With a degree in English Language, an interest in journalism, and a passion for music, Greg Cartwright spent two years as Pro Mobile’s Assistant Editor. In April 2016, he left behind his role to embark on a year-long trip through the Americas. Back in the UK, Greg is now a professional copywriter but also continues to contribute articles to Pro Mobile on a regular basis.Attempting to define The Prodigy is like trying to catch smoke. The same could be said for the band’s live-wire frontman, Keith Flint, who sadly passed away, aged 49, shortly after the last issue of this magazine was published.
The news shocked the music world and tributes soon poured in from fans and peers alike, opening up yet another important conversation about mental health in the process. Known for his intense stage presence, snarling vocals and signature inverse Mohawk, Flint took The Prodigy’s live shows to another level and soon became the public face of the group, after starting out purely as an onstage dancer. Born in 1969 and raised in Springfield, Essex, Flint was expelled from school at 15 and worked as a roofer until becoming fixated with the emerging acid house scene of the late-eighties.
It was at a Braintree nightclub called The Barn that he discovered drugs, dancing and a young DJ named Liam Howlett. KEITH FLINT: FIRESTARTER, FOREVER. 17TH SEPTEMBER 1969 - 4TH MARCH : FIRESTARTER, FOREVER.42 Flint was so enthused by Howlett’s demos that the two soon embarked on a fledgling musical project. Despite not knowing quite how things would work in a live setting, Howlett (producer), Maxim Reality (MC), and dancers Leeroy Thornhill and Flint decided to take to the stage, billing themselves as The Prodigy.
The rest, as they say, is history. After releasing a string of tracks that became hits within the rave scene in the early nineties (including ‘Charly’ and ‘Out of Space’), the group finally began to distance itself from the scene. ‘Charly’ had resulted in an onslaught of weak imitations that lessened the credibility of The Prodigy with critics, who lumped them in with the newly dubbed ‘kiddie rave’ genre. So, the group continued to push things forward by incorporating big beat elements and a more rocky sound for their second album, Music for the Jilted Generation, released in 1994.
The Prodigy were now slowly emerging from the underground and, along with Fatboy Slim and the Chemical Brothers, helping usher electronic music into the mainstream. Having served solely as a dancer until around 1995, Keith Flint’s debut effort as vocalist turned out to be the tipping point. Essentially a tribute to his own on-stage persona, ‘Firestarter’ was released in 1996 and became one of the biggest dance anthems of all time, propelled to the top of the charts by an iconic video that showcased the frontman’s manic dance moves and punk style. ‘Breathe’ , the band’s second number-one, which also featured Flint’s inimitable vocals, really showed the range of influences that Howlett and his bandmates were drawing from.
It was this eclectic approach to electronic music that won the group fans from across genres and around the globe, including the US. Whether you were into techno, breakbeat hardcore, metal, hip-hop or punk, The Prodigy accepted you as one of their own. While Keith Flint continued to work with The Prodigy right up until his death (on albums like 2009’s Invaders Must Die and 2019’s No Tourists ), he also found time to form his own band, Flint, and garner success as the owner of the Team Traction Control motorcycle team (in 2015 they won three Isle of Man TT races).
A man of many talents and, just like his band, impossible to define, the outpouring of emotion shown upon the news of his death tells us just how much this eccentric, iconic frontman meant to so many people. The fact that Flint’s kind, calm demeanour off stage was such a stark contrast to his hectic on-stage persona also, sadly, alludes to the fact that the pain we suffer in private can be so easily masked. Since his death, the conversation surrounding mental health – especially in men – has opened up again, and prints of a Keith Flint mural recently sold for thousands in aid of mental health charities.
43KEITH FLINT: FIRESTARTER, FOREVER. ‘Breath’ – 1996 The Prodigy’s second UK number-one, ‘Breathe’ features Flint’s aggressive punk vocals, which blend seamlessly with Maxim’s parts. These vocals are laid over hurtling breakbeat rhythms, a combination of pulsing synth lines and fuzzed out guitars, and shades of darker alternative rock (heard in the reverb-heavy guitars of the track’s breakdown). This much-loved single is still capable of bringing any dancefloor to life. ‘Omen’ – 2009 Cashing in on the short-lived ‘new rave’ scene, this 2009 comeback track was co-produced by James Rushent of Does It Offend You, Yeah? and saw Liam Howlett borrowing from his own back catalogue. (If ‘Omen’ sounded scarily similar to those late-noughties ‘breakout’ bands like Klaxons and Justice, that’s because those artists were also borrowing from his back catalogue!) The resulting effort was a modern rock-rave hybrid bolstered by a creepy but catchy Xylophone sample and Flint’s “It’s an omen!” refrain. ‘Omen’ was the Prodigy’s highest-charting single (#4) since ‘Breathe’ over a decade earlier. ‘Serial Thrilla’ – 1996 The first Prodigy album to feature Keith Flint as a vocalist, this Fat of the Land track sees the frontman giving it his best Johnny Rotten impression, describing himself as a “Damage destructor, crowd disruptor” and “serial thrilla” .
The combination of crashing cymbals, synths and heavy guitars (sampled from Skunk Anansie and Nirvana) provide the ideal base for Flint’s supercharged lyrics. The result? A rock track with a techno edge that will please rock and dance fans alike. ‘We Live Forever’ – 2018 “We’re here, it’s now, we live forever,” sings Flint on one of the final Prodigy tracks to feature his distinctive Essex snarl. An out-and-out drum and bass banger reminiscent of Pendulum, ‘We Live Forever’ offers up Daft Punk-style vocoder vocals, beefed up beats, and prominent synth lines.
In many ways, this is like classic Prodigy, as critics have noted. It’s nothing new but fun nonetheless – and packed full of hooks! The energy, of course, is relentless. We wouldn’t have it any other way. ‘Firestarter’ – 1996 If you took the anticipation felt just before a crowd erupts into a frenzy and translated it into music, the opening seconds of ‘Firestarter’ would be the result.
Once that frenetic breakbeat kicks in there’s nothing in the world that could stop this tune: guitars wail like sirens, aggressive synths cut through high in the mix, and the bass threatens to break down the door. “I’m the trouble starter, punkin instigator / I’m the fear addicted, a danger illustrated,” come Flint’s first ever words as Prodigy vocalist, before spitting his most iconic line: “I’m the firestarter, twisted firestarter.” And he was. ‘Firestarter’ turned The Prodigy into a household name and almost singlehandedly changed the direction of electronic dance music.
Needless to say, we’re still feeling the heat from those flames today. Of course, there will always be the music, which, like all truly great music, will live on and continue to resonate with listeners around the world. So, in honour of Keith Flint and his band’s undisputed influence on popular music, here are five of The Prodigy’s best tracks featuring the legend himself: : FIRESTARTER, FOREVER.
