The Prodigy first emerged in the underground rave scene in the early 1990s and achieved popularity and worldwide recognition with UK number one singles such as "Firestarter" and "Breathe", both singles coming from their UK and US chart topping album The Fat of the Land (1997). A third single from the album, “Smack My Bitch Up”, was also successful. They earned titles like "the premiere dance act for the alternative masses" and "the Godfathers of Rave", and remain one of the most successful electronic acts of all time. They have sold an estimated 25 million records worldwide, and won numerous music awards during their career, including two Brit Awards for Best British Dance Act, three MTV Video Music Awards, two Kerrang! Awards, five MTV Europe Music Awards, and received two Grammy Award nominations.
The Prodigy were founded in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by keyboardist and songwriter Liam Howlett. He had taken piano lessons in his youth and gained the ability to play difficult passages in just a few run-throughs. After he decided to pursue a music career, Howlett met dancer and vocalist Keith Flint in mid-1989 at a rave at which Howlett was DJing. After Flint requested Howlett make a mix tape for him, Howlett obliged, returning a cassette several days later with a collection of his own songs on the other side. Howlett had scratched the word "Prodigy" onto the cassette, the same name as the Moog Prodigy analogue synthesiser, and Howlett's moniker. The tape was well-received by Flint and keyboardist Leeroy Thornhill who developed new dance sequences to the music and suggested to Howlett they begin a group together. They were soon joined by MC and vocalist Maxim, then known as Maxim Reality, and female dancer and vocalist Sharky, a friend of Flint's. Together they became the first line-up of the Prodigy.
On 4 March 2019, Keith Flint was found dead at his home in Essex, just weeks after playing six live dates in Australia and New Zealand. On 5 March, the band announced on Twitter that "all forthcoming concerts in 2019 would be canceled, effective immediately".
Following Flint's death, fans began using the Twitter hashtag "Firestarter4Number1" on various social media platforms to get "Firestarter" to top the British singles charts again. This was done out of respect for Keith Flint and to raise awareness of suicide among men.
On 20 August 2019, one day before his 48th birthday, Liam Howlett posted on the band's official Instagram page, saying he is "back in the studio making noise [...] brand new Prodigy tunes are gonna roll", referring to his intention to keep on releasing music under the Prodigy moniker.
Along with the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim, the Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s. The Prodigy, however, 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. The Prodigy are also considered alternative dance, techno, electronica, breakbeat hardcore, and rave.
Liam Howlett cited early electro as a big influence, mentioning tunes like "Clear" by American music group Cybotron and "Al Naafiysh" by Hashim. Liam Howlett also cited The Bomb Squad, Public Enemy, and Rage Against the Machine as influences.
Weather Experience
The Prodigy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Southern parts, it'll be a fine dry day
Good deal of sunshine to begin with
Clouding over somewhat later on.
But for Scotland, Northern Ireland and er
Wales, certainly in the more central and
Good deal of sunshine to begin with
Clouding over somewhat later on.
Back in south-westerly for. Showers, good.
The lyrics to The Prodigy's song Weather Experience seem to be referencing a weather forecast for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The song begins with the forecast for a fine dry day in the more central and southern parts of Wales. However, later on, the sunshine will be clouded over somewhat. The forecast for Scotland and Northern Ireland is not explicitly stated but the same lines are repeated for these areas.
The song then takes a turn with the line "Back in south-westerly for. Showers, good." It seems to suggest that the weather will be changing and a south-westerly wind will bring showers. The Prodigy's use of this weather forecast as lyrics shows their ability to incorporate seemingly mundane and ordinary elements into their electronic dance music tracks.
Overall, the lyrics to Weather Experience capture a sense of anticipation and excitement around changing weather patterns. It also highlights The Prodigy's unique ability to create a thrilling musical experience out of even the most prosaic inspirations like a simple weather forecast.
Line by Line Meaning
Wales, certainly in the more central and
Southern parts, it'll be a fine dry day
The weather in Wales will be bright and dry, especially in the central and southern regions
Good deal of sunshine to begin with
There will be a lot of sunshine at the beginning of the day
Clouding over somewhat later on.
Later on, the weather will become more cloudy
But for Scotland, Northern Ireland and er
The following information applies to Scotland, Northern Ireland, and... (unfinished sentence)
Wales, certainly in the more central and
Southern parts, it'll be a fine dry day
The weather in Wales will be bright and dry, especially in the central and southern regions
Good deal of sunshine to begin with
There will be a lot of sunshine at the beginning of the day
Clouding over somewhat later on.
Later on, the weather will become more cloudy
Back in south-westerly for. Showers, good.
There will be showers from the southwest, which are expected to be strong and beneficial
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: LIAM HOWLETT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
4sStylZ
For those we don't know, the story behind the track is amazing :
Weather Experience is the story of the Great Storm of 1987, an extratropical cyclone which struck the UK and France on the night of 15–16 October. The first sample is a weather bulletin by the BBC weatherman Michael Fish who, a few hours before the storm, said during a forecast:
« Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way; well, if you’re watching, don’t worry, there isn’t, but having said that, actually, the weather will become very windy, but most of the strong winds, incidentally, will be down over Spain and across into France »
That same evening, the worst storm to hit South East England for three centuries–later dubbed “The Great Storm of 1987"–caused record damage and killed 19 people
The beginning of the track is very slow, then accelerates like a storm, eventually returning to a quiet state at the end. The track samples Uptown’s “Dope on Plastic” as well as an instrumental from Queen’s Flash Gordon soundtrack album.
Jamie Young
one of the best albums ever recorded,who's with me ??
Richard Diogenes
Me me im with you on this :)
Tore Pedersen
I'm wit dis
zim_rhino
agreed
Johnny Nimmons
A1
Jamie Young
Fucking true words
4sStylZ
For those we don't know, the story behind the track is amazing :
Weather Experience is the story of the Great Storm of 1987, an extratropical cyclone which struck the UK and France on the night of 15–16 October. The first sample is a weather bulletin by the BBC weatherman Michael Fish who, a few hours before the storm, said during a forecast:
« Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way; well, if you’re watching, don’t worry, there isn’t, but having said that, actually, the weather will become very windy, but most of the strong winds, incidentally, will be down over Spain and across into France »
That same evening, the worst storm to hit South East England for three centuries–later dubbed “The Great Storm of 1987"–caused record damage and killed 19 people
The beginning of the track is very slow, then accelerates like a storm, eventually returning to a quiet state at the end. The track samples Uptown’s “Dope on Plastic” as well as an instrumental from Queen’s Flash Gordon soundtrack album.
Alexander Miles
Cool.
Jericoice
Awesome backstory, I didnt even know that.
Marc Courtney
Nice one makes complete sense now. Fish never live that one down.