The Prodigy won’t be in the Rock Hall class of 2025. And that ain’t right.
Speaking ahead of their latest tour of Australia, the Prodigy’s producer and spearhead Liam Howlett reckons his electronic punks had done more than enough.
“We always kept it real and always kept our integrity intact,” Howlett tells Rolling Stone AU/NZ. “It’s not something I’ve ever thought about, but yeah, as you spoke about it we should be up there. Make it happen!”
The latest batch of Rock Hall nominees is prodigiously stacked with Brits, from Bad Company to Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis and the late Joe Cocker. The Prodigy’s name isn’t on the list.
Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is arguably the most prestigious honour for the global contemporary music scene.
Overnight, organisers announced the 14 performer nominees considered for 2025 induction. The chosen few will be announced in late April, with induction formalities to take place later this year at a ceremony in Los Angeles.
The Prodigy could make a strong case for elevation. The Essex, England outfit destroyed the glass ceiling that once existed for electronic acts in the United States by landing at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 1997’s Fat of the Land, their third album. Fuelled by their eye-searing music videos, two tracks from it, “Firestarter” (No. 30) and “Smack My Bitch Up” (No. 89), cracked the Billboard Hot 100 – doing so at a time and place when electronic artists had as much respect as circus clowns.
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“I’ve said before, I never gave a fuck about the charts. But somehow Fat of the Land going to No. 1 in the USA felt different,” he recalls. “It had an extra ‘fuck you-ness’ about it as only a few British bands had ever done that. So yeah, you could say it gave me a certain cheeky pride for a while.”
In their homeland, the Prodigy launched a full-frontal assault on the charts with seven No. 1 albums, including their seventh and most recent studio set, No Tourists, from 2018. Their career tally includes 11 top 10s on the Official UK Singles Chart, with two leaders (“Firestarter” and “Breathe,” both in 1996).
To qualify for this year’s Rock Hall ballot, each nominee’s first single or album had to have been released in 2000 or earlier. The Prodigy clears that hurdle; they first cracked the UK singles survey back in 1991 with “Charly,” peaking at No. 3.
The Prodigy kicks off their four-date, three-city Disrupta tour of Australia on Thursday night, February 13th at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion, presented by Handsome Tours, Astral People and Double J.
Led by Howlett and Maxim, this latest Prodigy jaunt is their first in five years, and first since vocalist and dancer Keith Flint’s untimely passing in 2018.
The Prodigy’s ‘Disrupta Tour’ of Australia
Presented by Handsome Tours, Astral People & Double J
Tickets on sale at ticketek.com.au.
Feb. 13th — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Feb. 14th — Hordern Pavilion – Sydney
Feb. 16th — Riverstage, Brisbane
Feb. 18th — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
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