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The Prodigy are easily one of the most the most recognisable and well-loved group in modern music, barring genre and in electronic music, they might be the biggest. While producer Liam Howlett’s clean beats, creative production and diversity of sound has given them staying power throughout their 30 year tenure in electronic music, MC and “dancer”, as he liked to call himself, Keith Flint is almost unequivocally responsible for The Prodigy’s recognisability. The man had a look.

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of Flint’s passing from suicide and this tragic news hit the music world hard. The mental health of musicians has been talked about and felt a lot in music of late with similar ends of so many other music legends recently like Chris Cornell, Chester Beddington, Mac Miller…the list just seems to be getting longer. Flint’s death seemed especially shocking because of his legendary good nature and hopefully made people realise that the fight for artists’ lives is far from over.

One year on from his tragic death, however, Keith Flint’s legacy is still felt the world over. It was the combination of Howlett’s sick beats and Flint’s punk rock appearance and acting when the video for “Firestarter” hit the United States in 1996 that served almost singlehandedly to unify the stateside and UK rave scenes. It also pulled in lots of fans of other music like punk, rock, indie and even pop as Flint’s firey image was, while weird, somehow universal.

With a double mohawk, countless facial piercings and an ability to make the creepy tunnel he was dancing in seem like it was scared of him, that shocking first image conjured by Flint along with his lyrics and a sound that was unlike anything else in electronic music at the time on either side of the pond, he and his bandmates showed that dance music could be much harder, tighter and more punk rock than anyone originally thought. That video led the way for other alternative electronic acts like The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim and even Moby. The Prodigy ushered in a golden age of electronic music in the indie world that hasn’t been replicated since.

Throughout their 30-year run, The Prodigy played countless festivals and shows, put out some of the best electronic music in the world and their tours were always sold out Keith Flint was always onstage dancing and pumping up the rave. His energy stayed as high and heavy as it was in “Firestarter” and to those who knew him, he was always endlessly nice and helpful. To think Flint, along with so many other artists, was suffering in silence is particularly difficult but it’s also obvious he’d rather the world celebrate his gift of celebration and the love he had of the party. Music owes him at least that much.

The music industry has yet to figure out how to offer more support for artists to an effective degree but a few charities are trying to help. If you or someone you know is affected by the issues mentioned in this article, two hotlines are available to anyone struggling. In the UK, Music Minds Matter has a 24 hour hotline and it trying to raise a billion pounds for musical mental health support. It’s recently expanded to the US and other parts of Europe, so those struggling the world over can now call and get help.

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