Drum'n'bass was just kicking in and everyone was doing these really fast tunes, so I just slowed the whole thing down." GIRLS Released August 2004, chart position No 19 After a seven-year hiatus, punctuated only by the disappointing "Baby's Got a Temper" single, The Prodigy returned with this gorgeous slice of old-school electro meets sleazy tech-funk. That was the mentality I had." POISON Released March 1995, chart position No 13 Maxim's debut the slow grind of "Poison" provided the blueprint for the big beat sound that followed. My thinking was that when an artist paints an obscene picture it's up to people what they get from it. Some people might be inspired, others might be disgusted, but it ain't gonna make people want to go and copy it in real life. I remember we were in the frame of mind where we just wanted to push things to the limit. "When all this shit started happening about us encouraging violence against women I just thought it was mad.
It was the last rave tune that I wrote which was any good." SMACK MY BITCH UP Released November 1997, chart position No 8 Condemned by the Beastie Boys and Moby, debated in Parliament, banned by Wal-Mart, "Smack My Bitch Up" stole hip-hop's old skool lingo but somehow lost its meaning along the way. Under the circumstances, it is not particularly surprising that the RFU's "England first and last" mantra should find little sympathy with those who have bought, body and soul, into the culture of club rugby. Across the Channel, the high-born Parisians of Stade Fran?s expect a gate of 80,000 for their game with Toulouse this weekend - a record attendance in France for a non-international match in any sport. LH: "The dumbest track I ever wrote, what else can I say? Basically I put down the biggest beat I'd ever done and took the piss. All I did though was add some beats to a sample of this wicked tune by Max Romeo and the Upsetters. In retrospect it was a reaction to it but we didn't want our music to become swallowed up by the political movement. Someone wanted to use "Their Law " on the soundtrack of a film about the M11 protesters.
I remember saying that I'm not bothered about people up trees trying to stop a road. I was like: 'build the road so I can get into London quicker!'" BREATHE Released November 1996, chart position No 1 Crackling with an abrasive tension, "Breathe" features the duelling microphones of Flint and Maxim, and an aural war between whipcracking beats and bass driven melodies. LH: "This was an attempt to bring the band together musically. Ironically it had the opposite effect and brought out the antagonism between Keith and Maxim who had started battling on stage for attention "There was a real tension there. So the vocals became this kind of call and response thing that rally captured that antagonism." OUT OF SPACE Released November 1992, chart position No 5 Rolling breaks, reggae samples, the ultra-kitsch hook "I'll take you brain to another dimension" and the nutty charisma of rave LH: "People always seem to love this track. Sonic attack is what excites me, trying to capture this controlled energy that's right out there on the edge, straining at the leash.