Keith Flint
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist Keith Charles Flint (17 September 1969 – 4 March 2019) was an English singer, motorcyclist, dancer and a vocalist of the electronic dance act The Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer for the group, he became the vocalist and performed on the group's two UK number-one singles, "Firestarter" and "Breathe", both released in 1996. He was also the singer of his own band, Flint.
Flint owned a motorcycle racing team, Team Traction Control, which won four Isle of Man TT races in 2015 and 2016, and competed in the British Superbike Championship. He died at age 49 from hanging, while an inquest could not rule whether it was suicidal or accidental.
Early lifeEdit
Flint was born in Redbridge, London, to Clive and Yvonne Flint, on 17 September 1969.<ref>England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916–2005, September 1969, vol. 5d, p. 2989</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Clive Flint worked as an engineering consultant.<ref name=":2"/> Keith Flint was initially raised in East London, but in the mid-1970s his parents moved out to a quiet suburban cul-de-sac in Springfield, in Chelmsford, Essex. His childhood was described as unhappy, and he feuded with his parents, who parted when he was young.<ref name="BBCSavage">Template:Cite news</ref> He attended the Boswells School in Chelmsford and moved to Braintree after leaving school.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Flint was described as being a "bright boy with dyslexia" and was disruptive in class. He was expelled from school at the age of 15. Flint then worked as a roofer and later enthusiastically embraced the acid house scene of the late 1980s.<ref name="BBCSavage"/> Musically, Flint was a childhood fan of The Jam,<ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref> and in the late 1980s he listened to bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1989, he appeared as the boy running in the video for the new beat act 101's video for Just As Long As I Got You.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>
Music careerEdit
Flint met DJ Liam Howlett at local rave club the Barn in Braintree, Essex,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and said he liked Howlett's taste in music.Template:Sfn 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 friend Leeroy Thornhill, would dance to them.Template:Sfn Flint, Howlett and Thornhill were joined by MC Maxim Reality and became the successful electronic dance act The Prodigy.
In 1996, just prior to the release of The Prodigy's third album, Flint moved from being a dancer for the group to being its frontman when he performed vocals on the hit single "Firestarter"; the accompanying video showcased Flint's new and soon-to-be iconic punk look.<ref name="Roberts">Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited.</ref> This trend continued with the next Prodigy single, "Breathe", on which Flint sang vocals, with Maxim backing him up.<ref name="GUAR">Template:Cite news</ref>
The 1997 album The Fat of the Land also featured Flint's vocal contributions on the tracks "Serial Thrilla" and "Fuel My Fire".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2002, the non-album single "Baby's Got a Temper" was released, which was written by Flint.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Flint did not perform vocals on the next Prodigy album—Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned (2004)—but reappeared on the "Hotride (El Batori Mix)", included on the "Hotride" single.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Prodigy album Invaders Must Die was released on 23 February 2009 and featured vocals by Flint on multiple tracks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Flint released a single titled "War" with dubstep artist Caspa in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>
Flint experimented with solo projects, including his punk rock band Flint, which included remixes by Steven "Stitch" Held at The Recovery Room and Clever Brains Fryin'. Flint's debut album, Device #1, was cancelled before its release, leaving "Aim4" as their only single to be commercially released.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Motorcycle racingEdit
Flint was a keen motorcyclist. He rode Template:Convert from England to southern Spain to attend the 2007 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix and also raced in club competitions. He rode with Lee Thompson of the band Madness. He had his own motorcycle team, Team Traction Control, which competed in the British Supersport Championship as part of the British Superbike Championship before stepping up to the British Superbike Championship in 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2015, Team Traction Control machines won two Isle of Man TT races, ridden by Ian Hutchinson.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The team and Ian Hutchinson repeated their two victories again in 2016.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Personal lifeEdit
Flint dated television presenter Gail Porter; the couple split in 2001.<ref name=":2"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2006, Flint married Mayumi Kai.<ref name=":2"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The couple were separated at the time of Flint's death.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref>
Flint had a tattoo across his stomach of the word "Inflicted", a reference to a lyric in "Firestarter".<ref name=":2"/> Flint was difficult on transatlantic flights; on one occasion he had to be restrained from kicking down the door to the cockpit.<ref name=":2"/> Prior to his marriage, Flint suffered from depression and an addiction to prescription painkillers.<ref name="BBCSavage"/><ref name="GUAR"/> Flint kept fit by boxing and practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu.<ref name=":3"/>
In 2014, he bought and renovated the Leather Bottle pub in Pleshey, Essex, and became a popular landlord.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Flint kept a jar in which customers were required to put a pound in if they made a "Firestarter" joke as he lit the pub's fire.<ref name=":2"/> He ended his connection with the pub without explanation in 2017.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":2"/>
Flint lived in a listed Tudor manor house near Dunmow, Essex.<ref name=":3"/> He had a small flat track in his back garden, where he rode some of his motorcycles.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Flint was a lover of animals and was an enthusiastic twitcher;<ref name=":2"/> he built a pond in his garden to attract birds and kept several dogs and horses at his home.
He also enjoyed the countryside and rode with a fox hunt for several years.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
DeathEdit
On 4 March 2019, Essex Police were called to Flint's home in North End,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in response to concerns for his welfare.<ref name="BBCSavage"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Flint was pronounced dead at the scene, aged 49. The police did not treat the death as suspicious. That day, bandmate Liam Howlett stated in an Instagram post that Flint's death was a suicide.<ref name="BBCSavage"/><ref name="GUAR"/> Flint's funeral was held on 29 March 2019.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":5">Template:Cite news</ref>
At an 11 March 2019 inquest into his death, it was announced that he had died as a result of hanging.<ref name=":0" /> Another coroner's inquest on 8 May 2019 determined there was insufficient evidence for a suicide or accident verdict.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cocaine, alcohol, and codeine was found in his system at the time of his death.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The coroner adjourned the inquest until 23 July 2019 for a full hearing.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>
LegacyEdit
After Flint's death, fans used the hashtag "#Firestarter4Number1" on social media in a campaign to try to get the song "Firestarter" to Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart as a mark of respect for Flint and to raise awareness for male suicide in the UK.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Following his death, many musical artists and music industry figures from around the world paid tribute to Flint.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Mark Savage">Template:Cite news</ref> Many tributes highlighted Flint's gentle temperament, illustrating a personal kindness, politeness and generosity that contrasted with his energetic and sometimes aggressive stage persona.<ref name=":1"/><ref name="Mark Savage"/> Fellow British musician and Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay said, "What bloody tragic news. What a top fella and a great laugh. I hope they've got a quick bike for him up there.. cos he fucking sure knew how to ride one. Keith Flint... always 'balls to the wall'."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>
In June 2019, fashion designer Donatella Versace dedicated her spring/summer 2020 menswear show in Milan to Flint's memory.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite news</ref> Versace, who was a friend of Flint's, dressed male models in clothing reflecting his style and they sported Flint's distinctive "Firestarter" hairstyle.<ref name=":6"/>
Whilst performing at Glastonbury Festival in June 2019, Liam Gallagher dedicated "Champagne Supernova" to Flint.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In the 2020 video game Assassin's Creed Valhalla, a bard named Keith resembling Flint can be found in Essex, England, as part of a sidequest titled "The Prodigy". There, the "Bishop of the Ruins" is denouncing his music as unholy. The character says the presence of the player character, Eivor, is "surely an omen", referencing the Prodigy's song of the same name; when the protesting clergyman starts a fistfight with Eivor, Keith encourages the character to "Smack my Bishop".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Kristen McGorry, a writer on the game, confirmed on Twitter that these and other references were intentional tributes to Flint and the band.<ref name="McGorry">Template:Cite tweet</ref>
On 5 August 2021, a Crowdfunder campaign was launched by music and mental wellbeing festival "Headstock" to commission street artist Akse P19 to paint a mural of Flint. The mural, which was unveiled on 9 September 2021, a day ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day, is located at Beechwood Road in Hackney, near to where The Prodigy played their first gig at the Four Aces Club in 1990.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
DiscographyEdit
With the ProdigyEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
- The Fat of the Land (1997)
- Their Law: The Singles 1990–2005 (2005)
- Invaders Must Die (2009)
- World's on Fire (2011)
- The Day Is My Enemy (2015)
- No Tourists (2018)
With FlintEdit
- Device #1 (2003) (Only released in promo form)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ReferencesEdit
Other sourcesEdit
External linksEdit
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- Keith Flint: Stars and fans recall the Firestarter's soft side. BBC News. Published 5 March 2019.