Alex Bellos
The Prodigy’s video for their single, Firestarter, was of singer Keith Flint grimacing in a tunnel – and holds the record of Britain’s Top of the Pops televison programme for number of complaints.
For the band’s latest offering, the single Smack My Bitch Up, out went Flint and his frightening green-fins haircut and in came naked women, sex, vomit, violence, drunk driving and drug taking.
The “unshowable” video was rejected by all the programmers in Britain who saw it. MTV Europe has, however, broadcast the video on satellite. The single was also banned by mainstream radio because of its title, though Britain’s Radio 1 plays it late at night.
Now South African distributors David Gresham Records believe they will face the same controversy over the song here. It is rumoured that 5fm is being “cautious” about airplay, and is believed to have prohibited the song from its playlist due to the lyrics. This is after DJ Michelle Constant tested the song on the listenership by playing it and asking people to call in with their comments. There were no complaints from listeners.
A spokesperson for M-Net’s music-video slot Sound Check would not comment on the possibility of screening the video as it had not yet been offered to the pay channel for viewing by David Gresham, whose representative says it is not seen as a “viable decision” to try to show it in this country.
Liam Howlett, the creative force behind the four-man Essex band, said: “Seeing as we were releasing a single that wasn’t going to get played on radio, we thought we might as well release a video that nobody would play either.”
Even without that video getting seen on air, Smack My Bitch Up has gone to number eight in the British charts. Both Prodigy’s last singles went to number one and their album, The Fat of the Land, which includes Smack My Bitch Up, as well as Firestarter, was number one in Britain and the United States.
The video is seen through the eyes of a clubber who gropes girls’ breasts, pushes dancers and throws up. The catch comes at the end – the clubber is a woman.
But The Prodigy displayed uncharacteristic sensitivity on the single’s sleeve. The first idea was a car crash, but it was abandoned after Princess Diana’s death. The image is now of a breakdancer.