The Prodigy’s Liam Howlett has called for the band to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
His comments follow a recent interview with Rolling Stone, ahead of the iconic electronic band kicking off the Australian leg of their ‘Disrupta Tour’ – marking their first shows in the country in five years.
During the discussion, Howlett recalled that he had never cared about the band being introduced to the prestigious Rock Hall up until recently, and now hoped they would be considered in future years.
“It’s not something I’ve ever thought about, but yeah, as you spoke about it we should be up there. Make it happen!” he told the outlet.
He also added that, while he has never put much emphasis on the charts either, it was seeing the band being able to crack the US that made him have a new sense of pride with the music and opened him up to things like the Rock Hall.
Recalling a milestone moment that happened with their huge 1997 album, Howlett explained: “I never gave a fuck about the charts. But somehow ‘Fat Of The Land’ going to Number One in the USA felt different. 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.”
The names being considered for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Class Of 2025 were shared yesterday (February 12), and did not feature The Prodigy. Instead, the acts seen on the longlist included Oasis and New Order, as well as Cyndi Lauper, Mariah Carey, The White Stripes, Billy Idol, Soundgarden, OutKast, Phish, Bad Company, The Black Crowes and more.
Oasis’ inclusion came after frontman Liam Gallagher took aim at the event last year, when the Britpop icons were nominated for the first time. “Fuck the Rock n Roll hall of fame its full of BUMBACLARTS,” he wrote on X/Twitter, also telling a fan who was planning on voting to not “waste your time”, adding that “as much as it’s appreciated it’s all a load of bollox”.
He then spoke out again last night, following the second nomination – stating that the Rock hall “is for wankers”.
Voting for fans is available now, and finalists for the Class Of 2025 are set to be announced in April. A date for the induction ceremony will be shared at a later date.
For The Prodigy, the electronic pioneers are eligible for inclusion as they shared their first recording over 25 years ago – dropping their first UK chart hit ‘Charly’ in 1991.
Since then, they have topped the charts in the UK seven times with their records, including with their latest LP, 2019’s ‘No Tourists’. They have also had numerous hit tracks including ‘Firestarter’ and ‘Breathe’, as well as the aforementioned unprecedented success of ‘The Fat Of The Land’ across the pond.
The interview with Howlett comes just months after the band spoke to NME about their return to Reading & Leeds last year, which was their first time back at the festival since the passing of Keith Flint.
Opening up about the future of the band and new material on the way, Howlett said: “The ideas flow more when we are right in it, touring. Playing live fuels the music for me. It’s always been that way. If I have too much time off, I start getting distracted and wandering off course. I like to keep it on edge and moving.”
He continued, recalling what fans can expect from the new releases: “We have owned our own sound since the start, so we ain’t about to change. It’s all about writing bigger tunes and finding different ways to sonically attack the crowd when we play live.”
