The lost prophets biography

Lostprophets were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze.
Lostprophets split in 2013 following singer Ian Watkins' arrest for a string of sexual offences, to which he later pleaded guilty.
Ian David Karslake Watkins (born 30 July 1977) is a Welsh former singer who was best known as the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Lostprophets.

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Ian Watkins (Lostprophets singer)

Welsh musician (born 1977)

Not to be confused with Ian "H" Watkins.

Ian David Karslake Watkins (born 30 July 1977) is a Welsh former singer who was best known as the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Lostprophets. His career ended after he was sentenced to 29 years imprisonment in 2013 for multiple sex offences, including the sexual assault of young children and infants, and the possession of "extreme" child and animal pornographic material,^[2] a sentence later increased by ten months for having a mobile phone in prison. His bandmates disbanded Lostprophets shortly after his conviction and formed No Devotion with American singer Geoff Rickly.

Early life

Ian David Karslake Watkins was born on 30 July 1977 in Merthyr Tydfil.^[3] He later moved to Pontypridd, where he attended Hawthorn High School with future Lostprophets bandmate Mike Lewis.^[4] He gained a first-class honours degree in graphic design from the University of Wales, Newport.^[5] Watkins grew up listening to mostly American

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Lostprophets

1997–2013 Welsh rock band

Lostprophets (stylised as lostprophets or LOSTPROPHETS) were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The group was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruited Mike Lewis on guitars, Stuart Richardson on bass and Mike Chiplin on drums.^[1]

Lostprophets released five studio albums: The Fake Sound of Progress (2000), Start Something (2004), Liberation Transmission (2006), The Betrayed (2010), and Weapons (2012). They sold 3.5 million albums worldwide, achieving two top-ten singles on the UK Singles Chart ("Last Train Home" and "Rooftops"), a No. 1 single on the US Alternative Songs chart ("Last Train Home"), and several Kerrang! Awards and nominations.

In December 2012, Watkins was charged with multiple sexual offences against minors, infants and animals. Lostprophets cancelled all tour dates and disbanded in October 2013, before the end of Watkins' trial. Watkins pleaded guilty to several charges. In December 2013, he was sente

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Lostprophets biography

Early shows saw the band taking their diverse influences - thrash titans Anthrax, anthemic metallers Faith No More, and new-wave romantics Duran Duran - and forming them into a aggressive, melodic, but totally coherent whole.

British metal mags Kerrang! and Metal Hammer came on board immediately, heralding the band as one of Britain's first truly credible homegrown nu-metal acts. On the strength of a four track demo recorded with new bassist Stuart Richardson and vocalist/DJ Jamie Oliver, Lostprophets signed to London independent label Visible Noise in the summer of 1999, and headed into a Caerphilly studio to record their first album, Thefakesoundofprogress.

Released in November 2000, it was an immediate underground success - and by 2001, Lostprophets were effectively circumventing the British music industry, their independent album dipping in and out of the Top 100 on virtually no promotion beyond word-of-mouth. Gigs across the country sold out, attended by a fanbase brought up on Limp Bizkit, but eager to find heroes playing a sweat