“The thing about Lostprophets,” says the band’s
frontman, Ian Watkins, “is that we’re not a flash in
the pan. We’ve built this thing so that it grows steadily,
level by level. We haven’t over-exposed ourselves or gone
for the quick reward. We’ve built up a fan base that won’t
forget who we are just because we’ve gone away to record
a new album.”
It all began in the small Welsh town of Pontypridd, toward the
end of the 1990s and took their name from a bootleg recording
of a 1988 Duran Duran show in Italy. The original line-up featured
Ian Watkins on drums who then changed position to become the
frontman—and, by the way, what a frontman he is—and
the group recruited the line up which recorded their first two
albums.
It was at this point that things really began to go crazy. By
the start of 2001, Lostprophets had started to attract the attention
of US labels—and lots of them. They were flown to Los Angeles
to play a showcase. For the band themselves, it was their first
time in the United States and they were being wined and dined
by every label that mattered. Deciding they were ever so slightly
out of their depth, Lostprophets sought the advice of a high
profile music business lawyer. His advice was, don’t sign
any management contract—that is, unless Q Prime came knocking.
Q Prime represents, among others, Metallica and Red Hot Chili
Peppers, and are not in the habit of calling for fledgling bands
from a small town in Wales. Only thing was, Q Prime did come
knocking, and so the band found themselves with heavyweight management.
After touring the world for what seemed like umpteen times, finally
it was time for Lostprophets to record their sophomore album.
Working with Queens Of The Stone Age and Dwarves producer Eric
Valentine, the band decamped to Los Angeles in the spring of
2003 to record ‘Start Something’. The album’s
lead single, ‘Burn Burn’ was released in November of
that year and became the bands first top 30 chart hit in the
UK. The album entered the UK album chart at number 4 and the
Billboard US album chart at number 24. To date, ‘Start Something’ has
gone on to sell more than 1.5 million copies worldwide including
achieving platinum status in the UK and gold in the US. The next
single ‘Last Train Home’ was a top 10 single in the
UK as well as reaching the number one slot on the US Modern Rock
chart.
Lostprophets use Dean Markley’s NickelSteel
Electric MED
and Misfits Skullbusters
Bass.
Mike Lewis said this about his strings:
Dean Markleys are the bollocks!!! They sound great live and in
studio, love em!
Be sure to visit the Lostprophets website at:
www.Lostprophets.com or
www.MySpace.com/lostprophets.
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