Two years have passed since Keith Flint’s death, an event that shocked the global electronic music scene. On the surface, they all seemed to be doing well. The band's latest material, No Tourists, debuted at number one in the UK charts. The Prodigy was still a project to see and hear, they did not fade into obscurity. Keith Flint was a successful musician with an enviable career behind him. However, he passed away tragically at only 49 years of age.
The future of the band is uncertain. We know Liam Howlett is working on new music, so we'll probably hear something from them in the near future. But everything will be different without the charismatic Keith. He contributed decisively to the band's success. His extravagant look and the energy he displayed on stage can’t be replaced.
For the time being, we have no news about new material from The Prodigy, but we know that they are working on the first documentary about the band's history. Maxim and Liam announced this project through a social media post. The film will be dedicated to Keith Flint and will tell the story of “the brothers who were on a mission to make noise, to light people's souls and blow up audio systems from around the world.”
Because there’s still a bit to go until the documentary is released, here is a short history of the band we all love:
The Prodigy represents the sound of the 90s
The band from Braintree, Essex, started their career during an extremely fruitful and chaotic period on the UK stage. TV and the charts were full of Britpop bands, but a good portion of the youth was already attracted to raves, huge parties, some of them illegal, where electronic music was played until the power was cut off. The Prodigy, along with Fatboy Slim or The Chemical Brothers, represented the Big Beat genre, which dominated the entire electronic music scene of the 90s. For many of us, those were the formative years. Everyone was obsessed with them, including here in Romania. And much of their success came after Keith's appearance:
The Firestarter moment
Everything changed for The Prodigy when the Fat of The Land album came out. It was the moment the boys started to become popular in the United States of America, the main music market in the world. The album has sold over 10 million copies. They owe part of its success to the video for Firestarter, in which Keith's look, which seems taken from the seventh circle of hell, is the undisputed star, along with his voice very reminiscent of John Lydon from Sex Pistols/Public Image Limited. The video caught on in Romania as well. It has been the catalyst for an entire generation of producers and artists. Then they went mainstream:
An underground hit factory
There were no huge festivals dedicated to electronic music in the 90s. At that time everything was underground and no one thought this would become an industry worth hundreds of millions of euros. The Prodigy contributed to this development. The guys have been at the top of the European charts throughout their careers. They came to the attention of the general public. Once again, Keith was a very important element in this whole business. Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, an album without Keith on vocals, did not sell as well as the others. In Romania, The Prodigy created a bridge between electronic music and rock. Any rocker/metalhead also played some Smack My Bitch Up or Voodoo People. A band that brings everyone together.
The legendary concert of 2015
Finally, we love The Prodigy for their concert in Bonțida on June 28, 2015. After three days of endless rain, the Brits took the stage and put on a legendary show. Strobe lights, their most famous hits + songs from the newly released The Day Is My Enemy album, a contagious energy and a lot of pogo in the audience. It's impossible to imagine what the concert would have been like without Keith on stage. It's hard to imagine how the project will go on. Because Keith was unique. We will always remember him. Thanks for the memories.
