Date: 10th September 1993
Event: Sweatbox
Venue: Venue II, Stack Leisure Park
City: Dundee
Country: Scotland
Support: Scott, Crosby
Tracklist:
n/a
Extra info:
Review by Graeme Strachan, www.thecourier.co.uk:
Keith Flint and The Prodigy played Dundee in 1993 on way to global superstardom.
The Prodigy performed at The Venue in Lochee’s Stack Leisure Park 30 years ago on their journey to becoming global superstars.
The Prodigy headlined the Sweatbox event in September 1993 with entry costing £8.
Liam Howlett, Leeroy Thornhill, Keith Flint and Maxim Reality were touring a circuit of small venues having established themselves at the head of the dance scene in 1991.
The Courier Rocktalk column predicted big things on the horizon for the Essex band in 1993 and suggested their live show would put many “proper bands” to shame.
“One of the great myths about the dance music of the last five years is that it makes for a lousy live show.
Alongside the likes of The Orb and The Shamen, The Prodigy have helped blow that theory out of the water.
Their live shows, a manic extravaganza of lasers, lights and mad dancers, have become one of the best in the country and puts many ‘proper’ bands to shame. What is more, they haven’t relied on making their reputation in packed clubs. Already they have completed one tour organised on more traditional rockist lines. The result? They sold out every venue. That’s the sort of confidence which has taken The Prodigy to the top.
Rave itself may be on its last legs in Britain but that doesn’t mean the end of dance and, with the new sub-genre exploding all the time and bands like The Prodigy to take it to the masses, it will be here for a long time yet.
The Prodigy played for 45 minutes
The 45-minute Lochee performance included tracks from 1992 album Experience and songs which would eventually feature on 1994’s Music for the Jilted Generation.
Out of Space, Jericho, Full Throttle and One Love were played during a typically storming set and ravers danced until 2.30am.
Keith Flint performed with long hair and was wearing baggy rave gear.
Changed days!
Showbiz fixer and club owner Tony Cochrane was responsible for bringing a host of top stars to Dundee in the 1980s and 1990s including The Prodigy to The Venue.
His career started by running Northern Soul nights at the Angus Hotel and the Marryat Hall and he went on to help launch the careers of the likes of Take That who performed at Buddies in 1992.
The man himself takes up the story.
“Louis Parker was the owner of Concorde International Artistes and the main agent for The Prodigy, who found success in 1991 with the debut single Charly,” said Tony.
He asked if I would sort some shows out for the band in Scotland in 1993.
“I was running the early Sweatbox events and we put on a show every Friday at The Venue where we had the second room, which was exclusive for our regulars.“The Prodigy were great and always wanted to put on the best show. They didn’t disappoint in Lochee. The energy from the stage was infectious and it paid off. They were a fine bunch of lads and were never afraid to innovate. I just knew they were on the way to becoming a major act and it was great to have managed to get them to play in Scotland back in 1993.”
Charly gave the band chart success
The Essex band never wholly belonged to any genre since forming in 1990.
Their first release – the What Evil Lurks EP, issued in 7,000 pressings in February 1991 – was a hardcore anthem that set the heavy pace for The Prodigy’s later outings.
Chart success followed with Charly in August 1991, which was a mind-bending techno track overlaid with a sample from the 1970s public information film for children.
The band’s popularity grew as the British government tried to clamp down on the country’s rave scene and indie kids and even bikers were now making up the audience.
The Prodigy achieved mainstream popularity and 1994’s Music For The Jilted Generation was named by David Bowie as being one of his favourite albums of all time.
The Prodigy played an incredible set at T in the Park at Strathclyde Park in 1995 and performed at Glastonbury while turning from rave chancers into a festival powerhouse.
Up until that point Flint had been the Prodigy’s dancer.
The Prodigy went interstellar during the Britpop era in 1996 with the release of Firestarter, which was the first track from 1997’s 10-million-selling The Fat of the Land.
[…]
Flyer:
Photos from the show:
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