Keith Flint (September 17, 1969 – March 4, 2019) was an English singer, musician and dancer for the electronic music band The Prodigy and sang on their two 1996 UK number one singles, “Firestarter” and “Breathe”. He was also the lead singer of his own band Flint.
Keith Charles Flint was born in Redbridge, London, England, to Clive and Yvonne Flint, on September 17, 1969 and initially raised in East London before his parents moved the family to Springfield, Essex in the mid-1970s. He described his childhood as unhappy and he argued with his parents who separated when he was young.
He went to the Boswells School in Chelmsford, Essex. It was said that he was disruptive in class and was described as being a “bright boy with dyslexia”. He was eventually expelled from school at the age of 15 and moved to Braintree in Essex soon after leaving school. Flint then worked as a roofer and then very enthusiastically embraced the acid house scene of the late 1980s.
In the late 1980s Keith Flint met local DJ Liam Howlett at a rave club called the Barn in Braintree and expressed his appreciation of Howlett’s taste in music. After receiving a mixtape from Howlett, Flint came back with great enthusiasm, insisting that Howlett should be playing his tracks up on stage and that Flint, along with his friend Leeroy Thornhill, would dance to them.
The Prodigy were originally formed in 1990 by keyboardist and songwriter Liam Howlett, Keith Flint, dancer and keyboardist Leeroy Thornhill and vocalist Sharky. Maxim, whose real name is Keith Palmer, started out as the bands manager but became a vocalist and MC on many of their tracks.
The Prodigy were hailed as “The Godfathers of Rave”, having emerged from the underground rave scene in the early 1990s and shot to stardom and fame after hitting Number 1 in the UK charts with their singles ”Firestarter” and “Breathe”.
Originally Keith Flint was the band’s dancer, but in 1996 he featured as the vocalist on the hit single “Firestarter”, with the accompanying video showing off Flint’s new crazy punk look. This trend continued with the next Prodigy single “Breathe”, on which Flint performed the lead vocals, with Maxim performing backup.
The 1997 album “The Fat of the Land” featured Flint’s vocals on several of the tracks, including “Breathe”, “Serial Thrilla”, “Fuel My Fire” and “Firestarter”. In 2002, the single “Baby’s Got a Temper” was released.
On the next Prodigy album, “Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned” in 2004, Flint did not perform any vocals, but he did appear on the “Hotride – El Batori Mix”, on the “Hotride” single.
During this period, Flint said he had had depression and had formed a worrying dependence on prescription drugs. In 2009 he told The Times newspaper “I’d line up rows of pills and just take them and take them and I’d lose track of how many until I passed out.”
He decided to clean himself up after meeting Japanese DJ Mayumi Kai, and gave up drugs, cigarettes and alcohol around the time of their marriage, in 2006.
The Prodigy’s next album, “Invaders Must Die”, was released on February 23, 2009 and again featured lead vocals by Keith Flint on multiple tracks. The first single, Omen, was a major success, and the band returned to playing festival stages and stadiums around the world.
Keith Flint then released a single titled “War” with dubstep artist Caspa in 2012.
Flint experimented with several solo projects and side projects, including with the bands Flint and Clever Brains Fryin’. But only one single, “Aim4” by Flint, was released commercially, with his debut solo album, “Device #1”, being cancelled before release.
Keith Flint was a keen motorcyclist and rode 1,500 miles from England to southern Spain to attend the Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix in 2007 and also raced in club competitions. He even had his own motorcycle team, Team Traction Control, which competed in the British Supersport Championship as part of the British Superbike Championship package. In 2015 Team Traction Control won two Isle of Man TT races, ridden by Ian Hutchinson.
In 2014, he bought and renovated the Leather Bottle pub in Pleshey, Essex but ended his connection with the pub in 2017.
The Prodigy’s most recent album, “No Tourists”, went to number one in the UK charts in November 2018.
On March 4, 2019, following concerns for his welfare, police were called to Flint’s home in North End, Essex, where he was found dead. The police did not treat his death as suspicious and his bandmate Liam Howlett later stated on Instagram that his death was a suicide. The Prodigy’s official website went black with a simple announcement of his death by suicide later that day.
If you need help:-
In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255.
In the UK, contact the Samaritans on 116 123.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14.
Sorry, I can’t put helpline numbers for every country, but PLEASE ask someone for help if you need it!
Check out Keith Flint on Amazon.
Check out the Prodigy on Amazon
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