The Prodigy
Encyclopedia
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music
group formed by Liam Howlett
in 1990 in Braintree
, Essex
. Along with Fatboy Slim
, The Chemical Brothers
, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat
genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s. They have sold over 25 million records worldwide.
The group's brand of music makes use of various styles ranging from rave
, hardcore techno
, industrial
, and breakbeat
in the early 1990s to big beat and electronic rock with punk
vocal elements in later times. The current members include Liam Howlett (keyboardist and composer), Keith Flint
(dancer and vocalist), and Maxim
(MC
and vocalist). Leeroy Thornhill
(dancer and very occasional live keyboardist) was a member of the band from 1990 to 2000, as was a female dancer and vocalist called Sharky who left the group during their early period. The Prodigy first emerged on the underground rave scene in the early 1990s, and have since then achieved immense popularity and worldwide renown.
created an initial 10-track demo, put together on a Roland W-30
music workstation in Essex
, England. XL Recordings
picked up the demo after Howlett played several tracks to XL boss Nick Halkes
in a meeting, and an initial 12" pressing of "What Evil Lurks
" was released in February 1991. There are some few thousand bootlegs of this release; the original is believed to have "the exchange" carved in the vinyl around the centre of the single (the matrix). The Prodigy's name was a moniker Liam had chosen as a tribute to his first analogue synthesiser
, the Moog Prodigy
.
The Prodigy's first public performance, with Howlett augmented by dancers Keith Flint
and Leeroy Thornhill
, was at the Four Aces in Dalston
, London, then home to "Club Labyrinth".
"Charly
", released six months later, became a huge hit in the rave scene at the time. The release reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart
, catapulting the band into the wider public attention. The Kaos Theory
compilation series featured "G Force (Energy Flow)", from their third single, "Everybody in the Place
".
After the release of the successful single
"Charly", the charts included various "hardcore
" rave tracks, to which speed
and ecstasy-fuelled clubbers would dance to, but which did not appeal to reviewers from publications at the time. Examples were tracks such as Urban Hype
's "A Trip to Trumpton
" and Smart E's (as in Ecstasy
) "Sesame's Treet
", instigating death-by-publicity to the underground "hardcore rave" scene, according to a number of critics associated with the scene. As a result, "Charly", amid being titled after a contemporary reference to cocaine
, with its memorable sample
of the "Charley Says
" children's Public information film
s, saw The Prodigy briefly identified by critics as "kiddie rave" or "Toytown Techno". Critical reception to the single was generally mixed.
", "Out of Space
", and "Wind It Up (Rewound)
"; the latter is a remix of "Wind It Up". The album was a commercial success in the UK, but failed to chart in other countries. Peaking at number 12, it was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry
.
After Experience and the run of singles that accompanied it, The Prodigy moved to distance themselves from the "kiddie rave" reputation that now dogged them. The rave scene was beginning to move on from its hardcore phase, with the Criminal Justice Act
's "anti-rave" legislation on the horizon, calling rave music "repetitive beats". The Prodigy responded to the bill by writing "Their Law".
, bearing only the title "Earthbound I". Its hypnotic, hard-edged sound won wide underground approval. Various song critics and fans were astounded when Howlett finally acknowledged responsibility for the record. It was officially released as "One Love" later that year, and went on to chart at number 8 in the UK. The following year, The Prodigy's second album, Music for the Jilted Generation
, debuted in the UK Albums Chart
at number one, and jettisoned into positive reactions from album critics. Adding elements of big beat
and electro-industrial
to the mix, the album expressed a wider spectrum of musical styles, with heavy breakbeat-based tracks complemented by the concept sequence The Narcotic Suite and a rock-oriented inclination, "Their Law", featuring Pop Will Eat Itself
.
The album was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize, although Howlett had reaffirmed his dedication to making The Prodigy a 'hard dance band', commercially successful but without compromise. The band managed to continue to prevent over-exposure in the media by refusing to appear on Top of the Pops
or other television shows in the UK. To date, their only studio appearance on British television came when they appeared on the BBC2 series Dance Energy in 1991, performing "Everybody in the Place". In the ensuing years, their videos received a strong level of support by MTV Europe, which boosted their popularity across the continent. Keith Flint himself hosted an episode of the MTV show 120 Minutes in 1995.
Following the international success of Music for the Jilted Generation, the band augmented their line-up with guitarist Jim Davies (a live band member who later joined the group Pitchshifter
) in 1995 for tracks such as "Their Law", "Break and Enter 95", and various live-only interludes and versions. He was soon to be replaced by Gizz Butt of the band Janus Stark, who remained with the band for the next three years.
" in 1996, featuring vocals for the first time courtesy of a new-look Keith Flint, helped the band break into the U.S. and other overseas markets, and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
. In this year The Prodigy also headlined the prestigious Lollapalooza
festival.
The long-awaited third Prodigy album, The Fat of the Land
, was released in 1997, just as the band headlined the Glastonbury Festival
on its opening night. Featuring simplified melodies, sparser sampling, less rave music influences, and punk
-like vocals supplied by a shockingly madeover Flint, the album nevertheless retained the bone-jarring breaks and buzzsaw synths so idiomatic of the band. The album cemented the band's position as one of the most internationally successful acts in the dance genre, entering the British and American charts at number one.
The Prodigy were getting considerable airplay on rock
stations with their controversial track "Smack My Bitch Up
"—and also a negative backlash for the song. The National Organization for Women
(NOW) criticized the song and its music video. The song's lyrics
consist entirely of the repeated phrase "Change my pitch up, smack my bitch up", which NOW stated are a "dangerous and offensive message advocating violence against women". Howlett responded to the criticism by stating that the meaning of the song and its lyrics were being misinterpreted, and the phrase meant "doing anything intensely, like being on stage – going for extreme manic energy". The band did not actually write the lyric, but rather, sampled it from the hip hop
Ultramagnetic MCs
' track "Give the Drummer Some" which also appears on the Dirtchamber Sessions
; they had also sampled another Ultramagnetic MCs song "Critical Beatdown" on their earlier "Out of Space" single. The National Organization for Women also believed that the lyrics are in reference to administering heroin (smack) to another person. Several radio stations limited the song's airplay to nighttime hours.
The music video
, directed by Jonas Åkerlund
, featured a first-person point of view of someone going clubbing and indulging in large amounts of drugs and alcohol. Other content shown include the protagonist getting into fist fights with men, abusing women, and picking up a lap dancer – played by British glamour model Teresa May
– and having sex with her as well, many (if not all) of which is depicted fairly explicitly. At the end of the video, the camera pans over to a mirror, revealing the subject to be a woman. MTV
only aired the video between 1 and 5 a.m due to the offensive material. After one week, the very same television network banned the music video at NOW's request. The director got the inspiration for the contents of the video after a night of drinking and partying in Copenhagen
.
During a performance at the Reading Festival on 29 August 1998, The Prodigy and the Beastie Boys
had an onstage disagreement over the track, with the Beastie Boys requesting the song should be pulled from their set as it could be considered offensive to those who had suffered domestic abuse. Choosing to ignore the Beastie Boys plea, Maxim introduced "Smack My Bitch Up" with the declaration "They didn't want us to play this fucking tune. But the way things go, I do what the fuck I want".
Wal-Mart
and Kmart
later announced they would pull The Fat of the Land off their shelves. Despite the fact that the LP
had resided on their store shelves for over 20 weeks, and the fact that they had sold 150,000 copies of the album in total, the two stores found the marketing campaign for the new single release "offensive".
1999 saw the release of The Prodigy's The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One
, a DJ mix album by Howlett, produced as an official record of a successful guest appearance on the British Radio 1
. In June of the same year, when the band had arguably reached their commercial peak, they parted company with guitarist Gizz Butt.
Following 1999, Thornhill departed from the group while he divorced Sara Cox
due to the risk of nervous breakdown, resulting in the band's website being replaced with their logo and the words "We will be back" set against a black background, a stint that it'd remain until 2002.
" was released to critical disappointment. The song was written by Keith Flint's sideband, Flint
, produced by Howlett, and also featured Jim Davies. Once again, the band courted controversy by including references to the so-called "date rape
" drug Rohypnol in the song's lyrics, although it is unclear whether or not the band "glorifies" or presents the drug in a negative light. The song's music video was also controversial, which featured topless women milking cows in a suggestive fashion. The complete, unedited video was aired on MTV2
in 2002 as part of a special countdown showing the most controversial videos ever to air on MTV. This countdown was only shown late at night because of the graphic imagery of "Smack My Bitch Up" and several other videos on the countdown, including Nine Inch Nails
' 1994 hit "Closer". The "Smack My Bitch Up" video in particular was deemed the "Most Controversial Video" by MTV and showed at the number 1 spot on the countdown. In the same year, however, Q
magazine named The Prodigy one of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die".
This year also saw the marriage of Howlett and All Saints
' Natalie Appleton
on 6 June. Their son, Ace Billy, was born on 2 March 2004.
, was released on 23 August 2004, and 14 September 2004 in the USA. A precursory and experimental single, "Memphis Bells", was released in very limited numbers, followed by the traditional release of the single "Girls
". The U.S. version of the studio album contained a bonus track; a remix of "Girls", entitled "More Girls". The album, which topped the UK Album Charts on its debut week, was promoted by a 2-year-long tour. On another hand, critics were not pleased with the new material, and rated it a potboiler, in addition to Rolling Stone
' s gift of a poor 2-star rating to the album.
5,000 digital copies of "Memphis Bells" were sold over the Internet
. Each copy was a combination of customer-chosen instrumental, rhythmic, and melodic options, of which 39,600 choices were available. Five mixes were sold in three file formats, WAV
, two audio mixes in MP3
, and a 5.1 DTS surround sound
mix, and all were free of digital rights management
. The experiment was a success, with the 5,000 copies being sold in just over 36 hours, in spite of server problems from the demand.
In 2005, they released a compilation, Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005
, which spawned a single containing new remixes
of the songs "Out of Space" (the "Audio Bullys Remix") and "Voodoo People" (the "Pendulum Remix"). The artwork represented drawn versions of the front covers of the "Out of Space" and "Voodoo People" single releases. The latter was also followed by a music video filmed in Romford Market
, Essex
, which featured on the DVD release of the compilation. Sharky, the group's only female member, is shown running and winning the race depicted in the video.
The Prodigy's first two albums, 1992's Experience and 1994's Music for the Jilted Generation, were re-released in expanded, deluxe editions on 4 August 2008. As well as being remastered, the new packages featured a bonus disc including mixes, rarities, and live tracks. The two albums also featured expanded artwork in addition to the new musical content.
When asked about the idea, Howlett responded that they were getting ready to make a new album:
Festival in the early hours of 13 July 2008. Among the tracks previewed were "Worlds on Fire", "Warriors Dance", "Mescaline", and "First Warning", which was featured in the gangster movie Smokin' Aces
and as among the songs featured in the soundtrack for Electronic Arts
video game Need for Speed: Undercover
.
On 5 November 2008, it was announced that the band's fifth studio album would be called Invaders Must Die
and would be released on the band's new label, Take Me to the Hospital. It was released in the USA on 3 March 2009, and was the first Prodigy album since 1997's The Fat of the Land to feature all three members of the band.
The album featured drummer Dave Grohl
on drums for "Run with the Wolves". The top five hit "Omen" and "Invaders Must Die" were co-produced with Does It Offend You, Yeah?
frontman James Rushent. Sleeve notes show an A&R credit for Nick Halkes
who signed the act to XL, thus possibly linking with the clear references on the album to rave culture and the presence of the 'classic' Prodigy sound that seemed less present on the Always Outnumbered album. The band said that the album would go back to their "old-school but cutting edge" roots. The album was released as a CD, CD-DVD set, double vinyl, digital download, and a luxury 7-inch vinyl box set including five 7-inches, CD-DVD, bonus CD, poster, stickers, and stencils.
Invaders Must Die was released on 21 February 2009 in Australia and in Europe on 23 February 2009, charting at number one in the UK with week one sales of over 97,000 – a higher figure than for either Always Outnumbered or their singles collection. The album also reached the top five in Germany and Australia and top 10 in Norway and several other European countries.
To coincide with the release of the album, the band embarked on a nine-date UK arena tour, with support from Dizzee Rascal
, Noisia
, Herve
, and DJ Kissy Sell Out. The single "Omen
" debuted at number 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart the week of 25 February 2009. Initial critical response to Invaders Must Die was somewhat mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 60, based on 20 reviews. However, the album was well received by the fans, who welcomed it in a positive light compared to Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. Two singles followed, "Warrior's Dance
" and "Take Me to the Hospital
", which were released on 11 May and 31 August 2009 respectively. The former song peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, while the latter included a VHS-filmed music video that premiered on VidZone
.
A fourth single, "Invaders Must Die (Liam H Reamped Version)
", from the Special Edition of the album, was released.
In an interview with Rob Swire
of Pendulum
, he revealed that The Prodigy were collaborating on Pendulum's third album, Immersion
. Howlett was a co-producer of the song Immunize.
, The Prodigy are going back to the studio to record their next album. In a recent interview, Liam Howlett said that The Prodigy are currently back in the studio and working around new ideas for their new album. On 6 August 2011, The Prodigy headlined Przystanek Woodstock
(Poland) playing to a crowd of over 700,000 fans, though the police declared the band's role at the festival unsafe.
On March 18, The Prodigy announced through their website and mailing list a showing of World's on Fire, a film made mostly from footage of the Warrior's Dance festival from July 2010, for one night only in selected cinemas across Europe. Recorded before 65,000 fans, World's on Fire is the début live film of The Prodigy, documenting their biggest concert to date. The CD, DVD, and Blu-ray of World's on Fire was released on 23 May 2011.
On 18 November, The Prodigy were announced as a headliner for Download Festival
2012, and will be closing the main stage on Friday 8 June with songs from their new album, to be released later in 2012.
Live members
Former members
Former live members
Live album
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
group formed by Liam Howlett
Liam Howlett
Liam Paris Howlett known as Liam Howlett , is a member of the English band The Prodigy, occasional DJ, and a music producer.-Life and career:...
in 1990 in Braintree
Braintree, Essex
Braintree is a town of about 42,000 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. It is northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester on the River Blackwater, A120 road and a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line.Braintree has grown contiguous...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. Along with Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
, The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat
Big beat
Big beat is a term employed since the mid-1990s by the British music press to describe much of the music by artists such as The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, and Propellerheads typically driven by heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns in...
genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s. They have sold over 25 million records worldwide.
The group's brand of music makes use of various styles ranging from rave
Rave music
Rave music may either refer the late 1980s genre or any genre of electronic dance music that may be played at an electronic dance party such as a rave. Very rarely, the term is used to refer to less electronic related genres glam, powerpop, psychedelic rock and dub music parties...
, hardcore techno
Hardcore techno
Hardcore techno is a type of electronic music typified by the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples...
, industrial
Electro-industrial
Electro-industrial is a music genre drawing on EBM and post-industrial that developed in the mid-1980s. While EBM has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial has a deep, complex and layered sound. The style was pioneered by Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, and other groups,...
, and breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
in the early 1990s to big beat and electronic rock with punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
vocal elements in later times. The current members include Liam Howlett (keyboardist and composer), Keith Flint
Keith Flint
Keith Charles Flint is a dancer and vocalist of the British Electronica band The Prodigy.- Early life :Flint was born in Redbridge, London, England, to Clive & Yvonne Flint and initially raised in East London; in the mid-1970s his parents moved out to Springfield, Essex, but due to his parents'...
(dancer and vocalist), and Maxim
Maxim Reality
Keith Andrew Palmer , known by his stage name Maxim Reality or simply Maxim, is an English singer-songwriter and MC, famous for his work with electronica band The Prodigy....
(MC
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
and vocalist). Leeroy Thornhill
Leeroy Thornhill
Leeroy Thornhill is a British electronic music artist and formerly a rave dancer and live keyboardist of the British rave act The Prodigy. He has produced solo work under the names Longman and Flightcrank. He was born in Barking but raised in Rayne near Braintree in Essex, and grew up as a...
(dancer and very occasional live keyboardist) was a member of the band from 1990 to 2000, as was a female dancer and vocalist called Sharky who left the group during their early period. The Prodigy first emerged on the underground rave scene in the early 1990s, and have since then achieved immense popularity and worldwide renown.
Beginnings and first appearances (1990–1991)
Liam HowlettLiam Howlett
Liam Paris Howlett known as Liam Howlett , is a member of the English band The Prodigy, occasional DJ, and a music producer.-Life and career:...
created an initial 10-track demo, put together on a Roland W-30
Roland W-30
The Roland W-30 is a sampling workstation keyboard, released in 1989. It features an on-board 12-bit sampler, sample-based synthesizer, 16-track sequencer and 61-note keyboard....
music workstation in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England. XL Recordings
XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire...
picked up the demo after Howlett played several tracks to XL boss Nick Halkes
Nick Halkes
Nick Halkes is a U.K. based music industry executive known for signing and breaking multi-million selling dance act The Prodigy. He is also a part time lecturer on the music industry to BA and MA students at University of Westminster in London.-Career:...
in a meeting, and an initial 12" pressing of "What Evil Lurks
What Evil Lurks
What Evil Lurks is an EP by English band The Prodigy. The 12" vinyl record was released in a limited number in February 1991, selling around 7000 copies....
" was released in February 1991. There are some few thousand bootlegs of this release; the original is believed to have "the exchange" carved in the vinyl around the centre of the single (the matrix). The Prodigy's name was a moniker Liam had chosen as a tribute to his first analogue synthesiser
Analog synthesizer
An analog or analogue synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium were built with a variety of vacuum-tube and electro-mechanical technologies...
, the Moog Prodigy
Moog Prodigy
The Moog Prodigy was a synthesizer produced by Moog Music from 1979 to 1984. Of the 11,000 produced, versions released after 1981 included a control voltage/gate input on the back that allowed the VCF of the filter to be triggered and controlled by an external source.These later versions began at...
.
The Prodigy's first public performance, with Howlett augmented by dancers Keith Flint
Keith Flint
Keith Charles Flint is a dancer and vocalist of the British Electronica band The Prodigy.- Early life :Flint was born in Redbridge, London, England, to Clive & Yvonne Flint and initially raised in East London; in the mid-1970s his parents moved out to Springfield, Essex, but due to his parents'...
and Leeroy Thornhill
Leeroy Thornhill
Leeroy Thornhill is a British electronic music artist and formerly a rave dancer and live keyboardist of the British rave act The Prodigy. He has produced solo work under the names Longman and Flightcrank. He was born in Barking but raised in Rayne near Braintree in Essex, and grew up as a...
, was at the Four Aces in Dalston
Dalston
Dalston is a district of north-east London, England, located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
, London, then home to "Club Labyrinth".
"Charly
Charly (song)
"Charly" is the debut single released by the British electronic act The Prodigy, taken from their debut album Experience. The version featured on the album is the significantly longer "Trip Into Drum & Bass" remix...
", released six months later, became a huge hit in the rave scene at the time. The release reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, catapulting the band into the wider public attention. The Kaos Theory
Kaos Theory
Kaos Theory was a short series of compilation albums by Telstar Records which were compiled from "hardcore rave" records that were not on general release to the public. These tracks were condemned by some as "kiddie rave"...
compilation series featured "G Force (Energy Flow)", from their third single, "Everybody in the Place
Everybody in the Place
"Everybody in the Place" is the second official single released by the British electronic dance band The Prodigy from their debut album "Experience"...
".
After the release of the successful single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Charly", the charts included various "hardcore
Hardcore techno
Hardcore techno is a type of electronic music typified by the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples...
" rave tracks, to which speed
Amphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
and ecstasy-fuelled clubbers would dance to, but which did not appeal to reviewers from publications at the time. Examples were tracks such as Urban Hype
Urban Hype
Urban Hype were a British early 1990s techno and acid house band, consisting of Bob Dibden and Mark Lewis . They are best known for their Toytown Techno single, "A Trip to Trumpton", which peaked at #6 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1992...
's "A Trip to Trumpton
A Trip To Trumpton
"A Trip To Trumpton" was a rave song released in the early 1990s by the group Urban Hype , and was produced by DJ Jack Smooth. It featured samples from the 1960s children's television programme Trumpton...
" and Smart E's (as in Ecstasy
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
MDMA is an entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. In popular culture, MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy" , usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants...
) "Sesame's Treet
Sesame's Treet
"Sesame's Treet" is a 1992 remix of the "classic" Sesame Street theme song by the English rave group Smart E's. The song reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart....
", instigating death-by-publicity to the underground "hardcore rave" scene, according to a number of critics associated with the scene. As a result, "Charly", amid being titled after a contemporary reference to cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, with its memorable sample
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
of the "Charley Says
Charley Says
Charley Says was a series of very short cut-out animated cartoon Public Information Films for children, shown in the United Kingdom in the 1970s and 1980s for London's Central Office of Information.-Overview:...
" children's Public information film
Public information film
Public Information Films are a series of government commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the UK. The US equivalent is the Public Service Announcement .-Subjects:...
s, saw The Prodigy briefly identified by critics as "kiddie rave" or "Toytown Techno". Critical reception to the single was generally mixed.
Experience (1992–1993)
The band's first full length album, the critically acclaimed Experience, followed "Charly" as a landmark release in the history of British rave music. The album closes with a live version of "Death of the Prodigy Dancers", featuring Maxim on vocals. There were five singles spawned from the album: "Charly", "Everybody in the Place", "Fire/JerichoFire/Jericho
"Fire" and "Jericho" are two songs recorded by English electronica/rave act The Prodigy . It peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart....
", "Out of Space
Out of Space (song)
"Out of Space" was the fourth single released by the English band The Prodigy on 9 November 1992.The song is also featured on The Prodigy's 1992 debut album Experience and is fourth single from it....
", and "Wind It Up (Rewound)
Wind It Up (Rewound)
"Wind It Up " was the fifth single released by the British electronica/rave act The Prodigy on 29 March 1993. This song, a remix of "Wind It Up", makes extreme use of distortion and noise, and is significantly different than the version featured on Experience. The B-side "We Are the Ruffest"...
"; the latter is a remix of "Wind It Up". The album was a commercial success in the UK, but failed to chart in other countries. Peaking at number 12, it was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
.
After Experience and the run of singles that accompanied it, The Prodigy moved to distance themselves from the "kiddie rave" reputation that now dogged them. The rave scene was beginning to move on from its hardcore phase, with the Criminal Justice Act
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the existing law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights and in greater penalties for certain "anti-social" behaviours...
's "anti-rave" legislation on the horizon, calling rave music "repetitive beats". The Prodigy responded to the bill by writing "Their Law".
Music for the Jilted Generation (1993–1995)
In 1993, Howlett released an anonymous white labelWhite label
White label records are vinyl records with adhesive plain white labels affixed. Test pressings, usually with Test Pressing written on the label, with catalogue number, artist and recording time or date, are produced in small quantities to evaluate the quality of the disc production...
, bearing only the title "Earthbound I". Its hypnotic, hard-edged sound won wide underground approval. Various song critics and fans were astounded when Howlett finally acknowledged responsibility for the record. It was officially released as "One Love" later that year, and went on to chart at number 8 in the UK. The following year, The Prodigy's second album, Music for the Jilted Generation
Music for the Jilted Generation
Music for the Jilted Generation is the second album by English electronic dance music band The Prodigy. The album was released through XL Recordings in July 1994...
, debuted in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
at number one, and jettisoned into positive reactions from album critics. Adding elements of big beat
Big beat
Big beat is a term employed since the mid-1990s by the British music press to describe much of the music by artists such as The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, and Propellerheads typically driven by heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns in...
and electro-industrial
Electro-industrial
Electro-industrial is a music genre drawing on EBM and post-industrial that developed in the mid-1980s. While EBM has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial has a deep, complex and layered sound. The style was pioneered by Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, and other groups,...
to the mix, the album expressed a wider spectrum of musical styles, with heavy breakbeat-based tracks complemented by the concept sequence The Narcotic Suite and a rock-oriented inclination, "Their Law", featuring Pop Will Eat Itself
Pop Will Eat Itself
Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band, originally formed in Stourbridge in 1986, with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a Grebo act, their style changed to incorporate sample driven indie and industrial rock...
.
The album was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize, although Howlett had reaffirmed his dedication to making The Prodigy a 'hard dance band', commercially successful but without compromise. The band managed to continue to prevent over-exposure in the media by refusing to appear on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
or other television shows in the UK. To date, their only studio appearance on British television came when they appeared on the BBC2 series Dance Energy in 1991, performing "Everybody in the Place". In the ensuing years, their videos received a strong level of support by MTV Europe, which boosted their popularity across the continent. Keith Flint himself hosted an episode of the MTV show 120 Minutes in 1995.
Following the international success of Music for the Jilted Generation, the band augmented their line-up with guitarist Jim Davies (a live band member who later joined the group Pitchshifter
Pitchshifter (band)
Pitchshifter are a British five-piece electronic-metal band from Nottingham, United Kingdom formed in 1989. The band was started by bassist and vocalist Mark Clayden, lead guitarist and programmer Johnny A...
) in 1995 for tracks such as "Their Law", "Break and Enter 95", and various live-only interludes and versions. He was soon to be replaced by Gizz Butt of the band Janus Stark, who remained with the band for the next three years.
The Fat of the Land and controversies (1996–2002)
The release of "FirestarterFirestarter (song)
"Firestarter" is a song by the English band The Prodigy, released on 18 March 1996. It was the first single from their third album The Fat of the Land, and their tenth single. It was also the group's first number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, staying on top for three weeks...
" in 1996, featuring vocals for the first time courtesy of a new-look Keith Flint, helped the band break into the U.S. and other overseas markets, and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. In this year The Prodigy also headlined the prestigious Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
festival.
The long-awaited third Prodigy album, The Fat of the Land
The Fat of the Land
The Fat of the Land is the third studio album by The Prodigy. The album was released by XL Recordings on 30 June 1997 and on 1 July 1997 in the United States by Maverick Records...
, was released in 1997, just as the band headlined the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
on its opening night. Featuring simplified melodies, sparser sampling, less rave music influences, and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
-like vocals supplied by a shockingly madeover Flint, the album nevertheless retained the bone-jarring breaks and buzzsaw synths so idiomatic of the band. The album cemented the band's position as one of the most internationally successful acts in the dance genre, entering the British and American charts at number one.
The Prodigy were getting considerable airplay on rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
stations with their controversial track "Smack My Bitch Up
Smack My Bitch Up
"Smack My Bitch Up" is a song by The Prodigy, released as the band's twelfth single on 17 November 1997. It was the third and final single from the album The Fat of the Land....
"—and also a negative backlash for the song. The National Organization for Women
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S...
(NOW) criticized the song and its music video. The song's lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
consist entirely of the repeated phrase "Change my pitch up, smack my bitch up", which NOW stated are a "dangerous and offensive message advocating violence against women". Howlett responded to the criticism by stating that the meaning of the song and its lyrics were being misinterpreted, and the phrase meant "doing anything intensely, like being on stage – going for extreme manic energy". The band did not actually write the lyric, but rather, sampled it from the hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
Ultramagnetic MCs
Ultramagnetic MCs
The Ultramagnetic MC's is an American hip hop group based in Bronx, New York. Originally founded by Kool Keith, the group is composed of Ced Gee, TR Love, and Moe Love. Tim Dog became an unofficial member in 1989. In 1990, DJ Jaycee was added as Roadmanager and backup DJ. A former member, Rooney...
' track "Give the Drummer Some" which also appears on the Dirtchamber Sessions
The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One
Prodigy Present: The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One is a 1999 solo mix album by Liam Howlett of The Prodigy , and it was initially produced for BBC Radio 1's mix show The Breezeblock....
; they had also sampled another Ultramagnetic MCs song "Critical Beatdown" on their earlier "Out of Space" single. The National Organization for Women also believed that the lyrics are in reference to administering heroin (smack) to another person. Several radio stations limited the song's airplay to nighttime hours.
The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, directed by Jonas Åkerlund
Jonas Åkerlund
Jonas Åkerlund is a Swedish film and music video director, and drummer. He is best known for directing music videos, which are often mock forms of movie trailers and short films...
, featured a first-person point of view of someone going clubbing and indulging in large amounts of drugs and alcohol. Other content shown include the protagonist getting into fist fights with men, abusing women, and picking up a lap dancer – played by British glamour model Teresa May
Teresa May
Teresa May is an English glamour model.In 1997, she appeared in the music video for The Prodigy's single "Smack My Bitch Up". She moved into acting later in her career in B movies such as Exterminator City and One Man and his Dog....
– and having sex with her as well, many (if not all) of which is depicted fairly explicitly. At the end of the video, the camera pans over to a mirror, revealing the subject to be a woman. MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
only aired the video between 1 and 5 a.m due to the offensive material. After one week, the very same television network banned the music video at NOW's request. The director got the inspiration for the contents of the video after a night of drinking and partying in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
.
During a performance at the Reading Festival on 29 August 1998, The Prodigy and the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
had an onstage disagreement over the track, with the Beastie Boys requesting the song should be pulled from their set as it could be considered offensive to those who had suffered domestic abuse. Choosing to ignore the Beastie Boys plea, Maxim introduced "Smack My Bitch Up" with the declaration "They didn't want us to play this fucking tune. But the way things go, I do what the fuck I want".
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
and Kmart
Kmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
later announced they would pull The Fat of the Land off their shelves. Despite the fact that the LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
had resided on their store shelves for over 20 weeks, and the fact that they had sold 150,000 copies of the album in total, the two stores found the marketing campaign for the new single release "offensive".
1999 saw the release of The Prodigy's The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One
The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One
Prodigy Present: The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One is a 1999 solo mix album by Liam Howlett of The Prodigy , and it was initially produced for BBC Radio 1's mix show The Breezeblock....
, a DJ mix album by Howlett, produced as an official record of a successful guest appearance on the British Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
. In June of the same year, when the band had arguably reached their commercial peak, they parted company with guitarist Gizz Butt.
Following 1999, Thornhill departed from the group while he divorced Sara Cox
Sara Cox
Sara Cox , known as "Coxy", is an English TV presenter and radio DJ, most well known for presenting the breakfast show on BBC Radio 1 between 2000 and 2003...
due to the risk of nervous breakdown, resulting in the band's website being replaced with their logo and the words "We will be back" set against a black background, a stint that it'd remain until 2002.
Reunion (2002–2004)
In 2002, after a break from touring and recording, the single "Baby's Got a TemperBaby's Got a Temper
"Baby's Got a Temper" is a song recorded by English electronica group The Prodigy, released on 1 July 2002. It was the band's first single in five years, following "Smack My Bitch Up" in 1997, and was their second that was not a song from any of their albums...
" was released to critical disappointment. The song was written by Keith Flint's sideband, Flint
Flint (band)
Flint was a musical project fronted by Keith Flint of The Prodigy. The band consisted of Keith Flint , Jim Davies , Kieron Pepper and Rob Holliday , and Tony Howlett ....
, produced by Howlett, and also featured Jim Davies. Once again, the band courted controversy by including references to the so-called "date rape
Date rape
"Date rape", often referred to as acquaintance rape, is an assault or attempted assault usually committed by a new acquaintance involving sexual intercourse without mutual consent....
" drug Rohypnol in the song's lyrics, although it is unclear whether or not the band "glorifies" or presents the drug in a negative light. The song's music video was also controversial, which featured topless women milking cows in a suggestive fashion. The complete, unedited video was aired on MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
in 2002 as part of a special countdown showing the most controversial videos ever to air on MTV. This countdown was only shown late at night because of the graphic imagery of "Smack My Bitch Up" and several other videos on the countdown, including Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
' 1994 hit "Closer". The "Smack My Bitch Up" video in particular was deemed the "Most Controversial Video" by MTV and showed at the number 1 spot on the countdown. In the same year, however, Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine named The Prodigy one of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die".
This year also saw the marriage of Howlett and All Saints
All Saints (band)
All Saints were a British/Canadian girl group. Founded in 1993 as All Saints 1.9.7.5, the group consisted of founding members Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis, and sisters Nicole Appleton and Natalie Appleton...
' Natalie Appleton
Natalie Appleton
Natalie Jane Appleton Howlett is a Canadian pop singer and actress who rose to fame as a member of the band All Saints. During All Saints' five years of inactivity, she was a member of Appleton with her younger sister Nicole.-Biography:...
on 6 June. Their son, Ace Billy, was born on 2 March 2004.
Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned (2004–2008)
The Prodigy's fourth studio album, Always Outnumbered, Never OutgunnedAlways Outnumbered, Never Outgunned
Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned is the fourth studio album by English electronic dance music group The Prodigy. The album was released in the United Kingdom on 23 August 2004 under XL Recordings, and in North America on 15 September 2004 by Mute Records and Maverick Records. It was the last...
, was released on 23 August 2004, and 14 September 2004 in the USA. A precursory and experimental single, "Memphis Bells", was released in very limited numbers, followed by the traditional release of the single "Girls
Girls (The Prodigy song)
"Girls" was the fourteenth single released by the British electronic band The Prodigy on 30 August 2004. It was the first single from the album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. "Girls" peaked at number 19 on the British charts....
". The U.S. version of the studio album contained a bonus track; a remix of "Girls", entitled "More Girls". The album, which topped the UK Album Charts on its debut week, was promoted by a 2-year-long tour. On another hand, critics were not pleased with the new material, and rated it a potboiler, in addition to Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
5,000 digital copies of "Memphis Bells" were sold over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Each copy was a combination of customer-chosen instrumental, rhythmic, and melodic options, of which 39,600 choices were available. Five mixes were sold in three file formats, WAV
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
, two audio mixes in MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
, and a 5.1 DTS surround sound
Surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
mix, and all were free of digital rights management
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
. The experiment was a success, with the 5,000 copies being sold in just over 36 hours, in spite of server problems from the demand.
In 2005, they released a compilation, Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005
Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005
Their Law: The Singles 1990–2005 is a singles collection from the UK band The Prodigy. It was released on 17 October 2005, and entered the UK album chart at #1 on 23 October.-Formats and singles:The record is available in four versions:...
, which spawned a single containing new remixes
Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix)/Out of Space (Audio Bullys Remix)
"Voodoo People" / "Out of Space" is the seventeenth single released by the British dance act The Prodigy on 3 October 2005, and was the only single released from their compilation album Their Law: The Singles 1990–2005...
of the songs "Out of Space" (the "Audio Bullys Remix") and "Voodoo People" (the "Pendulum Remix"). The artwork represented drawn versions of the front covers of the "Out of Space" and "Voodoo People" single releases. The latter was also followed by a music video filmed in Romford Market
Romford Market
Romford Market is a large open market with 270 stalls, located in Romford, London Borough of Havering, east London, England. The market is open on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, which featured on the DVD release of the compilation. Sharky, the group's only female member, is shown running and winning the race depicted in the video.
The Prodigy's first two albums, 1992's Experience and 1994's Music for the Jilted Generation, were re-released in expanded, deluxe editions on 4 August 2008. As well as being remastered, the new packages featured a bonus disc including mixes, rarities, and live tracks. The two albums also featured expanded artwork in addition to the new musical content.
When asked about the idea, Howlett responded that they were getting ready to make a new album:
No, we're all done with that [those albums] now, all the old material. We didn't actually want to do the Greatest Hits, we were ready to start our new record—until the record company pointed out that it was in the contract. But then we got into it, and tried to be creative with it as much as [we could]. And, you know, we ended up being really proud of it. You have to have a different brain when you're doing a record like that. It's more about [saying] "this is your achievement"; I could hold in one hand all the records we've released, so that was cool. We're moving on now, and getting on with the new record.
Invaders Must Die and current events (2008–present)
The Prodigy showcased four new songs at the OxegenOxegen
Oxegen is an annual music festival in Ireland held since 2004, sponsored by Heineken. As of 2007, 2008, 2009, the festival has been cited as Ireland's biggest music festival. And by 2009, the festival is cited as the greenest festival, being a 100% carbon neutral event in Ireland. It was previously...
Festival in the early hours of 13 July 2008. Among the tracks previewed were "Worlds on Fire", "Warriors Dance", "Mescaline", and "First Warning", which was featured in the gangster movie Smokin' Aces
Smokin' Aces
Smokin' Aces is a 2006 crime film, written and directed by Joe Carnahan. It stars Jeremy Piven as a Las Vegas magician turned mafia informant and Ryan Reynolds as the FBI agent assigned to protect him...
and as among the songs featured in the soundtrack for Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
video game Need for Speed: Undercover
Need for Speed: Undercover
Need for Speed: Undercover is the 12th installment of the popular racing video game series Need for Speed, developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts . It was released on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and mobile...
.
On 5 November 2008, it was announced that the band's fifth studio album would be called Invaders Must Die
Invaders Must Die
Invaders Must Die is the fifth studio album by English electronica group The Prodigy. The album was released on 18 February 2009 on the band's new label Take Me to the Hospital, and was distributed by Cooking Vinyl....
and would be released on the band's new label, Take Me to the Hospital. It was released in the USA on 3 March 2009, and was the first Prodigy album since 1997's The Fat of the Land to feature all three members of the band.
The album featured drummer Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl
David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...
on drums for "Run with the Wolves". The top five hit "Omen" and "Invaders Must Die" were co-produced with Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Does It Offend You, Yeah? are a British electronic rock band from Reading, Berkshire.-History:Does It Offend You, Yeah? were formed in 2006 in Reading, UK by James Rushent and Dan Coop and soon joined by Rob Bloomfield and Morgan Quaintance....
frontman James Rushent. Sleeve notes show an A&R credit for Nick Halkes
Nick Halkes
Nick Halkes is a U.K. based music industry executive known for signing and breaking multi-million selling dance act The Prodigy. He is also a part time lecturer on the music industry to BA and MA students at University of Westminster in London.-Career:...
who signed the act to XL, thus possibly linking with the clear references on the album to rave culture and the presence of the 'classic' Prodigy sound that seemed less present on the Always Outnumbered album. The band said that the album would go back to their "old-school but cutting edge" roots. The album was released as a CD, CD-DVD set, double vinyl, digital download, and a luxury 7-inch vinyl box set including five 7-inches, CD-DVD, bonus CD, poster, stickers, and stencils.
Invaders Must Die was released on 21 February 2009 in Australia and in Europe on 23 February 2009, charting at number one in the UK with week one sales of over 97,000 – a higher figure than for either Always Outnumbered or their singles collection. The album also reached the top five in Germany and Australia and top 10 in Norway and several other European countries.
To coincide with the release of the album, the band embarked on a nine-date UK arena tour, with support from Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
, Noisia
Noisia
Noisia, stylized as NOISIΛ , is a Dutch Electronic music trio consisting of members Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger from Groningen, The Netherlands. They now produce a wide variety of music including drum and bass, dubstep, breakbeat and house music...
, Herve
Herve
Herve is a Walloon municipality of Belgium in Province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Herve had a total population of 16,772. The total area is 56.84 km² which gives a population density of 295 inhabitants per km²....
, and DJ Kissy Sell Out. The single "Omen
Omen (song)
"Omen" is the nineteenth single released by the British electronic band The Prodigy. It was released on 16 February 2009, and it is the first commercial single from the album Invaders Must Die....
" debuted at number 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart the week of 25 February 2009. Initial critical response to Invaders Must Die was somewhat mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 60, based on 20 reviews. However, the album was well received by the fans, who welcomed it in a positive light compared to Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. Two singles followed, "Warrior's Dance
Warrior's Dance
"Warrior's Dance" is the twentieth single released by the British electronic band The Prodigy on 11 May 2009, and it is the second commercial single from the album Invaders Must Die after "Omen" and the free "promo" single "Invaders Must Die"....
" and "Take Me to the Hospital
Take Me to the Hospital
"Take Me to the Hospital" is the twenty-first single released by the British electronic band The Prodigy. released on 31 August 2009, the CD Single includes the Sub Focus Remix and the 12" Single also includes a Rusko Remix. Liam also collaborated with Josh Homme to create the "Wreckage" mix of the...
", which were released on 11 May and 31 August 2009 respectively. The former song peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, while the latter included a VHS-filmed music video that premiered on VidZone
VidZone
VidZone is the largest online music video VOD service in the world, operated by London-based company VidZone Digital Media and Sony Computer Entertainment. The online service provides free streaming of music videos from the VidZone.tv website, in addition to music distribution through a number of...
.
A fourth single, "Invaders Must Die (Liam H Reamped Version)
Invaders Must Die (song)
"Invaders Must Die" is the eighteenth single released by the British electronic band The Prodigy. It was released from the band's website as a free digital download on 26 November 2008. It was the first single from the album Invaders Must Die...
", from the Special Edition of the album, was released.
In an interview with Rob Swire
Rob Swire
Rob Swire , is an Australian record producer, singer and keyboardist. Swire is best known as lead singer and producer of Australian electronic band Pendulum and is sometimes referred to by the stage name Anscenic...
of Pendulum
Pendulum (band)
Pendulum is an Australian drum and bass and electronic rock band founded in 2002 in Perth by Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen, and Paul Harding.Swire and McGrillen were members of the rock band known as Xygen. After hearing Konflict's "Messiah" at a club, they were inspired to enter into the drum and...
, he revealed that The Prodigy were collaborating on Pendulum's third album, Immersion
Immersion (album)
Immersion is the third studio album from Australian electronic rock/drum & bass band Pendulum. The album was announced in early 2009, with the name being confirmed in December 2009. The album was released 21 May 2010 in Australia and Ireland, and 24 May for the rest of the world, followed by a UK...
. Howlett was a co-producer of the song Immunize.
New album
On November 16, 2010, Liam Howlett announced that after their American tour with Linkin ParkLinkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
, The Prodigy are going back to the studio to record their next album. In a recent interview, Liam Howlett said that The Prodigy are currently back in the studio and working around new ideas for their new album. On 6 August 2011, The Prodigy headlined Przystanek Woodstock
Przystanek Woodstock
Przystanek Woodstock is an annual free rock music festival in Poland, inspired by and named for the Woodstock Festival, that has taken place since 1995...
(Poland) playing to a crowd of over 700,000 fans, though the police declared the band's role at the festival unsafe.
On March 18, The Prodigy announced through their website and mailing list a showing of World's on Fire, a film made mostly from footage of the Warrior's Dance festival from July 2010, for one night only in selected cinemas across Europe. Recorded before 65,000 fans, World's on Fire is the début live film of The Prodigy, documenting their biggest concert to date. The CD, DVD, and Blu-ray of World's on Fire was released on 23 May 2011.
On 18 November, The Prodigy were announced as a headliner for Download Festival
Download Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...
2012, and will be closing the main stage on Friday 8 June with songs from their new album, to be released later in 2012.
Members
Current members- Keith FlintKeith FlintKeith Charles Flint is a dancer and vocalist of the British Electronica band The Prodigy.- Early life :Flint was born in Redbridge, London, England, to Clive & Yvonne Flint and initially raised in East London; in the mid-1970s his parents moved out to Springfield, Essex, but due to his parents'...
– vocals (1990–present) - Liam HowlettLiam HowlettLiam Paris Howlett known as Liam Howlett , is a member of the English band The Prodigy, occasional DJ, and a music producer.-Life and career:...
– synthesizer, keyboards, drums (1990–present) - MaximMaxim RealityKeith Andrew Palmer , known by his stage name Maxim Reality or simply Maxim, is an English singer-songwriter and MC, famous for his work with electronica band The Prodigy....
– vocals (1990–present)
Live members
- Leo Crabtree – drums, percussion (2008–present)
- Rob HollidayRob HollidayRob Holliday is a professional musician. He was the live guitarist of industrial metal band Marilyn Manson as well as for Gary Numan, The Prodigy, and Sulpher...
– guitar, bass (2005–2006, 2008–present)
Former members
- Leeroy ThornhillLeeroy ThornhillLeeroy Thornhill is a British electronic music artist and formerly a rave dancer and live keyboardist of the British rave act The Prodigy. He has produced solo work under the names Longman and Flightcrank. He was born in Barking but raised in Rayne near Braintree in Essex, and grew up as a...
– dancing, occasional live keyboards (1990–2000) - Sharky – dancing (1990–1991)
Former live members
- Kieron Pepper – drums, percussion, occasional guitar (1997–2007)
- "The RevTowers of LondonTowers of London are a Punk Rock n Roll band, fromLondon, England, who formed in 2004. Their music mixes elements of rock and heavy metal music with 1977 style British punk...
" – guitar (2007) - "Snell" – drums (July 2007)
- Brian Fairbairn – drums (2007)
- Jim Davies – guitar (1995–1996, 2002–2004)
- Alli MacInnes – guitar (2001, 2002)
- Gizz ButtGizz ButtGizz Butt is a British musician, best known for playing the guitar during live performances by band The Prodigy in the late 1990s.-Early years:...
– guitar (1996–1999)
Discography
Studio albums- Experience (1992)
- Music for the Jilted GenerationMusic for the Jilted GenerationMusic for the Jilted Generation is the second album by English electronic dance music band The Prodigy. The album was released through XL Recordings in July 1994...
(1994) - The Fat of the LandThe Fat of the LandThe Fat of the Land is the third studio album by The Prodigy. The album was released by XL Recordings on 30 June 1997 and on 1 July 1997 in the United States by Maverick Records...
(1997) - Always Outnumbered, Never OutgunnedAlways Outnumbered, Never OutgunnedAlways Outnumbered, Never Outgunned is the fourth studio album by English electronic dance music group The Prodigy. The album was released in the United Kingdom on 23 August 2004 under XL Recordings, and in North America on 15 September 2004 by Mute Records and Maverick Records. It was the last...
(2004) - Invaders Must DieInvaders Must DieInvaders Must Die is the fifth studio album by English electronica group The Prodigy. The album was released on 18 February 2009 on the band's new label Take Me to the Hospital, and was distributed by Cooking Vinyl....
(2009) - Untitled Upcoming Album (2012)
Live album
- World's on FireWorld's on Fire (album)World's on Fire is the first live album and second DVD by English electronic dance music band The Prodigy, released on 11 May 2011.- Track listing :- DVD and Blu-ray bonus content :# "Run "# "Spitfire / Mescaline "...
(2011)