flint says thoughtfully.

"It's certainly more anthemic and the beats carry our new sound."

The group plan to tour the album for the next two years, playing clubs and festivals. Flint explains that they will start in Australia before doing the festival scene in Europe. They have just come off a tour of the US.

"We have been touring heavily since our Greatest Hits album - and we love it. I can't say whether I prefer club gigs or festivals. That's like saying what your favourite meal is.

"What's interesting about festivals is you can check out your favourite bands as well but it's always good to go back into the clubs and get intimate with the crowd."

After 18 years of performing live does Flint still get nervous before playing? His answer is emphatic: "Never! I never got nervous. I get a huge buzz from it. I get hungry for it. Someone once said that you can only be successful in the music industry for a year. Well, I'm still living that year.

"I've done everything but I get hungry for more every day. Life's never boring."

Well, no one would ever have thought that Keith Flint's life would be boring!

"Look, fame went to my head big time back then. I used it. I abused it. But hey, we're pretty cute guys and fame and this band go together.

"The thing is, I am that person you see on stage and in the videos. I don't become someone else when I perform. But I'm not hyper 24/7 though. It depends what I am triggered by."

One last question. What's happening to the dance music scene that was so big when you started?

"The dance scene is getting back on track. It never went away, it just took a knock when the whole rave culture died. It's here for life.

"But we as The Prodigy are determined not to fit in."

Well, thanks Keith, good luck with your tour.

"Thanks, Therese." he replies. "Nice talking to you. Have a good day." I nearly fell off my chair.

FOTL '98 ? Flint rapper? Some more homework is needed.

is this an article or someones blog?

Maxim was somewhere on stage while Leeroy, the then-supposed dancer who eventually left the band, kicked his gangly legs around every now and then.

Play keyboards during Rock N Roll