1994 Live Beats: 30 years of ROCKᶰROLL
Recently, The Prodigy embarked on another tour, delighting fans with a new track. This event inspired us to look back at the past, recalling similar events from 30 years ago, when the band also toured in support of their album Music for the Jilted Generation. It was during that tour that a tune debuted, which would go on to become a hallmark of The Prodigy’s performances at the time — Rock’n’Roll. Although the track never received an official release, it captured the hearts of fans worldwide. Today, we’re diving into the story of this iconic track, a vital piece of the band’s history.
Late 1994 marked a turning point for The Prodigy’s live performances. The band began transitioning from pure electronic rave acts to a more live rock concert atmosphere. Some tracks were performed entirely live, and for certain shows, they even brought in a live guitarist, foreshadowing Jim Davies’ eventual role with the band.
The pivotal moment of this period was the introduction of the new track Rock’n’Roll. Its performance brought live drums — specifically, timbales — to the stage, which became a signature feature of the band’s shows for the next three years. While The Prodigy already had many live jam tracks for concerts, performing Rock’n’Roll was unique. Leeroy Thornhill, who had previously been just a dancer, took to the synths, while Liam Howlett played the timbales, creating a powerful percussive rhythm.
It’s hard to pinpoint the exact premiere date of ‘Rock’n’Roll’, but it seems to have occurred between October 11 and October 20, 1994. Interestingly, in the early versions of the track, there was no guitar — a feature that would later become central to the song. At first, the spotlight was entirely on the energetic timbales, which became a hallmark of the show.
A couple of years ago, we recreated this early version (without the timbales) and recently completed a studio master of the track. You can find it on our patreon page!
1995 • Jim Davies
In 1995, Rock’n’Roll took on a heavier, guitar-driven tone with the arrival of Jim Davies as a regular live guitarist. His debut occurred during the tour promoting the single ‘Poison’. According to Neko’s interviews, it happened at that unique performance in Paris on March 8, 1995, where MC Ruff stood in for Maxim. It was during this tour that ‘Rock’n’Roll’ gained the “rock energy” that fans grew to love.
Although Jim emphasizes that he was never an official member of the band, his live guitar parts on ‘Break & Enter’, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and ‘Nuclear’, and his studio contributions to the iconic ‘Firestarter’ and ‘Breathe’, have become key highlights in the band’s history.
Reflecting on how he joined The Prodigy, Jim is open about the serendipitous nature of the encounter. “I was a big fan of the band so when they played at the university I was at I made sure I went, blagged into the soundcheck, saw they didn’t have a guitarist and asked the roadie what the deal was”, he recalls to Echoes And Dust. While working for the student union loading in the gear, Jim knew The Prodigy didn’t currently have a guitar player, so Davies legged it home and made a demo tape of him playing over ‘Jilted Generation’ already released at the time. After that he gave the tape to the band after the gig, and that was it. A week later, Jim got a call and soon found himself on stage with one of the most influential electronic acts of the time.
Jim Davies for Echoes And Dust: “It opened a lot of doors for me and I probably wouldn’t be doing music professionally today still if it wasn’t for the chance encounter.”
Looking back on his time with the band, Jim highlights some of the standout moments, including their 1995 Glastonbury performance on the NME stage, a pivotal gig in the band’s rise. He also fondly recalls touring Australia with The Prodigy during the Big Day Out festivals both in 1996 and in 2002, — they headlined both and shared the stage with Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down during the second one. These experiences were formative for Jim, especially as he was still finding his feet in the music industry in the mid-90s.
Jim Davies for Echoes And Dust: “When I first played with The Prodigy I was completely green! Straight out of college and not knowing my arse from my elbow!”
Although Jim has gone his own way in the music world, his time with The Prodigy remains an important chapter. But as he reflects, it’s a chapter that, while important, doesn’t define his career. “I’m proud of the tracks I played on but it was a long time ago now and I don’t feel they define me as a musician”, he claims, admitting that he “played a very small role in those tracks” and explaining that he’s done a lot of other cool stuff.
During the tour where Jim debuted, the band filmed material for their Electronic Punks movie. Footage from several concerts, including a live performance of ‘Rock’n’Roll’, made it into the final cut. Interestingly, the VHS release was the only official release of the track, which quickly gained popularity among the masses.
A curious detail: while ‘Rock’n’Roll’ is fully featured in the film, it’s not listed in the tracklist, unlike other live tracks. This was likely due to the use of a vocal sample from Kool Keith’s ‘Poppa Large’, for which the band didn’t have rights at the time.
Nevertheless, the powerful performance with timbales and guitar was too impressive not to be included in the film, even if not officially listed in the tracklist.
Rock’n’Roll ’96
After the release of ‘Firestarter’ — The Prodigy’s biggest hit that radically transformed the band’s sound and image, Liam Howlett decided to revamp the live setlist. One of the tracks in need of an update was ‘Rock’n’Roll’. Already a fan favorite, the track was too iconic to be removed from live performances, but giving it a heavier, more dynamic, and ‘fat’ sound turned out to be an excellent idea.
In the spring of 1996 (April-May), an updated version of the track emerged, which fans dubbed Rock’n’Roll ’96. This version was included in the setlist for the upcoming tour, sparking a wave of rumors about its potential inclusion on the upcoming album The Fat of the Land. These rumors were partially fueled by an interview Liam Howlett gave to The Face magazine in early 1996. During the interview, Liam played a few tracks for the journalist, including ‘Firestarter’, ‘Funky Shit’, ‘Molotov Bitch’ (then still titled ‘Come Correct’), and the updated version of ‘Rock’n’Roll’. The journalist later described these tracks in their article as potential material for the new album, which further fueled speculation. However, as we now know, ‘Rock’n’Roll’ ultimately did not make it onto the studio release and remained exclusive to live performances.
That same spring of 1996, alongside the revamped version of ‘Rock’n’Roll’, The Prodigy introduced a new guitarist, Gizz Butt. More details about his role in the band were covered in one of our previous articles. However, contrary to popular belief, Gizz didn’t immediately take over the guitar parts for the updated track. His debut occurred on July 13 at the T in the Park festival. Until then, the guitar sections for the revamped track were still performed by Jim Davies, who remained part of The Prodigy’s live crew.
Another non-obvious fact: ‘Rock’n’Roll’ ’96 version, like the original, featured live timbales. However, their presence became less prominent. While in 1994-1995 the timbales were emphasized and served as a key ‘live’ element of the track, their sound took a backseat during the 1996–1997 tours. Gizz’s more aggressive guitar parts and Liam’s dynamic beats began to dominate, overshadowing the track’s earlier ‘percussive’ energy. Over time, this aspect of the performance gradually faded into the background, likely leading to the eventual decision to remove the timbales altogether.
By May 1997, Rock’n’Roll was performed without its signature ‘timbales’ part. Leeroy continued to take his place behind the synths, while Liam Howlett would simply leave the stage during the track. Later, the absence of this element was compensated for by the addition of a permanent live drummer, Kieron Pepper, whose presence brought even more energy and drive to The Prodigy’s performances.
A couple of years ago, we also recreated this ’96 version with Gizz Butt on guitar. You can find it on our patreon page!
A year later, in 1998, the track transformed into a funky big-beat anthem tailored for the new wave of b-boys (as discussed in one of our previous articles). In this way, Rock’n’Roll, constantly evolving and adapting, remained a vital part of The Prodigy’s live shows, showcasing the band’s progression and their search for new sonic forms.
Headmaster: SIXSHOT
Additional thanks to: All Souvenirs Crew
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