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About The Prodigy
The Prodigy was formed
as an `electronic rave’
group in 1990 by Liam
Howlett. He was then
joined by dancers Keith
Flint and Leeroy
Thornhill to release the
first Prodigy single,
Charly, in August 1991.
With its memorable
“Charley Says” sample
from the children’s
public information
advertisements, the
single attracted some
negative criticism and
the group became known
as a `Toy town Techno’
group. Despite the
negative press the group
attracted, Charly went
on to become a huge
success, reaching #3 in
the UK single charts.
The Everybody in The
Place EP became The
Prodigy’s second top ten
UK hit, reaching #2 in
the singles chart. The
four track EP featured
the title track, along
with Crazy Man, G-Force
and Rip Up The Sound
System. The Prodigy then
enjoyed a third top
twenty UK hit with the
double A side single
Fire/Jericho in
September 1992.
The group’s first album,
Experience, was released
in October 1992 and
became a commercial as
well as critical
success, helping the
group lose it’s negative
`kiddie rave’ and `Toy
town Techno’ labels. The
group’s fourth hit UK
single came with the
release of Out of Space,
which reached UK # 5 at
the end of 1992,
followed by their fourth
top ten UK single One
Love the following year.
The Prodigy’s second
album, Music for the
Jilted Generation was an
instant success,
entering the UK album
chart at # 1 in July
1994. The first single,
No Good(Start The Dance)
was an international hit
and reached #4 in the
UK, where it stayed in
the charts for nearly
three months. Two
further top ten singles
were subsequently
released, Voodoo People
and Poison, ensuring the
album eventually
remained in the UK album
charts for a total of 98
weeks.
The group’s first single
release from their
eagerly anticipated
third album, Firestarter,
entered the UK single
charts at #1 in April
1996. The single became
the group’s first major
hit in the US, partly
due to the single’s
groundbreaking video,
featuring a visually
memorable performance by
Keith Flint on lead
vocals for the first
time. The single was
followed to the #1
position in the UK by
Breathe in November
1996, which went on to
become the group’s
biggest selling UK
single to date.
Profiting from the
success of it’s first
two single releases, the
group’s subsequent third
album, The Fat of The
Land, proved to be their
most successful to date,
entering both the UK and
US album charts at #1.
The third release from
the album was the highly
controversially titled
single, Smack My Bitch
Up. Although the lyrics
were said by the group
to be misinterpreted by
critics as being about
domestic abuse,
nevertheless the track
was banned by many radio
stations, particularly
in the US where the
album was also removed
from sale from several
large department stores.
This however did little
to deter sales for the
single, which went on to
become the group’s
eighth top ten UK hit.
After a five year break
from touring and
recording, the group
released their next
single, Baby’s Got A
Temper to critical and a
relative commercial
disappointment, although
the track still became a
top five hit in the UK
in July 2002.
The groups fourth studio
album, Always
Outnumbered, Never
Outgunned was released
in August 2004, giving
the group their third
UK#1. The first single
release, Girls was less
successful, reaching a
disappointing #19 in the
UK charts.
In 2005 the group
released a greatest hits
compilation album, Their
Law - The Singles, which
gave them their fourth
#1 album in the UK.
Remixes of previous
singles Out of Space and
Voodoo People were
released as a double A
side single to promote
the album and reached
the UK top twenty
singles chart.
The groups next album,
Invaders Must Die, was
released in February
2009 to much critical
and commercial acclaim,
particularly in the UK
where it entered the
album charts at #1,
selling more copies in
its first week here than
the group’s two previous
albums. The first
single, Omen was a
further top five UK hit
and even reached #1 in
Canada.
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