The Prodigy
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The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in
Braintree, Essex Braintree is a town and former civil parish in Essex, England. The principal settlement of Braintree District, it is located northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester. According to the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 41,634, ...
, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter
Liam Howlett Liam Paul Paris Howlett (born 21 August 1971) is an English record producer, musician, songwriter, co-founder and leader of the British electronic band The Prodigy, and an occasional DJ. Early years Howlett was born in Braintree, Essex, En ...
. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer
Keith Flint Keith Charles Flint (17 September 1969 – 4 March 2019) was an English singer and member as well as one of the vocalists of the electronic dance act The Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer, he became the vocalist of the group and performed on th ...
and dancer and occasional live keyboard player
Leeroy Thornhill Leeroy Thornhill (born 8 October 1968) is a British electronic music artist and formerly a rave dancer and occasionally keyboardist for the British electronic group the Prodigy. Thornhill's live performances throughout the 1990s included his un ...
, dancer Sharky and MC and vocalist
Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...
. They were pioneers of the breakbeat-influenced genre
big beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as th ...
, and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s. Howlett's rock-inspired drum rhythms infused with electronic
rave music A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mu ...
beats/breaks were combined with Maxim's omnipresent mystique, Thornhill's shuffle dancing style, and Flint's later modern punk appearance. The Prodigy describe their style as electronic punk. The band emerged during the underground rave scene and achieved early success in 1991 with their debut singles "
Charly ''Charly'' (marketed and stylized as ''CHAЯLY'') is a 1968 American drama film directed and produced by Ralph Nelson and written by Stirling Silliphant. It is based on ''Flowers for Algernon'', a science-fiction short story (1958) and subseque ...
" and "
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'' (1992). It was released on 23 December 1991 through XL Recordings in the UK. The singl ...
", which reached the UK top five. After their debut album ''
Experience Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...
'' (1992), the band moved from their rave roots and incorporated
techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
, breakbeat, and rock influences on their follow-up, the critically-acclaimed ''
Music for the Jilted Generation ''Music for the Jilted Generation'' is the second studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy. It was first released in July 1994 by XL Recordings in the United Kingdom and by Mute Records in the United States. Just as on the ...
'' (1994). The band reached their commercial and critical peak with their third studio album ''
The Fat of the Land ''The Fat of the Land'' is the third studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy, released on 30 June 1997 through XL Recordings. The album received critical acclaim and topped the UK Albums Chart and the US ''Billboard'' 200. I ...
'' (1997), which went to No. 1 in 16 countries including the UK and the US, and spawned the UK number one singles " Firestarter" and " Breathe". The album's third single, "
Smack My Bitch Up "Smack My Bitch Up" is a song by English rave group The Prodigy. It was released in November 1997 as the third and final single from their third album, ''The Fat of the Land'' (1997). In 2013, ''Mixmag'' readers voted it the third greatest danc ...
", was a UK top ten hit and generated considerable controversy over its suggestive lyrics and music video.
In July of 2022, the band completed their first tour since the death of frontman Keith Flint in March of 2019. The Prodigy remain one of the most successful electronic groups of all time. They have sold an estimated 25 million records worldwide, including over 4.7 million albums in the UK, and have scored seven consecutive UK number one albums. They earned titles like "the premiere dance act for the alternative masses" and "the Godfathers of Rave". The Prodigy have won numerous awards during their career, including two
Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
for Best British Dance Act, three MTV Video Music Awards, two
Kerrang! Awards The Kerrang! Awards are an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''Kerrang!'' and focusing primarily on rock music. The annual awards features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of mo ...
, five
MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an a ...
, and two
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nominations.


History


Formation and early singles success (1990–1991)

In 1989, 18-year-old DJ, musician, and songwriter
Liam Howlett Liam Paul Paris Howlett (born 21 August 1971) is an English record producer, musician, songwriter, co-founder and leader of the British electronic band The Prodigy, and an occasional DJ. Early years Howlett was born in Braintree, Essex, En ...
returned to his hometown of
Braintree, Essex Braintree is a town and former civil parish in Essex, England. The principal settlement of Braintree District, it is located northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester. According to the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 41,634, ...
after quitting his gig as DJ in the hip-hop group Cut to Kill. He had started to make his own music three years prior, beginning with hip-hop and
house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
before he focused on the rave scene that was gaining popularity at the time. He preferred the non-confrontational atmosphere that raves brought, and began to work DJ sets in the local area while working on original music at home. It was in Braintree where Howlett met dancers
Keith Flint Keith Charles Flint (17 September 1969 – 4 March 2019) was an English singer and member as well as one of the vocalists of the electronic dance act The Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer, he became the vocalist of the group and performed on th ...
and
Leeroy Thornhill Leeroy Thornhill (born 8 October 1968) is a British electronic music artist and formerly a rave dancer and occasionally keyboardist for the British electronic group the Prodigy. Thornhill's live performances throughout the 1990s included his un ...
at one of his gigs at The Barn nightclub. Flint requested Howlett make a
mix tape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
for him, to which Howlett obliged and returned a cassette several days later with some of his own songs on the other side. Howlett had scratched the word "Prodigy" onto the cassette, referring to the
Moog Prodigy The Moog Prodigy was a monophonic analogue 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 to be triggered and cont ...
synthesizer which he used to make some of the music. The tape was well received by Flint and Thornhill, who developed new dance sequences to the music and suggested to Howlett they begin a group together. The three settled on The Prodigy as their name and enlisted a fourth live member, female dancer and vocalist Sharky, a friend of Flint's, and on October 5, 1990 the group was officially formed. Their first gig was organized by the promoter called Ziggy (who became their first manager) and took place at
The Four Aces Club The Four Aces Club was a pioneering music and recreational space on Dalston Lane in London Borough of Hackney, Hackney, London. Based in a building that had formerly been the North London Colosseum and Amphitheatre and then a cinema, in the 1960 ...
(then called Labrynth) in
Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas includ ...
, London on Friday night, February 1991, which Howlett described as the roughest venue in the city. Shortly before the first gig, the group met rapper and MC
Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...
, then known as Maxim Reality and Keeti. Flint pitched for Maxim to join the group on the strength of his connections with the reggae scene and the music contacts he had developed. Maxim failed to turn up at a scheduled meeting, but joined The Prodigy unexpectedly at their first gig, where he improvised lyrics on stage. Shortly after their live debut, Howlett completed a 10-track demo tape on a
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. Overview The W-30's "Workstation" title stems from its incorporatio ...
sampling keyboard and approached Tam Tam Records with the hope of securing a record deal, but was declined. He turned to
XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six albu ...
, headed by Tim Palmer and
Nick Halkes Nick Halkes (born Nigel Halkes) is a UK based music industry executive best known for signing a breaking dance act the Prodigy and being one of the founders of the XL Recordings label. He is now an artist manager and music publisher managing L ...
, who agreed to a meeting and subsequently signed the group to a contract that involved the release of four singles. This culminated in their first official release, the EP '' What Evil Lurks'', in February 1991, containing four tracks that Howlett had produced on the demo. Shortly after signing to XL Records, The Prodigy were reduced to a four-piece when Sharky could no longer commit to the band and left. In August 1991, The Prodigy released their debut single "
Charly ''Charly'' (marketed and stylized as ''CHAЯLY'') is a 1968 American drama film directed and produced by Ralph Nelson and written by Stirling Silliphant. It is based on ''Flowers for Algernon'', a science-fiction short story (1958) and subseque ...
", which samples dialogue from the Charley Says series of animated films produced by the
Central Office of Information The Central Office of Information (COI) was the UK government's marketing and communications agency. Its Chief Executive reported to the Minister for the Cabinet Office. It was a non-ministerial department, and became an executive agency and a ...
. It became a hit in the rave scene, and reached No. 1 on the
UK Dance Singles Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record ...
and No. 3 on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, thus catapulting the band into the wider public attention. The success of "Charly" began a trend of mixing dance and rave tracks with cartoon samples, such as " A Trip to Trumpton" by
Urban Hype Urban Hype were an English breakbeat hardcore duo. The duo was formed in 1988, consisting of Bob Dibden (Robert John Dibden) and Mark Lewis (Mark Louis Chitty). They are best known for their toytown techno single, " A Trip to Trumpton", whi ...
and "
Sesame's Treet "Sesame's Treet" is a 1992 single by the English rave group Smart E's. Although it was a remix of " Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?", the song's title was a pun on "Sesame Street". The song reached 2 on the UK Singles Chart in Ju ...
" by
Smart E's Luna-C (born Christopher Howell, 1 May 1973) is a British DJ and record producer, known for his work in breakbeat hardcore music. He was a member of the group Smart E's in 1992, who scored a  2 hit on the UK Singles Chart with "Sesame's ...
, which were a hit with clubbers but not to the critics, who dismissed it as "kiddie rave" or "
toytown techno Toytown techno (also known as kiddy rave or cartoon rave) is an underground subgenre of techno that emerged in the early 1990s, characterized by merging techno, jungle, or breakbeat hardcore with samples from children's programs or public informa ...
". Howlett realised that a follow-up single in the same style "would have been the downfall of us" and wanted to avoid such labels. He spent earnings from "Charly" on new instruments and studio equipment, expanding the group's sound with a Roland U-220
sound module A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a piano-style musical keyboard. Sound modules have to be operated using an externally connected device, which is often a MIDI controller, of which th ...
and
TR-909 The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a drum machine introduced by Roland Corporation in 1983, succeeding the TR-808. It was the first Roland drum machine to use samples for some sounds, and the first with MIDI functionality, allowing it to syn ...
drum machine. Their second single, " Everybody in the Place (Fairground Edit)", was released in December 1991. It reached No. 2 in the UK, beaten to the top spot by a re-release of "
Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...
" by
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
following the death of their singer Freddie Mercury.


''Experience'' and ''Music for the Jilted Generation'' (1992–1995)

In 1991 and 1992, Howlett recorded the band's debut full-length studio album ''
Experience Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...
'' at his home facility, Earthbound Studios. The project began after XL Recordings suggested the group make one, and initially Howlett wanted to produce a "rave
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
" inspired by
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
, but abandoned the idea due to the risk of limiting his musical ideas. Released in September 1992, the album peaked at No. 12 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
and was certified platinum by the
British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...
(BPI) for selling over 300,000 copies. Note: User must define search parameters as "Prodigy". Note: Reader must type "Prodigy" into the Search box and hit Go. The album contains many samples of other artists, and closes with a live track featuring Maxim on vocals. It is considered a landmark release in British rave music, and was an influential record for American DJ and musician Moby for his early studio releases. Its third single, "
Fire/Jericho "Fire" and "Jericho" are two songs recorded by English electronica/rave act the Prodigy (both were later released under the name "Fire/Jericho", the band's third single on 14 September 1992). It peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart. ...
", was on track to become the band's third consecutive UK top ten single, but XL Recordings deleted it from its catalogue and therefore stalled at its peak of No. 11. By early 1993, The Prodigy had completed their first major nationwide tour. Howlett said that The Prodigy had now become an established act and would continue to produce original dance music as there was still an audience for it. After ''Experience'' and the run of singles that accompanied it, the band moved to distance themselves from the "kiddie rave" reputation that had dogged them. The rave scene moved on from its hardcore phase, following the
Criminal Justice Act Criminal Justice Act (with its many variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Canada, Malaysia, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom relating to the criminal law (including both substantive and procedural aspects of that ...
's anti-rave legislation on the horizon. Later in 1993, Howlett released an anonymous
white label A white label record is a vinyl record with white labels attached. There are several variations each with a different purpose. Variations include test pressings, white label promos, and plain white labels. Test pressings Test pressings, usua ...
vinyl, bearing only the titles "Earthbound I" and "Earthbound 2". Its hypnotic, hard-edged sound won wide underground approval. The songs were officially released as "
One Love One Love may refer to: Music * One Love (record producer), Timothy Sommers, American record producer, half of the duo Kinetics & One Love * ''One Love: The Bob Marley Musical'', a 2015 stage musical Albums * One Love (Blue album), ''One Love'' (B ...
" and "Full Throttle" in September 1993, and reached No. 8 in the UK. By this time the band performed live at least once a week, and had started performing overseas including Germany, the US, and Japan. In 1993, Howlett started work on the band's second album, ''
Music for the Jilted Generation ''Music for the Jilted Generation'' is the second studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy. It was first released in July 1994 by XL Recordings in the United Kingdom and by Mute Records in the United States. Just as on the ...
''. Much of the new material was written in response to the Criminal Justice Act as exemplified by "Their Law", co-written and performed with alternative rock band
Pop Will Eat Itself Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a grebo act, they changed style to incorp ...
. The album opens with a spoken introduction: "So I've decided to take my work back underground to stop it falling into the wrong hands". Howlett explained that "the wrong hands" represented people who considered The Prodigy as a commercial band, and no longer wanted the group to be seen as purely a rave act. It displays a wider range of musical styles and structures as a result, including
big beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as th ...
and heavy breakbeat-based tracks and the conceptual three-part song "The Narcotic Suite". ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' called it a "complex, powerful record that propelled dance music into stadiums with rock'n'roll swagger". Released in September 1994, the album entered the UK chart at No. 1 and received positive reactions from critics. It was nominated for a
Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
, although Howlett had reaffirmed his dedication to making The Prodigy a "hard dance band" commercially successful but without compromise. The band avoided mainstream exposure, declining offers to appear on ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
'' and other national television shows in the UK. Their performance of "Everybody in the Place" on the BBC2 television series ''Dance Energy'' in 1991 remains their only one on British television. In the ensuing years, their music videos received airplay on
MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly as MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV, a 24-hour music and entertainment TV channel that began broadcasting on August 1, 1987, as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initially, MTV serve ...
which boosted their popularity across the continent. 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 are an English industrial rock band from Nottingham, formed in 1989. The band was started by lead guitarist and programmer Johnny A. Carter, and bassist and vocalist Mark Clayden. The band’s early material was characterized for ...
) 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 Graham Anthony "Gizz" Butt (born 3 August 1966 in Manchester, England) is a British musician, lead vocalist and lead guitarist for Janus Stark best known for being the live guitarist for the band The Prodigy in the late 1990s. His own band Jan ...
of the band
Janus Stark ''Janus Stark'', or ''The Incredible Adventures of Janus Stark'', is a British comic strip series, originally written by Tom Tully and drawn by Francisco Solano López. It is about an escapologist in Victorian London who appears to be simply an ...
, who remained with the band for the next three years.


''The Fat of the Land'' and Thornhill's departure (1996–2000)

The release of " Firestarter" in 1996, featuring vocals for the first time courtesy of a new-look Keith Flint, helped the band break into the United States and other overseas markets, and reached number one on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.Roberts, David (2006).
British Hit Singles & Albums ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (originally known as ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' and ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of ...
. London: Guinness World Records Limited.
In this year the Prodigy also headlined the prestigious
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
festival. The long-awaited third Prodigy album, ''
The Fat of the Land ''The Fat of the Land'' is the third studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy, released on 30 June 1997 through XL Recordings. The album received critical acclaim and topped the UK Albums Chart and the US ''Billboard'' 200. I ...
'', 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 Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
-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 UK and US charts at number one. The Prodigy were getting considerable
airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...
on
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
stations with their controversial track "
Smack My Bitch Up "Smack My Bitch Up" is a song by English rave group The Prodigy. It was released in November 1997 as the third and final single from their third album, ''The Fat of the Land'' (1997). In 2013, ''Mixmag'' readers voted it the third greatest danc ...
"—and also a negative backlash for the song. The
National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
(NOW) criticized the song and its music video. The song's
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
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 The Ultramagnetic MCs is an American hip hop group based in The Bronx, New York City. Founded by Kool Keith, the group also includes Ced Gee, TR Love, and Moe Love. Tim Dog became an unofficial member in 1989. In 1990, DJ Jaycee was added as ...
' 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 "Out of Space" is the fourth EP/single released by English electronic music group the Prodigy in 1992. The song is also featured on their debut album, Experience (1992), and is the fourth single from it. The song samples the 1976 song "Chase ...
" single. The National Organization for Women also believed that the lyrics are in reference to administering
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
(smack) to another person. Several radio stations limited the song's airplay to nighttime hours. In September 1997, the Prodigy performed " Breathe" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, and won the Viewer's Choice Award. During a performance at the
Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
on 29 August 1998, the Prodigy and the
Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...
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 Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
and
Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inc ...
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". At the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, "Smack My Bitch Up" won two awards; Best Dance Video and Breakthrough Video. 1999 saw the release of the Prodigy's ''
The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One ''Prodigy Present: The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One'' is a 1999 solo mix album by Liam Howlett of The Prodigy (the latter used as a moniker in this case), initially produced for BBC Radio 1's mix show '' The Breezeblock''. There are more th ...
'', a DJ mix album by Howlett, produced as an official record of a successful guest appearance on the British
Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...
. The original session came into being following a conversation between journalism and band biographer Martin James and Breezeblock presenter Mary Anne Hobbs. They are subsequently both thanked on the album sleeve notes. 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 after splitting up with
Sara Cox Sara Joanne Cyzer (née Cox; born 13 December 1974) is an English broadcaster. She presented ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' on BBC Radio 1 from 3 April 2000 until 19 December 2003. Since January 2019 she now hosts the BBC Radio 2 drivetime show, Monday ...
; the band's website was replaced with their logo and the words "We will be back..." set against a black background, which would remain until 2002.


''Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'' (2001–2004)

After the group performed some live shows in 2001, their single "
Baby's Got a Temper "Baby's Got a Temper" is a song by English electronica group the Prodigy, released as a non-album single on 1 July 2002 by record labels XL and Maverick. It was the band's first single in five years after 1997's " Smack My Bitch Up", and was ...
" was released in July 2002 to critical disappointment. The original version of the song was written by Flint's sideband
Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
, and was called "NNNN". The Prodigy version was a total reworking of Flint's track with only a few of the lyrics and melody remaining from the original and produced by Howlett. The song also featured Jim Davies. Once again, the band courted controversy by including references to the "
date rape Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape and dating violence. The two phrases are often used interchangeably, but date rape specifically refers to a rape in which there has been some sort of romantic or potentially sexual relationship between ...
" drug
Rohypnol Flunitrazepam, also known as Rohypnol among other names, is a benzodiazepine used to treat severe insomnia and assist with anesthesia. As with other hypnotics, flunitrazepam has been advised to be prescribed only for short-term use or by those ...
in the song's lyrics. The song's music video was also controversial, which featured barely covered women milking cows in a suggestive fashion. The complete, unedited video was aired on
MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...
in 2002 as part of a special late-night countdown showing the most controversial videos ever to air on MTV. In the same year, however, '' Q'' magazine named the Prodigy one of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die". The Prodigy's fourth studio album, ''
Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned ''Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'' is the fourth studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy. It was first released on 11 August 2004 in Japan, on 23 August 2004 in the United Kingdom by XL Recordings, and on 15 September 200 ...
'', was released on 23 August 2004, and 14 September 2004 in the US. A precursory and experimental single, " Memphis Bells", was released in very limited numbers, followed by the traditional release of the single "
Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...
". The US version of the studio album contained a bonus track; a remix of "Girls", entitled "More Girls". The album, which topped the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
in its debut week, was promoted by a two-year-long tour. 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 Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE, or WAV due to its filename extension; pronounced "wave") is an audio file format standard, developed by IBM and Microsoft, for storing an audio bitstream on PCs. It is the main format used on Microsoft Wind ...
, two audio mixes in
MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...
, and a 5.1 DTS
surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener (surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to s ...
mix, and all were free of
digital rights management Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures (TPM) such as access control technologies can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. ...
. 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" ("
Audio Bullys Audio Bullys are an English electronic music project, originally consisting of Simon Franks and Tom Dinsdale. The group were once managed by the DJ and presenter George Lamb. Franks and Dinsdale released their debut album ''Ego War'' in 2003, ...
Remix") and "Voodoo People" (the "
Pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward th ...
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 is a large open market with 270 stalls,Havering London Borough Council< ...
,
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, 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. Also in 2005, the song "You'll be Under my Wheels" from the ''Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'' album was added to the soundtrack of '' Need for Speed: Most Wanted''. The cover artwork included an extended essay by band biographer Martin James. 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. About the re-release process, Howlett said, "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
e could E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plura ...
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 aying'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'' (2008–2010)

The Prodigy tested a few of the new tracks at Rainbow Warehouse Birmingham and Plug in Sheffield in May 2008. The Prodigy showcased three new songs at the
Oxegen Oxegen was a music festival in Ireland, first held from 2004–2011 as a rock and pop festival and again in 2013 with dance and chart acts only. The event was regularly cited as Ireland's biggest music festival, and, by 2009, it was being ci ...
Festival in the early hours of 13 July 2008. Among the tracks previewed were "Worlds on Fire", "Warriors Dance", and "Mescaline". On 5 November 2008, it was announced that the band's fifth studio album would be called ''
Invaders Must Die ''Invaders Must Die'' is the fifth studio album by English electronic dance music group The Prodigy. The album was released on 23 February 2009 on the band's new record label Take Me to the Hospital, and was distributed by Cooking Vinyl. Alt ...
'' and would be released on the band's new label, Take Me to the hospital. It was released in the U.S. 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
Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...
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? are a British dance-punk band from Reading, Berkshire. They played what was to be their final show on 12 December 2015 at the Electric Ballroom, Camden Town. In September 2021, they announced a new album, titled ''We ...
frontman James Rushent. 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 U.K. 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 Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. D ...
,
Noisia Noisia (stylised as NOISIΛ; "VISION" turned upside down) was a Dutch electronic music trio consisting of members Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger from Groningen, Netherlands. They produce a wide variety of music including ...
,
Herve Herve (; li, Herf; wa, Heve) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2018 Herve had a total population of 17,598. The total area is which gives a population density of . It is fame ...
, and DJ Kissy Sell Out. The tour included the first edition of the band's own annual dance gig, the
Warriors Dance Festival Warrior's Dance Festival was a one-day electronic music and rock music festival curated by The Prodigy. History In 2009 the first festival was held in Tokyo, Japan. The lineup included The Prodigy, Pendulum, Hadouken!, MSTRKRFT, AutoKratz and ...
. The single "Omen" debuted at number 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart the week of 25 February 2009 and won the Kerrang! Award for Best Single. The 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" 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 D ...
" and "
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 collaborate ...
", 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 was one of the largest online music video VOD services 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 ...
. A fourth single, " Invaders Must Die (Liam H Reamped Version)", from the Special Edition of the album, was released. Howlett would later describe the album as "more of a celebration. We'd come back together and were like, 'Yeah! We're here, we're really buzzing!" In the same year, Howlett co-produced the song "Immunize" on
Pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward th ...
's third album, ''
Immersion Immersion may refer to: The arts * "Immersion", a 2012 story by Aliette de Bodard * ''Immersion'', a French comic book series by Léo Quievreux#Immersion, Léo Quievreux * Immersion (album), ''Immersion'' (album), the third album by Australian gro ...
''. They also played Glastonbury in 2009.


''The Day Is My Enemy'' (2010–2015)

In May 2011, the band released '' World's on Fire'', their first live album and concert film documenting their 24 July 2010 show at the Milton Keynes Bowl as part of that year's Warriors Dance Festival. The film screened to select theatres across Europe for one night. On 16 November 2010, Howlett announced that after their American tour with Linkin Park, the Prodigy were to re-enter the studio to record new material. On 6 August 2011, the Prodigy headlined the
Przystanek Woodstock Pol'and'Rock Festival, formerly known as Woodstock Festival Poland, (Polish: ''Przystanek Woodstock''; "Woodstock Station"; English-language materials often referred to it simply to the ''Woodstock Festival Poland'') is an annual free rock music ...
in Poland, while at their two final shows of 2011 in Brazil, they premiered two new tracks: "A.W.O.L" and "Dogbite". They headlined the 2012 Download Festival on 8 June playing a regular setlist, with the addition of three new songs, "Jetfighter", "Dogbite" and "A.W.O.L", accompanied by on-stage imagery of jet aircraft. Howlett has confirmed this album will not be
dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...
, but that it will feel "fresh" whilst darker. In April 2012, to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of ''The Fat of the Land'', the album was re-released alongside a remix EP, ''The Added Fat EP'', featuring remixes from multiple groups such as
Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after ...
,
Noisia Noisia (stylised as NOISIΛ; "VISION" turned upside down) was a Dutch electronic music trio consisting of members Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger from Groningen, Netherlands. They produce a wide variety of music including ...
, and Zeds Dead. On 3 May 2012, the Prodigy announced the working title of their new album ''How to Steal a Jetfighter''. In December 2012, a new track titled "The Day" was debuted at Warrior's Brixton and in June 2013, a new track titled "Rockweiler" was debuted at Rock am Ring. The band headlined the
Sonisphere Festival The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It ...
at
Knebworth Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden ...
in 2014. On 2 July 2014, the band revealed their upcoming album would have a different name and a "violent sound". In August 2014, they signed to the Three Six Zero Group for the United States, returning to
Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...
for the first time since 2004. Maxim indicated in September 2014 that the new Prodigy album would be released in the first quarter of 2015. It was later announced on 6 January 2015 that the next Prodigy album would be releasing 30 March 2015 and that it had been given the title ''
The Day Is My Enemy ''The Day Is My Enemy'' is the sixth studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy. It was released on 30 March 2015 by record labels Take Me to the Hospital/Cooking Vinyl in the UK and Three Six Zero Music/ Warner Bros. Records in t ...
''. On 12 January 2015, the Prodigy released " Nasty" as the lead single off their upcoming album along with the title track on 26 January 2015. Howlett found that "violent is the word that keeps on coming up" when describing the album. The entire recording process took almost six years taking in a number of studios and a few restarts to establish that "angry, energetic sound". Unlike previous efforts ''The Day Is My Enemy'' became a band-album where Flint and Maxim worked in tandem with Howlett. This created a degree of friction although Flint noted that "four years ago we sat down and talked about where the next album was gonna go, and we knew we had to bust out the most 'band' album we could create". The band played at
Future Music Festival Future Music Festival was an annual music festival featuring Australian and international artists held in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in Australia and as of 2012 also Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The festival was usually held in ...
Australia in February–March 2015 and toured Germany and France in April 2015 and the UK in May 2015. They also performed at the Rock Werchter, Rock am Ring/
Rock im Park The (German for "Rock at the Ring") and ("Rock in the Park") festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually. While ''Rock am Ring'' takes place at the Nürburgring race track, ''Rock im Park'' takes place at the Zeppelinfeld ...
, Benicàssim and
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
festivals. On 23 February 2015, the Prodigy released "
Wild Frontier ''Wild Frontier'' is the sixth solo studio album by Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore, released on 2 March 1987. His first studio effort after a trip back to his native Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1985, the album contains several songs abo ...
" as the second single off their upcoming album ''The Day Is My Enemy'' after announcing it three days earlier. The
Stop-motion animation Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
was directed by the Dutch filmmaker Mascha Halberstad and animator Elmer Kaan. The Cover Art was designed by Austrian artist and designer Moritz Resl. In May 2015, the Prodigy announced a winter 2015 UK and mainland Europe tour, with
Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...
as support.


''No Tourists'', Flint's death, and return to touring (2016–present)

The Prodigy's seventh studio album, ''
No Tourists ''No Tourists'' is the seventh studio album by English electronic music band the Prodigy, released on 2 November 2018 on Take Me to the , their independent label managed by BMG. The album debuted at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, their seventh co ...
'', was released on 2 November 2018 under a new recording deal with
BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label. BMG was founded in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its ...
. The deal reunited the group with Howlett's song publishing, which BMG had acquired from
EMI Music Publishing EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by parent company Sony Corporation of America. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending ...
in 2012 as part of the Virgin Music catalogue. On 4 March 2019, Flint was found dead at his home in Essex, weeks after the band had toured Australia and New Zealand. The rest of the Prodigy's tour dates were cancelled. Following Flint's death, fans began using the
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
hashtag "Firestarter4Number1" on various social media platforms to get "Firestarter" to number one on the UK singles chart out of respect for Flint and to raise awareness of suicide among men. In August 2020, Howlett said that the Prodigy will continue. That Christmas Day, he confirmed that new music will be released at some point in 2021. Former member
Leeroy Thornhill Leeroy Thornhill (born 8 October 1968) is a British electronic music artist and formerly a rave dancer and occasionally keyboardist for the British electronic group the Prodigy. Thornhill's live performances throughout the 1990s included his un ...
said that Howlett had been working on a new Prodigy album at the time of Flint's death, and wishes to complete it as a tribute to Flint. On 10 February 2021, the band announced their plans to begin production on a documentary film about the band's history, with a now unknown title and release date. It will be directed by long time collaborator Paul Dugdale and produced by Pulse Films. On 7 March 2022, The Prodigy announced a return to the stage with a 10-date tour of the UK in July to coincide with the 25th anniversary of ''The Fat of the Land,'' also hinting that new material would be performed on the tour. On the 28 October 2022, the band announced they would be returning to live shows outside of the UK for the first time in four years, stating that in 2023 new dates will be added, including the festival circuit, with a June date in Austria confirmed. Further tour dates would be announced in due course.


Musical style and influences

Along with
the Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre t ...
and Fatboy Slim, the Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the
big beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as th ...
genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s. The Prodigy is not considered entirely representative of the genre, as their production "often reflected the more intelligent edge of trip-hop, and rarely broke into the mindless arena of true big beat" according to
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. The Prodigy are also considered
techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
, alternative dance,
electronic rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...
,
electropunk Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...
, rave,
dance-rock Dance-rock is a dance-infused genre of rock music. It is a post-disco genre connected with pop rock and post-punk with fewer rhythm and blues influences. It originated in the early 1980s, following the decline in popularity of both punk and disc ...
, electronica,
breakbeat hardcore Breakbeat hardcore (also referred to as hardcore rave or oldskool hardcore) is a music genre of the very early 1990s that spawned from the UK rave scene. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from hip hop. In ad ...
,
industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...
, rap rock, and
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
. Liam Howlett cited early electro as a big influence, mentioning tunes like " Clear" by American music group Cybotron and "Al Naafiysh" by
Hashim Hashim ( ar, هاشم) is a common male Arabic given name. Hashim may also refer to: *Hashim Amir Ali * Hashim (poet) *Hashim Amla *Hashim Thaçi * Hashim Khan *Hashim Qureshi * Mir Hashim Ali Khan * Hashim al-Atassi *Hashim ibn Abd Manaf * Hashim ...
. He also cited
The Bomb Squad The Bomb Squad were an American hip hop production team known for its work with hip hop group Public Enemy. The Bomb Squad is noted for its dense, distinct, innovative production style, often utilizing dozens of samples on just one track. T ...
,
Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...
, and
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...
as influences.


Band members

Current members *
Liam Howlett Liam Paul Paris Howlett (born 21 August 1971) is an English record producer, musician, songwriter, co-founder and leader of the British electronic band The Prodigy, and an occasional DJ. Early years Howlett was born in Braintree, Essex, En ...
 – keyboards, synthesizers, programming, production, sampling, sequencing, turntables, drum machine, guitars, bass, drums *
Maxim Reality Keith Andrew Palmer (born 21 March 1967), better known by his stage name Maxim (previously Maxim Reality), is an English musician, known for being a vocalist of electronic music band the Prodigy. Pre-Prodigy history Palmer was born in Peterboro ...
 – vocals, beatboxing Current live musicians *
Rob Holliday Rob Holliday (born 1979) is a professional English musician. He has been the live guitarist of rock band Marilyn Manson as well as for Gary Numan, The Prodigy, and Sulpher. He began performing as Marilyn Manson's live bassist in 2007 but sw ...
 – guitars, bass * Leo Crabtree – drums, percussion Former members *
Keith Flint Keith Charles Flint (17 September 1969 – 4 March 2019) was an English singer and member as well as one of the vocalists of the electronic dance act The Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer, he became the vocalist of the group and performed on th ...
 – dancing ; vocals *
Leeroy Thornhill Leeroy Thornhill (born 8 October 1968) is a British electronic music artist and formerly a rave dancer and occasionally keyboardist for the British electronic group the Prodigy. Thornhill's live performances throughout the 1990s included his un ...
 – dancing ; occasional live keyboards, synthesizers * Sharky – dancing Former live musicians * Jim Davies – guitars *
Gizz Butt Graham Anthony "Gizz" Butt (born 3 August 1966 in Manchester, England) is a British musician, lead vocalist and lead guitarist for Janus Stark best known for being the live guitarist for the band The Prodigy in the late 1990s. His own band Jan ...
 – guitars * Kieron Pepper – drums, percussion, occasional guitars * Alli MacInnes – guitars * Paul "The Rev" Mayers – guitars * Neal "Snell" Eldridge – drums, percussion * Brian Fairbairn – drums, percussion * Olly Burden – guitars *
Ben Weinman Benjamin A. Weinman (born August 8, 1975) is an American musician, film composer, and music manager, most notable for being the lead guitarist and primary songwriter of the metalcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan. He was the founder and sole con ...
 – guitars, bass Timeline


Awards and nominations


Discography

Studio albums * ''
Experience Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...
'' (1992) * ''
Music for the Jilted Generation ''Music for the Jilted Generation'' is the second studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy. It was first released in July 1994 by XL Recordings in the United Kingdom and by Mute Records in the United States. Just as on the ...
'' (1994) * ''
The Fat of the Land ''The Fat of the Land'' is the third studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy, released on 30 June 1997 through XL Recordings. The album received critical acclaim and topped the UK Albums Chart and the US ''Billboard'' 200. I ...
'' (1997) * ''
Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned ''Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'' is the fourth studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy. It was first released on 11 August 2004 in Japan, on 23 August 2004 in the United Kingdom by XL Recordings, and on 15 September 200 ...
'' (2004) * ''
Invaders Must Die ''Invaders Must Die'' is the fifth studio album by English electronic dance music group The Prodigy. The album was released on 23 February 2009 on the band's new record label Take Me to the Hospital, and was distributed by Cooking Vinyl. Alt ...
'' (2009) * ''
The Day Is My Enemy ''The Day Is My Enemy'' is the sixth studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy. It was released on 30 March 2015 by record labels Take Me to the Hospital/Cooking Vinyl in the UK and Three Six Zero Music/ Warner Bros. Records in t ...
'' (2015) * ''
No Tourists ''No Tourists'' is the seventh studio album by English electronic music band the Prodigy, released on 2 November 2018 on Take Me to the , their independent label managed by BMG. The album debuted at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, their seventh co ...
'' (2018)


References

Specific Books * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prodigy, The 1990 establishments in England Alternative dance musical groups Beggars Banquet Records artists Big beat groups Breakbeat hardcore music groups Brit Award winners Cooking Vinyl artists Dance-rock musical groups Elektra Records artists English dance music groups English electronic music duos English electronic rock musical groups English techno music groups Hardcore techno music groups MTV Europe Music Award winners Kerrang! Awards winners Maverick Records artists Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups from Essex Mute Records artists People from Braintree, Essex Vertigo Records artists Warner Records artists XL Recordings artists