Lostprophets are a Welsh alternative metal band.

History

The band formed in the town of Pontypridd near Cardiff in 1997. It formed with the breakup of Public Disturbance featuring Ian Watkins on drums and guitarist Mike Lewis. With Watkins taking over vocal duties, the band recruited guitarist Mike Chiplin and guitarist Lee Gaze. The band was named after a Duran Duran bootleg tape.

After gigs in and around Cardiff (they also played at numerous occasions at TJ's Newport, alledgedly where Kurt Cobain proposed to Courtney Love), the band's first demo caught the eyes of Kerrang! magazine who offered them a gig in London. Independent label Visible Noise then offered them the opportunity to record a single. The band spent most of 1999 working on new material with Stuart Richardson who had joined the band as a bass player.

In February 2000, they signed up to do an album with Visible Noise to put out their first album The Fake Sound of Progress in July. They built up a strong live following with support slots to popular acts as Linkin Park, Deftones and Taproot as well as good concerts as headliners. Jamie Oliver (not the chef) also joined the band as a turntablist.

Lostprophets signed up to Columbia in 2001 with renowned producer Michael Barbiero . With them they released a remix of their debut album, achieving better commercial success, with singles reaching the top 40. They entered the studios in 2003 with producer Eric Valentine who had produced albums by Queens of the Stone Age and Good Charlotte.

To promote the album, they toured North America and Europe and Australia as part of the Big Day Out. They released their second album Start Something in February 2004 with singles Last Train Home and Burn Burn doing well on the charts. There were a total of 5 singles released. Currently the band is working on writing their new album.

Members

• Ian Watkins (vocals)
• Mike Lewis (guitarist)
• Lee Gaze (guitarist)
• Mike Chiplin (drums)
• Stuart Richardson (bass)
• Jamie Oliver (keyboards,turntables,and back-up vocals)

Discography

Albums:

• The Fake Sound of Progress (2000 - original version)
• The Fake Sound of Progress (2001 - remixed)
• Start Something (2004)

Singles:

From The Fake Sound of Progress:

• "Shinobi Vs Dragon Ninja" (2001) - #41 UK
• "The Fake Sound of Progress" (2002) - #21 UK

From Start Something:

• "Burn Burn" (2003) - #17 UK
• "Last Train Home" (2004) - #8 UK
• "Wake Up (Make A Move)" (2004) - #18 UK
• "Last Summer" (2004) - #13 UK
• "Goodbye Tonight" (2004) - #42 UK

Trivia

The band recorded a cover version of the Justin Timberlake song Cry Me A River quickly becoming popular.

The character Venger from the Dungeons & Dragons (TV series) appears on the liner notes of their first album.

Links

• Official web site

• All Music Guide