Lostprophets: Difference between revisions

Lostprophets

Lostprophets are a Welsh rock band formed in 1997. They have produced several demos (none of which are still produced commercially), three studio albums and ten singles. Their first album, thefakesoundofprogress, was originally recorded in a week for £5000 and intended as a glorified demo , but the band re-recorded and re-released the album on a much wider scale through Columbia Records in the USA, although they remain with Visible Noise in the UK. They released Start Something in 2004, and Liberation Transmission in 2006, both to mixed reviews and commercial success.

History

Early years (1997–2000)

The band formed in 1997 in the Welsh town of Pontypridd near Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Pontypridd was also the birthplace of Tom Jones. Lostprophets formed with the break-up of Public Disturbance, which featured drummer Ian Watkins and guitarist Mike Lewis. With Watkins taking over vocal duties, the band recruited guitarist Mike Chiplin, who would later take over on drums, and guitarist Lee Gaze. The band is named after a bootleg recording of a 1988 Duran Duran concert in Italy.

Lostprophets started out as part of the fledgling south Wales hardcore scene, under the original spelling of the name - Lozt Prophetz, playing gigs at venues across Wales including T.J.'s in Newport. From there, they went on to conduct tours on the UK's toilet circuit.

The band released several early demos, on which they experimented with their sound extensively. Their first known recording, Here Comes The Party, featured ska-like brass instrumentation on some tracks, as well as the novelty of frontman Ian Watkins rapping. As the band refined their sound, the rapping was quickly abandoned, though a strong hip hop influence remains evident in the band's sound.

The band recorded two other demos during this time; Para Todas las Putas Celosas, which translates as "For all the jealous bitches," and "The Fake Sound of Progress". Several tracks from their third demo were refined and re-recorded for the release of their debut album of the same name, including the title track and "Moac Supreme" ("A Thousand Apologies"). These are all currently out of print.

The band caught the attention of Kerrang! magazine, and were offered a gig in London. Independent label Visible Noise, subsequently offered an opportunity to record a single. The band spent most of 1999 working on new material with Stuart Richardson, who had joined the band as a bass player.

thefakesoundofprogress (2000–2002)

In February 2000, they signed with Visible Noise. The band's first album thefakesoundofprogress was then released through the label in July. Recorded in less than two weeks for a mere £5000 the record drew on a wide range of influences. Arguably inspired by Refused's final album The Shape of Punk to Come, released the year before Lostprophets began working on material for their debut album. Soon after the album's completion, musician Jamie Oliver joined the band.

thefakesoundofprogress featured many references to 1980s pop-culture. In addition to the Duran Duran reference in the band's name, there was an image of Vengar from the Dungeons & Dragons TV series on the album liner notes, as well as song titles like "Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja" and "Kobrakai". The first song's title was a reference to the video games Shinobi and Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja, while the second was an alternative spelling of Cobra Kai, the name of the karate dojo in the Karate Kid movies. Another reference is the use of the VF-1 Valkyrie in Battroid mode from the 1982 anime The Super Dimension Fortress Macross as part of the album illustration.

Q Prime management, who represent such acts as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica assisted the band in courting America's top major labels. In an interview, the band jokingly remarked that one American showcase gig was so crowded with major label bigwigs that should the venue have been targeted by terrorists, the entire American music industry would have collapsed overnight. Eventually, the band chose to sign with Columbia, a division of Sony Records, though in the UK their records continue to be released through Visible Noise.

The band worked with renowned producer Michael Barbiero to re-record their Visible Noise debut, and the retooled version of thefakesoundofprogress was released in October 2001 and was dedicated to Steve Cookson, a fan who died in a car crash enroute to a Lostprophets gig. The album appears to have divided the band's existing fan base where the first accusations of selling out were levelled at the band from the underground music scene within which they achieved their first success.

During this period, Lostprophets built up a strong live following with support slots to popular acts such as Linkin Park, Deftones and Taproot, as well as several headlining stints of their own. They also took part in the successful Nu-Titans tour with Defenestration among other new UK Metal acts of the time.

Headlining the 2002 Deconstruction festival in London, Lostprophets headlined a bill consisting of underground punk bands, and their appearance allegedly provoked hostility from fans of many of these bands' fans, who were both upset at the fact Lostprophets were headlining.

The band subsequently toured with Ozzfest, played at Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festival. They also appeared on a number of British TV shows, including Top of the Pops, CD:UK and Never Mind The Buzzcocks. They also performed as part of the 2002 NME Awards tour.

Start Something (2003–2004)

After the extensive touring cycle for thefakesoundofprogress finally ended, the band took a brief break before beginning the process of writing new material at Frontline Studios in Caerphilly, Wales. They then entered LA's Bigfoot Studio for a recording process that lasted from March until September 2003, with producer Eric Valentine. Valentine had previously produced albums for Queens of the Stone Age and Good Charlotte.

The first most fans heard from the album was the song "Burn Burn", the music video for which began receiving heavy rotation on satellite channels like MTV2, Kerrang! TV and Scuzz in the UK. The song attracted some criticism, however, as the opening bore a striking resemblance to "Mother Mary", a song from the band Far's Water and Solutions album. The band themselves even conceded in interviews that the singing pattern bore an undeniable similarity to the Adamski song "Killer".

The single was released on November 3, 2003, and was originally scheduled to be closely followed by the release of the album. The release of the album was delayed several times and a headlining tour of the UK, was also postponed during this time. The band rescheduled the cancelled UK shows, with the exception of their scheduled appearance at the Reading and Leeds Festivals, stating in magazine interviews that honouring those commitments would have meant leaving the recording studio while the album was only half completed.

The album was released in the UK on February 2, 2004, and was commercially successful, achieving number four in the UK Albums Chart. The critical response from mainstream magazines was positive, though the response from rock publications such as Kerrang!, Metal Hammer and Rock Sound was tepid.

To promote the album, they toured North America, Europe and, as part of the Big Day Out festival, Australia.

The second single to be released was "Last Train Home". It was a number-one song on US Modern Rock Tracks radio play chart for one week, and reached number eight in the UK charts.

The tour for this record culminated in a sold out show on November 21, 2004, at Cardiff International Arena

In addition, "To Hell We Ride" appeared in the EA Games Video Game Need For Speed: Underground

The title track song "Start Something" was featured for ads for the 2006 film Annapolis.

Liberation Transmission (2006—2007)

On June 19, 2005, founding member Mike Chiplin left the group to pursue other musical opportunities. Since then, Mike Chiplin has joined another band called The Unsung. He has also opened up his own practice studio for young kids to start bands.

The remaining members began working on material for the next album. Due to the lengthy gap between thefakesoundofprogress and Start Something, and the backlash that grew against the band because of it, the remaining band members stated in various interviews that they wanted to release their third album as quickly as possible.

As with Start Something, the band wrote and recorded demo tracks for the album in a UK recording studio before completing the album in America.

Liberation Transmission was recorded in Hawaii, and saw the band work with Bob Rock. Drummer Josh Freese (of The Vandals and A Perfect Circle) joined the band for this album.

The band returned to their roots, playing a series of small venues across South Wales. They also played Give it a Name, a two-day event. These shows featured the first live appearance of 17 year-old Ilan Rubin on drums and the live premiere of songs Rooftops, A Town Called Hypocrisy and The New Transmission.

The album itself was released on June 26th 2006 (June 27th in the USA), and became the first Lostprophets album to reach number one in the UK album chart. The album has seen the band adopt a more contemporary indie sound with far less emphasis on screaming than previous releases (with one exception being opening track Everyday Combat, which features ex-When Reason Sleeps and current The Blackout vocalist Sean Smith). The bands comments in relation to the new album being similar to thefakesoundofprogress are something that have garnered them criticism from long-term fans, with the general consensus being that Liberation Transmission is a far greater departure from the bands origins as a hard rock band than previous offering Start Something. The band have listed The Cure and We Are Scientists as major inspirations for the sound on this album. While some point to this as evidence of the band changing their sound to maximise record sales, others say that the band have never made a secret of their love of popular music, with covers of bands such as Duran Duran and INXS being included as B-sides to some of their earliest singles, and also the fact that the band are named after a bootleg Duran Duran album. Watkins had previously stated that any band can create avant garde music, but it takes real talent to make good pop music that people will actually want to listen to while also staying true to yourself. The bands MySpace page reflects this change in direction, listing the band's genre as Rock/Alternative/New Wave.

Lostprophets began a full-fledged UK tour on July 3rd 2006. As with their warm-up gigs prior to the album's release, the band selected South Wales-based support bands for this tour, such as The Guns, The Blackout (band), Covergirl, Dopamine and Kids in Glass Houses, most of whom found themselves playing to the largest crowds of their careers.

The band followed this with another UK tour in November. The main support for this was Bring Me The Horizon. They will also be following their UK dates with a Europen tour in France, Germany, and several other countries. The main support for this will be from 'The Blackout'. They will be returning to the UK for an Arena tour in April of 2007, from April 18th to 22nd. The scheduled venues are: Glasgow (SECC); Manchester (MEN ARENA); Birmingham (NIA)& London (Wembley Arena). Lostprophets will also be playing the Full Ponty festival in Wales on the 25th of May 2007. The support acts include very special guests Taking Back Sunday and Aiden.

At the Kerrang! Awards 2006, Lostprophets picked up awards for "Best Album" and "Best British Band".

The band recently began a competition in which fans have to create a video for The New Transmission. This has led to speculation that the song is the next single, although this has not been confirmed by the band or the record label.

The band currently have no plans to release a fourth single from Liberation Transmission.

The Future (2007—)

Guitarist Mike Lewis has stated that the band hope to record their fourth studio album in a much shorter space of time than Start Something and Liberation Transmission. He claims that the band would like to write the album in February and March, record it in May and June and release it before the end of 2007. On Kerrang! radio during the week of November 13, Ian Watkins stated he wanted the new album to be "nastier" and "darker" than previous efforts, with more energy and vibe than before. As for the drummer on the next album, the band has remained reluctant to name Ilan Rubin as a permanent band member, saying they would want to see how writing songs with him goes.

Lostprophets are due to play on the NME tour on the 15th of February and Ian Watkins said in a recent interview that they would be playing some new material: “It’s going to be the first time playing new material, so we’re excited about that. We really want to have an album out by the end of next year. It’s a bit more punk rock. We don’t want to take ages over the album like last time. So the shows are going to be really exciting.”

Name

The correct way of spelling the band's name is "Lostprophets", with the L upper case and no space between the words. "lostprophets" is also a popular usage. In logos the name appears in either all upper or all lower case.

Members

Current lineup

• Ian Watkins — Vocals (1997-Present)
• Lee Gaze — Lead Guitar (1997-Present)
• Mike Lewis — Rhythm Guitar (1999-Present, Bass 1997-1999)
• Stuart Richardson — Bass (1999-Present)
• Jamie Oliver — Keyboards, Back-up vocals, Turntables (2000-Present)
• Ilan Rubin — Drums (2006-Present)

Former members

• DJ Stepzak — Turntables (1997-2000)
• Mike Chiplin — Drums (1997-June 19 2005)

Discography

Early Releases & Demos

Date of release	Title
1997	Here Comes the Party
1998	Para Todas las Putas Celosas
1999	The Fake Sound of Progress (EP)

Albums

Date of release	Title	Label	UK Album Chart	US Billboard peak	RIANZ Top 40 (New Zealand)
November 27 2000	thefakesoundofprogress	Visible Noise	44	186
October 8 2001	thefakesoundofprogress (remastered)	Columbia Records / Visible Noise
February 2 2004	Start Something	Columbia Records / Visible Noise	4	33 Platinum	47
June 26 2006	Liberation Transmission	Columbia Records / Visible Noise	1 (Gold 210,000+)	33	14

Singles

Date of release	Title	Album	Label	UK Singles Chart	US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock	RIANZ Top 40 (New Zealand)
November 26 2001	"Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja"	thefakesoundofprogress	Visible Noise	41		33
March 11 2002	"The Fake Sound of Progress"	thefakesoundofprogress	Visible Noise	21
November 3 2003	"Burn Burn"	Start Something	Columbia Records / Visible Noise	17
January 26 2004	"Last Train Home"	Start Something	Columbia Records / Visible Noise	8	75	1 (1 week)	10
May 3 2004	"Wake Up (Make a Move)"	Start Something	Columbia Records / Visible Noise	18		9	16
August 23 2004	"Last Summer"	Start Something	Columbia Records / Visible Noise	13
November 22 2004	"Goodbye Tonight"	Start Something	Columbia Records / Visible Noise	42
June 19 2006	"Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)"	Liberation Transmission	Columbia Records / Visible Noise	8		15	22	25
September 112006	"A Town Called Hypocrisy"	Liberation Transmission	Columbia Records / Visible Noise	23
November 27 2006	"Can't Catch Tomorrow (Good Shoes Won't Save You This Time)"	Liberation Transmission	Columbia Records / Visible Noise	35

Vinyl

Date of release	Title
November 26 2001	Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja 7"
March 11 2002	ThefakesoundofProgress 7"
February 24 2003	The Fake Sound of Progess 12" Special Edition
November 3 2003	Burn Burn 7"
January 26 2004	Last Train Home 7"
May 3 2004	Wake Up (Make A Move) 7"
August 23 2004	Last Summer 7"
November 22 2004	Goodbye Tonight 7"
June 19 2006	Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast) 7"
September 11 2006	A Town Called Hypocrisy 7"
November 27 2006	Can't Catch Tomorrow (Good Shoes Won't Save You This Time) 7"

Unofficial Releases

• Maximum lostprophets: Audio Biography (2004)

Collaborations and rare releases

Lostprophets are well-known for recording cover versions of an eclectic array of songs and releasing them as B-sides. These have included songs from Duran Duran ("A View to a Kill"), Phil Collins ("In the Air Tonight"), Saves The Day ("Shoulder to the Wheel"), The Strokes ("Reptilia"), Justin Timberlake ("Cry Me a River") and Rachel Stevens ("Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex").

They often break into impromptu partial covers of popular songs during live performances. In the past these have included a fusion of Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious", Neneh Cherry's "Buffalo Stance", Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and also there have been repeated instances of Ian singing the chorus to Nelly's hit single "Hot In Herre" during live performances. After performing it on Radio 1s Live Lounge, the band took to playing "Going Underground", originally by The Jam on their UK tour in late 2006.

In 2002, bored with playing a set filled with the same songs they'd been playing since the release of thefakesoundofprogress, the band performed a new, untitled song live on several occasions, including an NME awards performance which was broadcast on MTV2. The song was eventually released on a free CD given away with Kerrang! magazine, and was titled Lately. The band also performed another untitled song during this period, most noticeably at the Glastonbury festival of that year. The song was then subsequently broadcast on Radio 1, and occasional rips of this performance have surfaced on peer-to-peer file sharing networks.

The band has also collaborated with other bands and artists on several occasions. These collaborations include:

• Members of many other bands have performed gang vocals on "Burn Burn" during live performances, including members of Thursday and Good Charlotte.
• "Secret", a song from Amazing Device, featured guest vocals from Ian Watkins.
• "Out of Control", a song by Hoobastank, featured backing vocals from Ian Watkins and Jamie Oliver.
• "It's High Tide Baby", a song by fellow Welsh band and friends The Blackout, features backing vocals from Ian Watkins.

Trivia

• The song 'Lucky You' is featured on the 2004 soundtrack: 'Spider-Man 2: Music From and Inspired By' and as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the Start Something album.
• In the music video New Born by Muse, near the beginning, a child is wearing a Lostprophets shirt.
• The song 'Start Something' is the theme song for Sky Sports' rugby league broadcasts - Super League (Europe).
• The song 'To Hell We Ride' is featured in Need For Speed: Underground, under the title 'Ride'.

References

• Band biography located at DragonNinja.com [1]
• Maximum lostprophets audio biography (ASIN: B0001QNO2E)
• "Decks + Drums + Rock & Roll". Kerrang! magazine. February 10, 2001.
• Doreian, Robyn. "A Band Down Under". Rock Sound magazine. May 2004.
• Hibbard, Jamie. "Boys on Film". Metal Hammer magazine. December 2003.
• Lawson, Dom. "Didn't We Do Well?". Kerrang! magazine. October 5, 2002.
• Winwood, Ian. "The Second Coming". Kerrang! magazine. October 25, 2003.
• Winwood, Ian. "Lost in America". Kerrang! magazine. May 5, 2004.

External links

• Official Website
• Dragonninja Fansite