What do you do if your lead singer gets arrested for molesting infants? When Ian Watkins got called out for bangin’ babies (sacrificed by his mother fans) there was a few people who were suddenly out of a job. Touring in close quarters as any band does its a mystery how the guys of Lostprophets didn’t know of Watkins down time activities but apparently they didn’t or will take that secret to their grave.
Since the band was done and Watkins ended up in the clink there the question remained… now what? Well it didn’t take long to find out what. Wisely rising up from the diaper mess is a new band called No Devotion. A fresh start so to speak and a band who would be getting zero attention if not for their uncomfortable past.
Mike Lewis and Lee Gaze, keyboard player Jamie Oliver, drummer Luke Johnson and bass player Stuart Richardson and new singer Geoff Rickly hope to leave it all behind them (but take the attention as a launching pad of course!)
Richardson says: “We didn’t know if we would ever make music again, if people would look us in the face. Everything felt like it was over.
“We didn’t know what else to do. We just wrote music. I didn’t know if anyone would ever want to hear it, I didn’t know if anyone ever would hear it. I just needed to occupy my brain. We just needed this.”
So what about new kid Rickly, I mean he’s stepping in to some weird shoes,
Rickly says: “To be honest, I never really listened to Lostprophets. But with this music, we speak a common language. You don’t really grow out of punk, you grow with it. To my mind, post-punk was about taking a more sophisticated approach to that sound, and I think we all have a shared respect for that era of modern music.
“I had always liked these guys in passing. They’re funny and self-aware. I didn’t think it was fair, what was happening to them. And, well, the music was too good to pass up.”
They arent earth shattering but they dont suck. A bit industrial and whispery and almost 30 Seconds To Mars like but hey… we all have to start somwhere right?
