The Prodigy

Formed in 1990, The Prodigy self-released a demo tape in February 1991. They sent this to a number of record companies and were soon signed to XL Recordings, who released a track from the demo call What Evil Lurks as the group’s first single. They immediately entered the studio to record new material and released their debut album Experience in September 1992. Containing the popular songs Charly, Out of Space and Fire, it reached number twelve in the UK Albums Chart and was soon certified platinum.

The group’s second album, Music for the Jilted Generation, followed in July 1994. It shot straight to number one in the UK, as well as charting inside the Billboard 200, and spawned the hit singles No Good (Start the Dance), Voodoo People and Poison. It has since been rated a classic album of the 1990s by the likes of Spin, NME and Mojo magazines.

However, the group’s first major international mainstream success was the 1997 album The Fat of the Land. Distributed by Maverick Records in America, it shot to number one on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for a Grammy Award, as well as for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in 1997. It was also a number one hit in the UK, Canada, Australia and several other countries, and spawned the UK and international number one smash hits Firestarter and Breathe, as well as the UK Top 10 single Smack My Bitch Up.

Since the turn of the century The Prodigy have released a further two albums – 2004‘s Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned and 2009’s Invaders Must Die – and have scored hits with singles like Girls, Omen and Warrior’s Dance.