Keith Flint was a singer, musician and dancer, best known as the frontman of the band "The Prodigy", where he sang some of the group's biggest hits. He has died at the age of 49 and is believed to have committed suicide.
Biography
Keith Flint (Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images/Gulliver)
Keith Charles Flint was born on February 17, 1969 in Redbridge, London, England, while growing up in East London. In the mid-seventies, his parents moved to Springfield, Essex.
His childhood has been labeled as unhappy and he often had fights with his parents as a teenager. In his school years, he was described as a smart boy with dyslexia, while he was problematic in class.
Dyslexia (inability to read) is a learning disorder that involves difficulty in reading due to problems identifying sounds and relating them to letters and words (decoding). Dyslexia affects the areas of the brain that process words and language. People with dyslexia have normal intelligence and usually also have normal vision. Most children with dyslexia can be successful in school with an aide or special education program. Emotional support also plays an important role. Although there is no cure for dyslexia, early access and intervention lead to better outcomes.
He was expelled from school at the age of 15. As a teenager, he worked in construction repairing roofs, and in the XNUMXs, he entered the music scene in the 'acid house' genre of electronic music.
Music career
(Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images/Gulliver)
In the late 1980s, Flint met DJ Liam Howlett at a local club in Braintree and expressed his admiration for his music. After receiving a mixtape from Howlett, Flint enthusiastically returned the mixtape, saying that the songs should be performed on stage and that he and a friend, Leeroy Thornhill, would dance to them.
Initially, Keith was a dancer in the group, but in 1996 he was engaged as a vocalist on the big hit, "Firestarter", having built a 'punk' image. This trend continued with the next song of "The Prodigy", "Breathe", on which Flint was the lead vocalist, and Maxim was a backing vocalist.
The 1997 album, The Fat of the Land, featured Flint as a vocalist on several of the band's major hits, including "Breathe", "Serial Thrilla", "Fuel My Fire" and "Firestarter". In 2002, the song "Baby's Got a Temper" was released, while the next album, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned (2004), did not feature Flint as a vocalist.
The Prodigy's album, "Invaders Must Die", released in 2009, brought him back as a singer on many songs, while in 2012, Flint released the song "War" in collaboration with artist Caspa.
For the next few years, he experimented with several solo projects, including the bands "Flint" and "Clever Brains Fryin'". While only the song "Aim1" was released from the album "Device #4", as his debut solo album was canceled before release.
Motorcycle racing
Flint was a very good motorcyclist. He had driven 2.414 kilometers from England to southern Spain to take part in the 2007 Spanish Grand Prix, and has also taken part in motorcycle club races.
He has had his own motorcycle team, Team Traction Control, which has competed in the British Supersport Championship as part of the British Superbike Championship. In 2015, Team Traction Control won two Isle of Man TT races under the leadership of Ian Hutchinson.
Personal life
(Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images/Gulliver)
Flint was in a relationship with TV presenter Gail Porter, with whom he split in 2000. He then linked up with Japanese DJ Mayumi Kai, whom he married.
Throughout his life, Keith Flint has had great problems with alcohol and drug addiction, as well as severe depression, so that in one case he said that only his love for dogs had stopped him from committing suicide. The musician had sought solace in alcohol and drugs after the breakup of the group.
"I was taking cocaine, marijuana, drinking a lot. It made me clumsy, boring and shallow. I would take a series of pills and take them, and take them and forget how many I had taken, until I lost consciousness," he told The Times.
At the same time, he admitted to having suicidal thoughts: "But you have to have a lot of courage to kill yourself. I was a coward."
DEATH
On 4 March 2019, following concerns for his welfare, police were called to his home in North End near Great Dunmow in Essex, where he was found dead. Police have not treated the death as suspicious. Meanwhile, the member of the group, Liam Howlett, wrote on social networks that the musician committed suicide.
"The news is true, I can't believe I'm saying this, but our brother, Keith, took his own life over the weekend. I'm shocked, very angry, confused and heartbroken... Rest in peace brother," he wrote. /Telegrafi/
