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27th Nov 2023

The Prodigy change lyrics to most controversial song 26 years after release

Simon Kelly

The Prodigy

The change was noticed at a recent gig.

26 years after it was released, The Prodigy have appeared to change the lyrics of their most controversial hit.

Peaking at number 6 in the Irish music charts, ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ has drawn significant controversy since its release in 1997, with the rave group being accused of glorifying domestic violence.

However, with the band currently on tour, a recent string of performances of the song suggest that the lyrics have been altered to avoid the controversial line.

Fans at the Essex-formed band’s recent gig in Alexandra Palace in London noticed that during the song, lead singer Maxim sing the line “Change my pitch up” twice, instead of the original second line.

The Prodigy appear to change lyrics to controversial hit in recent gigs

Taken from The Prodigy’s third album ‘The Fat of the Land’, ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ was once voted the most controversial song of all time and was banned by the BBC, with only a lyric-free version playing on their airwaves.

Upon release, Maxim defended the lyrics in an interview with Rolling Stone, saying: “When you listen to Smack My Bitch Up, you don’t go out and beat your wife up, do you?”

Singer Keith Flint (who passed away in 2019) also added: “At the end of the day, the girls who come to our shows are hardcore girls, and they don’t look at it as that.

“If some girl in an A-line flowery dress decides there’s some band somewhere singing about smashing b***hes up, let’s get a bit militant. They don’t know us. They never know us. They never will.”

Nothing has officially been announced by the band regarding the change in lyrics and fans on the night were unaware of the changes until the song was played.

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