• 1990-

  Liam HowlettKeyboards1990-

  Keith FlintDancing, vocals1990-2019

  MaximMC, beatboxing, vocals1990-

  Leeroy ThornhillDancing1990-2000

  SharkyDancing1990-1991
• The Prodigy was founded in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by keyboardist and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original lineup comprised Howlett, dancer and singer Keith Flint, dancer Leeroy Thornhill, MC and vocalist Maxim (then known as Maxim Reality) and female dancer Sharky.
• The quintet played their first-ever gig at the Four Aces, a tiny venue in Dalston, east London. They were paid £100 between them.
• The band was named after the Moog Prodigy analogue synthesizer.
• Leeroy Thornhill's height is 6-foot 7 inches (200 cm).
• The Prodigy arrived as a mainstream global force with 1997's Fat of the Land, which reached #1 in more than a dozen countries, including the UK and US. They were the first electronic group to top the album charts in America.
• Liam Howlett married All Saints member Nicole Appleton in June 2002.
• Liam Howlett is a classically trained pianist (he had eight years of lessons), but he can't read a note.
• When The Prodigy started in 1990, Liam Howlett was totally into the London warehouse rave dance party scene and he set out to create that sound with Keith Flint, Leeroy Thornhill and Sharky as dancers. He recalled to URB: "We were so naïve, we didn't have any direction or forward-thinking as to where the band was going. We were just living to play every weekend at all these parties."
• Their first album, The Prodigy Experience, was inspired by the breakbeat hardcore and rave scene in the UK. The Prodigy's second album Music for the Jilted Generation, was largely a response to the rave scene dying out partly as a result of the criminalization by the UK government of parts of rave culture. Their anger galvanized the novelty rave band into an angry spokesmen for the "jilted generation."
• Impressed by the live acts of such American funk-metal outfits as Rage Against The Machine and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Prodigy set out to create the same energy onstage that rock bands did. They moved, danced and screamed, doing exactly the opposite of what was expected of an electronic act. Keith Flint told Melody Maker July 20, 1996: "Prodigy are about energy. Buzz is our all-time overused word."
• Originally Keith Flint was one of The Prodigy's dancers. However the band truly went international when Flint grabbed the mic and unleashed the full fury of his voice on the abrasive, in-your-face "Firestarter." His performance and distinct, punk-influenced look in its video cemented their fame.
• When The Prodigy headlined Glastonbury at 1997 they became the first dance act to top the festival's bill.
• Keith Flint was a keen motorcyclist and had his own team - Team Traction Control - which has won four Isle Of Man TT races.
• During the mid-2000s Keith Flint had an ongoing battle with depression and prescription drug dependency. He recalled to The London Times: "I'd line up rows of pills and just take them and take them and I'd lose track of how many until I passed out."
• Keith Flint was found dead on Monday, March 4, 2019 at his home in Essex. He had committed suicide over the weekend. Flint was survived by his wife, Japanese DJ Mayumi Kai. An inquest into the cause of his death confirmed a week later that he had died by hanging.

Comments

More Songfacts:

Coming HomeDiddy - Dirty Money

"Coming Home" by Diddy - Dirty Money was originally iwritten for for T.I., who was getting out of prison at the time.

Summer BreezeSeals & Crofts

On the surface, "Summer Breeze" by Seals & Crofts is just a song about a guy coming home from work, but the duo claimed it had a deeper meaning about finding direction in one's personal life.

ChandelierSia

Sia planned to quit her solo career after her 2014 album 1000 Forms of Fear, but the "Chandelier" video proved so popular it drew her back in.

Hit Me With Your Best ShotPat Benatar

Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" was written by a guy named Eddie after going through a weird therapy session where he punched pillows to get out his aggressions.

Do You Realize??The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize??" was named in March 2009 the official Rock Song of Oklahoma. Four years later, Oklahoma's governor Mary Fallin pulled the tune as the state's official rock song in a move her office said had more to do with priorities than musical taste.

Follow Your ArrowKacey Musgraves

Kacey Musgraves offered "Follow Your Arrow" to her friend Katy Perry, but Perry thought Musgraves should record the song herself, telling Kacey it seemed "like something that you would totally say."

Editor's Picks

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many SongsSong Writing

For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.

Zakk WyldeSongwriter Interviews

When he was playing Ozzfest with Black Label Society, a kid told Zakk he was the best Ozzy guitarist - Zakk had to correct him.

Art Alexakis of EverclearSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.

Tim McIlrath of Rise AgainstSongwriter Interviews

Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath explains the meanings behind some of their biggest songs and names the sci-fi books that have influenced him.

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.