News broke this morning that Keith Flint, vocalist and dancer for the electronic group The Prodigy, has died. Flint was found dead in his Essex, England home. Bandmate Liam Howlett confirmed the news, saying, "I can’t believe I’m saying this but our brother Keith took his own life over the weekend.” Flint was 49.
Flint was born in Redbridge, London, later moving with his family in the mid-70s to Springfield, Essex. His foray into music came with a choice encounter with Howlett at a local rave in the late 1980s. The two bonded over their mutual musical taste. Flint asked Howlett to make him a mixtape, to which Howlett obliged and used the b-side of the cassette to showcase some of his own production. Flint was taken by the music and joined Howlett’s new project called The Prodigy.
Flint originally joined the group as a dancer but made his debut as a vocalist on The Prodigy’s breakthrough 1996 hit “Firestarter” and subsequently the single “Breathe.” The success of these singles would lead to Flint having a more featured role on the band’s 1997 record The Fat of the Land.
Outside of The Prodigy, he ventured out into solo work with his eponymous side-project called Flint – though the band’s planned debut LP Device #1 was canceled just before its release and the band split-up shortly after. Flint would go on to form the project Clever Brains Fryin' and continue his work with The Prodigy. His last appearance on a Prodigy record was the 2018 album No Tourists.
Join us in remembering Flints’ life and music with favorites from The Prodigy and his various other projects below.
