Keith Flint had round-the-clock bodyguard over hunt protestor fears and said Prodigy bandmates had put him on ‘health watch’
- ‘Firestarter’ singer and dancer was famous for energetic performances
- Flint, 49, was found unconscious at his home on Monday morning
- Today it emerged he had a ‘big Essex lad’ as a full-time bodyguard after rows between hunt fans and protesters at his pub in Essex
Prodigy frontman Keith Flint, who was found dead at his home in Essex on Monday in an apparent suicide, had a full-time bodyguard because his bandmates were worried for his safety.
He was put on ‘health watch’ following a series of altercations between hunt supporters and protestors at the pub he owned in Essex.
The Leather Bottle, in Pleshey, had become a meeting place for the local hunt and that information had ‘got out online’ according to a source quoted by The Sun.
The source continued: ‘A couple of times, anti-hunt protesters turned up and made a fuss. It really upset Keith and I know the band and the management were a bit worried for him.
Keith Flint and his then-girlfriend, later wife, Mayumi Kai pictured in 2009
Keith Flint, the colourful frontman of the band The Prodigy (pictured in 2010), was found dead at his home yesterday
Pictures of Keith Flint (middle) taking part in the Park Run even in Chelmsford two days before he was found dead at home
‘He had a local minder, a big Essex lad, who would go everywhere with him.
‘Keith told me he’d also been put on “health watch” by the band. He hinted they were concerned for his health and wanted someone around to keep an eye on him.’
The singer bought the Leather Bottle in 2014. Local journalist Steve Anglesey told yesterday how he would keep a money box above the fire place and charge drinkers if they made a joke about his famous Firestarter hit.
Mr Anglesey tweeted: ‘Whenever he put the logs and kindling in and someone piped up with the obvious joke, he’d point to it and charge them a quid.’
Last night it was claimed Mr Flint took his own life just days after splitting from his DJ wife and putting his house up for sale.
The 49-year-old musician was found dead at his country mansion near Dunmow, Essex, at around 8am on Monday morning.
His band mates later revealed he had ended his own life, three years after he stated in an interview that he ‘wasn’t saving up for anything’ and said: ‘When I’m done, I’ll kill myself’.
In an interview with FHM magazine in 2015, Flint said he ‘wasn’t saving up for anything’ and was ‘cashing it all now’.
Flint bought the country home and the surrounding estate in 1997 and as often seen riding through the village on his horse
In his trademark outspoken way, he added: ‘I’ve always had this thing inside me that, when I’m done, I’ll kill myself. I swear to God that’s not suicidal – it’s definitely a positive thing. The moment I start sh***ing the bed is when you’ll see me on the front of a bus.’
He also said: ‘I’m not frightened of who I am; I just want to look back and know that I’ve lived what I consider a fulfilled life. That’s all. Happy days.’
Police found Flint unconscious on Monday morning after ‘concerns for his welfare’ were raised. Paramedics attempted to resuscitate him but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Bandmate Liam Howlett wrote on the band’s Instagram page: ‘The news is true, I can’t believe I’m saying this but our brother Keith took his own life over the weekend. I’m shell shocked , f***** angry, confused and heart broken….. r.i.p brother.’
Flint’s wife Mayumi Kai – a DJ who the star credited with saving him from a life of drugs – is understood to be in Japan, having been playing gigs in Tokyo since the New Year.
Flint was the face of the rave band and took centre stage on their best-known hit Firestarter, the single which launched him as an icon.