Tributes from across the music world
poured in for The Prodigy’s Keith Flint
who was found dead at his home
in Essex on 4 March. The Chemical
Brothers, Kasabian and Ian Brown
led a wave of touching eulogies for
a “beautiful man, incredible pioneer.”
In a post on Instagram, bandmate
Liam Howlett said: “I can’t believe
I’m saying this but our brother Keith
took his own life over the weekend.
I’m shell-shocked... angry, confused
and heartbroken.”
As Classic Pop went to press, an
inquest opened after Flint’s death
provisionally heard that he had been
found hanged at his home and the
incident was not being treated as
suspicious by police.
Flint began his working life as a
roofer after being thrown out of school
aged 17. At a rave in 1989 he met
Howlett who gave him a mixtape
with the word ‘Prodigy’ scrawled
on it, named after his favourite
Moog synthesizer. Although Flint’s
contribution to The Prodigy’s output
was initially limited, he soon became
an integral member. “I was never the
brains behind the band – that was
always Liam. But together we were a
complete package. It was the outlet
that I was looking for,” he explained.After early success with techno
hits including Out Of Space, Flint’s
role was elevated from dancer to
frontman for 1996 No.1, Firestarter,
which featured his vocals. He became
the face of The Prodigy, and his
electrifying appearances soon made
him a generational icon. Yet the real
Flint was a far cry from the anarchic
image that he projected. A sensitive
and passionate man, he later admitted
succumbing to drug problems at the
height of the band‘s fame. “I’d line up
rows of pills and just take them and
take them. I’d lose track of how many
until I passed out,” he told The Times.
In recent years he seemed
reinvigorated by The Prodigy’s status
as godfathers of rave, with six genre-
defi ning No.1 albums including last
year’s acclaimed No Tourists. In fact,
The Prodigy were on the cusp of one
of their most successful ever years
with a headline booking at Austria’s
Snowbombing due in April followed by
a major US tour in May. Glastonbury
Festival organiser Emily Eavis paid
tribute to Flint on Twitter remembering
the “huge, unforgettable moment”
when The Prodigy became the fi rst
dance act to headline the Pyramid
Stage in 1997. She also revealed the
band were booked to play this year.Kylie gets Dolly’ed
Kylie Minogue seriously fan-
girled when she got to meet
her country heroine, Dolly
Parton. The pair bumped into
one another at the premiere
of Dolly’s 9 To 5 musical in
London. Minogue gushed: “Talk
about a connection – I felt like,
‘Is someone operating her?
Does she really know who I
am?’ She told me that she loved
my country album, asked which
studio I used and also if I liked
Nashville. I was really trying to
hold it together.”
Kylie headlines Brighton Pride
between 2-4 August and has
promised her summer festival
shows (including Glastonbury)
will continue to refl ect the
more down-to-earth Golden
country infl uence.Crazy for Maluma
Madonna’s internationally
themed new album now
includes a Colombian twist.
The Material Girl, who has
recorded her upcoming LP
in Portugal and London, has
been in the studio with South
American superstar Maluma,
famed for his reggaeton hits.
“Cooking up some fuego over
here,” Madonna captioned a
photo of the duo working in
a studio on Instagram.
Additionally, Madonna
fi nally ended her long-running
dispute with pop rival Lady
Gaga in February. The Queen
Of Pop invited Mother Monster
to her annual Oscars party in
LA where they were snapped
embracing with Gaga’s Best
Original Song Oscar statuette.
Gaga has long been accused of
stealing her style and in 2011
Madonna suggested Gaga’s
song Born This Way ripped off
her own hit, Express Yourself.17 SEPTEMBER 1969 4 MARCH 2019
KEITH FLINT
© Chris Davison/Photoshot/Getty Images