Photo:
Former members of Lostprophets have vowed never to play the band's songs again with new band No Devotion, following the child sex crimes committed by former frontman Ian Watkins.
Watkins was sentenced to 35 years in prison in December 2013, after he admitted charges of attempting to rape a baby, as well as the sexual assault of a child under 13. He also admitted three counts of sexual assault involving children and six involving taking, making and possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal. He was convicted alongside two women who were involved in him attempting to abuse their infant children. He'll be appealing against the length of his sentence next week.
Since then, members of the band have formed new group, No Devotion, with former Thursday frontman Geoff Rickly. However, fans should not expect to hear any of Lostprophets' back catalogue.
Speaking to NME, guitarist Lee Gaze commented on Lostprophets material, saying: "We'd definitely never play the songs again... I don't think we'd ever revisit anything."
Listen to No Devotion's 'Stay' below:
Last week, in aninterview with The Guardian, the band also spoke of their shock at his crimes - especially regarding his behaviour towards the end of the band's time together.
"He was talking about looking forward to the next record – he thought we'd return to being as successful as we'd been five years before," said Lee Gaze, remembering the last time he saw Watkins in December 2012. "He seemed OK that day."
Gaze continued: "Many of you understandably want to know if we knew what Ian was doing. To be clear: we did not. We are heartbroken, angry, and disgusted at what has been revealed. Our hearts go out to Ian's family, the fans and friends he betrayed, and most importantly, the victims of his crimes and others like them."
Asked if he could ever listen to Lostprophets' music again, Gaze replied: "I can't. It's tainted, because he was the voice of the band, and it was his lyrics."
No Devotion have now announced a short US tour, taking place throughout July. For more information and tickets, visit Gigwise Tickets. 'Stay' will be released July 21.
No Devotion tour:
Cardiff CF10 – Tue July 22nd
Manchester Sound Control – Wed July 23rd
London O2 Academy Islington – Fri July 25th
Glasgow O2 ABC2 – Sat 26th
.jpg)
