The remaining members of Lostprophets are set to play in Manchester tonight for the second time since front man Ian Watkins was prosecuted for child sex offences.
No Devotion, made up of the former band members joined by ex-Thursday frontman Geoff Rickley, will perform at Sound Control following their live début last night in Cardiff.
The band’s first gig in the city comes on the day the judges threw out the appeal by Watkins to reduce the length of his jail term for his depraved offences.
In December Watkins was sent down for 29 years, following a series of serious sex offences involving children.
The 36-year-old admitted to the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13, but pleaded not guilty to rape.
He also confessed to conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal.
The appeal judge said that his acts were ‘of such shocking depravity that they demanded a lengthy prison sentence’.
These revelations destroyed the life that the other members knew, plunging their 15-year career, legacy and reputation into disrepute with some questioning how much they knew about their twisted band mate.
In an interview with The Guardian bandmate Lee Gaze said: You wouldn’t expect a handsome rock star in his 30s to be a paedophile.
“Ian was incredibly charming and manipulative – he could win anybody over. It was a powerful tool of his.
“We knew he had a different woman in every city but with paedophiles you don’t assume them having relationships with adult women.”
This sentiment of anger and disbelief was echoed by ex-Lostprophets bass player Stuart Richardson who said: “I can’t believe the things Ian’s capable of. Up until the final second he said he was innocent.
“He destroyed his family’s life, giving them a glimpse of hope every time he said he was innocent. His mum thought he was innocent. What a fucking cunt.”
Although some would have slinked away into the shadows of musical history the band are standing tall behind singer Geoff Rickly who claimed that he has ‘never really listened to Lost Prophets’.
Yesterday after an emotional set in Cardiff, a far cry from the arena tours Lostprophets once played, they thanked fans for sticking with them.
No Devotions have a new sound and want a new start. They play anthemic rock but with a post-punk feel, breaking out of the purely rock Lost Prophets sound and stepping out into new territory.
Image courtesy of Alternative Press, with thanks
