Lost prophets

Lost prophets
Lostprophets at Pinkpop 2007
General information
Genre (s)	Alternative rock , post-hardcore , nu metal , pop punk
founding	1997
resolution	2013
Last occupation
singing	Ian Watkins
Rhythm guitar , backing vocals (from 1999) bass (until 1999)	Mike Lewis
Lead guitar , background vocals	Lee Gaze
Electric bass , backing vocals	Stuart Richardson
Keyboard , turntables , background vocals	Jamie Oliver
Drums	Luke Johnson (since 2009)
former members
Drums	Mike Chiplin (until 2005)
Turntables	DJ Stepzak (until 2000)
Drums, percussion	Ilan Rubin (until 2008)

Lostprophets were a British rock band from Pontypridd , Wales .

history

Early Years and The Fake Sound of Progress (1997-2002)

Lostprophets was founded in 1997 in Pontypridd near the Welsh capital Cardiff with singer Ian Watkins and guitarists Mike Lewis, Lee Gaze and Mike Chiplin, who later became a drummer. They were an integral part of the emerging South Welsh hardcore scene and began their career with numerous festival appearances. Until they found their own style, they experimented with different instruments and sound variants on their demos. Their first demo was called Here Comes the Party . It was followed by Para Todas Las Putas Celosas and The Fake Sound of Progress . Soon the music magazine became Kerrang! noticed them and offered them to appear on a show for the magazine in London . There, the music label Visible Noise suggested the release of a joint single.

They were joined by bassist Stuart Richardson in 1999 and the band began working on their first album. Visible Noise signed in February 2000 and the album The Fake Sound of Progress hit stores in July , recorded in less than two weeks and for less than £ 5,000. Jamie Oliver joined the band during the recording. In 2002, the Lost Prophets appeared as the opening act for rock greats like Linkin Park and Deftones . In the same year a major festival tour followed, during which the band appeared at Ozzfest , Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds Festival, among others .

Start Something (2003-2004)

After the promotion tour for The Fake Sound of Progress , a short creative break was taken in order to be able to work on the next album. From March to September 2003 the recordings ran at Bigfoot Studios in Los Angeles , this time with producer Eric Valentine , who already worked with Good Charlotte and Queens of the Stone Age . The first single from the new album Start Something was Burn, Burn , which suffered massive criticism because the song has similarities with the title Mother Mary by Far . Shortly after the single was released, the album and tour were to follow, but the band felt compelled to postpone both as the album was only halfway through when they had to leave the studio. Eventually, Start Something was released on February 2, 2004 and reached number four on the UK album charts. The second single was Last Train Home . The following tour even took her to the USA and to Australia for the Big Day Out Festival . The highlight of the tour was a completely sold out show on November 11, 2004 at the Cardiff International Arena.

Liberation Transmission (2005-2007)

In June 2005, Mike Chiplin decided to leave the band to take a different musical path, while the other band members were busy with the next album. As before with Start Something , the demos for the album were recorded in the UK and the album was completed in the US . Josh Freese from A Perfect Circle was on the drums for the recordings until the then 17-year-old Ilan Rubin took over the part. The first single from the album Liberation Transmission was Rooftops . Liberation Transmission was released on July 26th, 2006 and promptly reached the top of the UK album charts as the first Lostprophets album. In the same year Lost Prophets won the Kerrang! Awards the awards for Best Album and Best British Band . In December, the second single, Can't Catch Tomorrow (Good Shoes Won't Save You This Time) was released . 4 AM forever followed in 2007.

The Betrayed (2007-2010)

In 2007 Lostprophets began recording their fourth studio album The Betrayed , which they worked on with producer John Feldmann . Not entirely satisfied with the result, however, they decided to switch to producer Bob Rock , who had already produced Liberation Transmission . Due to scheduling difficulties, this plan didn't work either, so the band made the decision to produce the album on their own. The album was released in January 2010 and the first single It's Not the End of World was released on October 12, 2009.

At the end of 2008 the drummer Rubin left the band and became a member of the Nine Inch Nails , he was replaced by Luke Johnson.

Weapons and Dissolution (2010-2013)

In early 2011, work began on the fifth album. For this album called Weapons , they left their record label Visible Noise and switched to Epic Records . Before the album was released, Lostprophets performed at the Soundwave Festival in Australia and then toured the UK for two months to promote the album. They were supported on this tour by the dubstep formation Modestep as opening act. The first single of the album was called Bring 'Em Down and was released in February 2012. For the release of the album in the USA, the band signed a recording contract with the rock label Fearless Records .

In late 2012, however, singer Watkins was jailed on suspicion of molesting minors and possession and distribution of child and animal pornography . On October 1, 2013, the band announced their breakup on their Facebook page - signed by every band member except Watkins. On November 26, shortly before the trial began in a Cardiff court, Watkins confessed to child sexual abuse. On December 18, 2013, Watkins was sentenced to 35 years in prison for multiple child abuse charges and attempted rape of a baby.

The former band members with the exception of Watkins got together in 2014 with singer Geoff Rickly (previously on Thursday ) to form the band No Devotion .

Members

Ian Watkins

Ian David Carslick Watkins (born July 30, 1977 in Merthyr Tydfil , Wales ) was the singer and founding member of the band. He started playing drums at the age of 14 . Together with his bandmate Mike Lewis he played in the band Public Disturbance . He himself says that he would have preferred to be the drummer for Lostprophets, but nobody wanted to take on the role of singer when the band was founded. He holds a degree in graphic design from the University of Wales and had also worked in the industry before giving up his profession in favor of his music career.

Child sexual abuse conviction

In 2012, Watkins was arrested on child molestation charges. On November 26, 2013, after the attempted rape of an under 13-year-old, sexual assault on minors in three cases and possession of child and animal pornography, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison, of which only six were suspended. A request for clemency is only possible after two thirds of the sentence has been served. Two co-defendants who gave Watkins their babies for the abuses were sentenced to 14 and 17 years in prison. Investigations are ongoing as to whether Watkins has committed further crimes in the US and Germany. In October 2017 it became known that he should have tried to win over young mothers even in prison. In August 2019, he was sentenced to a 10-month extension in prison for illegally possessing a cell phone.

Jamie Oliver

Richard James Oliver (born July 16, 1977) is the keyboardist of the band. Prior to Lostprophets, he studied art at Bristol University .

Stuart Richardson

Stuart Richardson III (born August 15, 1973 in Ferndale , Wales ) took over Mike Lewis' position as bass guitarist in 1999.

Lee Gaze

Lee James Gaze (born May 21, 1979 in Pontypridd , Wales ) is lead guitarist and a founding member. Like Lewis, he lives the straight edge lifestyle .

Mike Lewis

Mike Richard Lewis (born August 17, 1977 in Pontypridd , Wales ) studied civil engineering for a year before the band was founded . In 1999 he switched from bassist to rhythm guitarist.

Luke Johnson

Luke Anthony Johnson (born March 11, 1981 in Redditch , England ) played in front of Lostprophets in numerous other bands. Among others with Amen and Beat Union before he officially became a drummer with Lostprophets in 2009.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
2000	The Fake Sound of Progress	-	-	-	UK44 gold (17 weeks)UK	US186 (1 week) US
2004	Start something	DE51 (10 weeks) DE	AT60 (4 weeks) AT	-	UK4th platinum (40 weeks)UK	US33 gold (37 weeks)US
2006	Liberation Transmission	DE31 (4 weeks) DE	AT44 (4 weeks) AT	CH34 (4 weeks) CH	UK1 platinum (18 weeks)UK	US33 (8 weeks) US
2010	The Betrayed	DE90 (1 week) DE	-	-	UK3 gold (6 weeks)UK	-
2012	Weapons	DE86 (1 week) DE	AT74 (1 week) AT	-	UK9 (5 weeks) UK	US145 (1 week) US

• 2001: The Fake Sound of Progress (Remixed)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
2001	Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja The Fake Sound of Progress	-	-	-	UK41 (2 weeks) UK	-
2002	The Fake Sound of Progress The Fake Sound of Progress	-	-	-	UK21 (3 weeks) UK	-
2003	Burn Burn Start Something	DE81 (4 weeks) DE	-	-	UK17 (3 weeks) UK	-
2004	Last Train Home Start Something	DE48 (7 weeks) DE	-	-	UK8 (9 weeks) UK	US75 (6 weeks) US
	Wake Up (Make a Move) Start Something	-	-	-	UK18 (4 weeks) UK	-
	Last Summer Start Something	-	-	-	UK13 (5 weeks) UK	-
	Goodbye Tonight Start Something	-	-	-	UK42 (2 weeks) UK	-
2006	Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast) Liberation Transmission	-	-	-	UK8th silver (14 weeks)UK	-
	A Town Called Hypocrisy Liberation Transmission	-	-	-	UK23 (7 weeks) UK	-
	Can't Catch Tomorrow Liberation Transmission	-	-	-	UK35 (4 weeks) UK	-
2007	4: AM Forever Liberation Transmission	-	-	-	UK34 (2 weeks) UK	-
2009	It's Not the End of the World But I Can See It from Here The Betrayed	-	-	-	UK16 (3 weeks) UK	-
2010	Where We Belong The Betrayed	-	-	-	UK32 (5 weeks) UK	-
	For He's a Jolly Good Fellow The Betrayed	-	-	-	UK99 (1 week) UK	-

EPs

• 1997: Here Comes the Party
• 1998: Para Todas Las Putas Celosas
• 1999: The Fake Sound of Progress (Demo EP)
• Burn burn
• Last Train Home
• Last buzzer
• Can't Catch Tomorrow (Good Shoes Won't Save You This Time)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Signing Announcement ( Memento of March 18, 2013 in the Internet Archive ); Press release from Fearless Records; Retrieved December 19, 2013.
2. ↑ Lostprophets: singer imprisoned for child abuse ; Article on laut.de from December 20, 2012
3. ^ Paul Cockerton: Lostprophets split up after 15 years as singer Ian Watkins faces sex offense trial ; Mirror Online, October 1, 2013
4. ↑ ^{a b} Judgment on Lost Prophets Singer: Ian Watkins 35 years in prison for child abuse ; Spiegel Online, December 18, 2013
5. ^ Lostprophets - Ian Watkins on BBC walesmusic
6. ↑ ^{a b} The private life of Ian Watkins . In: vip.de . ( vip.de [accessed on July 8, 2018]).
7. ↑ 13 cases of child abuse: Lostprophets singer sentenced to 35 years in prison ; Focus from December 18, 2013, accessed December 24, 2015.
8. ^ Ian Watkins (ex-Lostprophets): Looking for victims even in prison . In: Metal Hammer . October 10, 2017 ( metal-hammer.de [accessed July 8, 2018]).
9. ^ Mattha Busby, agencies: Ian Watkins given 10 months for possessing mobile phone in prison . In: The Guardian . August 9, 2019, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed February 5, 2020]).
10. ↑ Lostprophets - Jamie Oliver on BBC walesmusic
11. ^ Lostprophets - Stuart Richardson on BBC walesmusic
12. ↑ Lostprophets - Lee Gaze on BBC walesmusic
13. ^ Lostprophets - Mike Lewis at BBC walesmusic
14. ^ Luke Johnson - A Pro-Mark player since 2007. , promark.com
15. ^ Luke Johnson's Lostprophets drum setup in pictures
16. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
17. ↑ ^{a b} Music Sales Awards: UK , US

Web links

Commons : Lostprophets  - collection of images