The Fat of the Land Trivia Quiz

Answer: Liam Howlett

Liam Howlett started out as a classically trained pianist, before switching to synths (the band are named after the Moog Prodigy synth) and writing and recording his own music. He and dancer / rapper Keith Flint formed The Prodigy in 1990 after they met at a party where Howlett was DJing, and Howlett made Flint a mixtape with some of his own songs on it. Howlett has produced or co-produced all of the band's albums.

Answer: Madonna

Madonna co-owned Maverick with Ronnie Dashev and Frederick DeMann. The name of the company and its subsidiary label was based on their names (MAdonna, VERonica, FrederICK). It was owned by Warner Music Group, who completely took over the running of the label in 2004.

Howlett claimed in an interview that he made a joke to Madonna about 'The Fat of the Land' being released in 'the land of the fat'. She was not impressed.

Answer: 2

The two singles in question were 'Firestarter' and 'Breathe', both of which were released in the UK in 1996, and both of which featured Keith Flint on lead vocals, a first for the band. The third and final single, was released a year later and did less well, peaking at Number Eight.

Answer: It was originally going to be called 'Pyromania'

Another fact about the song: Keith Flint wrote the lyrics on a toaster for the benefit of 'Q' magazine. Dutch band De Staat, KISS bassist Gene Simmons and Brazilian metallers Sepultura have also covered 'Firestarter', and De Staat's version is about as far as you could possibly get from the original! It does, however, feature the same guitar line as the original, sampled from 'SOS' on the Breeders' 'Last Splash'. Weird Al's parody was only a partial one, as CBS did not want to pay The Prodigy royalties. He dressed up as Flint in the video, US flag top and all.

('Pyromania' is an album by Def Leppard.)

Answer: Fish

'The Fat of the Land' has the crab on its cover. The video for 'Breathe' features various animals, including crocodiles.

Answer: Jonas Åkerlund

The video showed scenes of violence, sex and drug-taking, and was filmed from a first-person point of view, as if the protagonist was holding the camera. At the end, the protagonist is reflected in a mirror while sitting naked on a bed, and is revealed to be a woman. For obvious reasons, music shows could or would not play it, or print the name of the song in full; 'The Chart Show' merely featured a blank screen and the name of the band when doing its rundown of the UK charts, for instance.

What of the title? It's based on a sample from 'Give The Drummer Some' by the Ultramagnetic MCs which features the line 'change my pitch up / smack my bitch up'. Feminist groups such as the National Organisation for Women accused the band of promoting domestic violence. Tori Amos was among the musicians who criticised the song in a 'Q' interview, accusing The Prodigy of dishonesty, although she admitted her own lyrics could also be problematic.

Answer: Kula Shaker

Crispian Mills, to be exact. The son of actress Hayley Mills, Mills fronted Kula Shaker, whose single 'Tattva' was the first UK Top Ten hit to feature Sanskrit lyrics. 'Narayan' features a Hindu mantra, 'om namo narayana'. Kula Shaker later incorporated parts of both 'Narayan' and 'Climbatize' into 'Song of Love / Narayana' on their own album 'Strangefolk'.

Answer: L7

The original version of 'Fuel My Fire' can be found on L7's 1994 album 'Hungry for Stink'. 'The Fat of the Land' also featured vocals from Kool Keith (another rapper called Keith!) on 'Diesel Power', and Shahin Badar.

Answer: Serial Thrilla

'Serial Thrilla' does not feature any vocals from Skin (Keith Flint does the lead vocal), but she is credited as one of the co-writers, along with Leonard Arran, who wrote songs with both Skunk Anansie and Skin as a solo artist. Skunk Anansie's hits included 'Weak', 'Charlie Big Potato', and 'Twisted', and Skin released her solo debut, 'Fleshwounds', in 2004. Arran also played guitar with Skunk Anansie at their acoustic shows in 2013.

Answer: Tom Morello

Tom Morello has also played with Audioslave (which featured all of Rage Against the Machine except Zack de la Rocha, and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden fame), Cypress Hill, and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. He co-wrote 'No Man Army' with Liam Howlett. (The others are guitarists with Korn, Limp Bizkit and System of a Down.)