Modestep’s Josh Friend described his “weird” experience of touring with Lostprophets before disgraced paedophile frontman Ian Watkins was jailed. It comes after the singer was killed
A musician who toured with Lostprophets has opened up about his “weird” experience working with disgraced singer Ian Watkins.
Josh Friend, whose band Modestep supported the Welsh rockers in 2011, was speaking after vile paedophile Watkins was killed in prison last month while serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offences. Speaking to Andrew Gold in an interview broadcast on the Heretics YouTube channel, Josh said he found Ian’s behaviour odd, but assumed it was just the usual egocentric rockstar stuff.
According to Josh, the tour was unlike any he’s been on since, with a notable lack of camaraderie, and even a level of coldness from Watkins and his bandmates. Josh said: “I think they were struggling to sell tickets. This was in like 2011, and that was our peak, so we had just dropped a song that was on the A-list on BBC Radio 1 and it was clear we would be able to sell them a lot more tickets on the tour, so we were contacted.”
The tour was a great chance for Modestep to boost their profile. But as the tour got under way, Josh noticed unusual behaviour from Ian. One thing in particular that struck him was Watkins’ self-isolation. He said: “Even from the first soundcheck, things were just a bit off. Since then, I’ve done a lot more touring and you always try to treat people like family and make it fun for everyone, but it was clear that there was tension in the air amongst everyone.” Oddly, Josh said Watkins was never present at soundchecks, leaving the rest of his band to prepare for the show.
He also said the other Lostprophets members were “not friendly” and that there was a “weird atmosphere from the get go”. At the time he put the frostiness down to rivalry stemming from the headline act’s fears Modestep could upstage them. However, when Watkins’ depraved acts later came to light, he realised the band “probably had a lot more to deal with”. Quizzed further on Watkins’ behaviour, Josh said the singer was rarely seen with the rest of the group. Instead he was “chauffeured around by the tour manager”. Josh said he had just one interaction with Watkins over the course of the six-week tour.
At some point in the tour, Josh said Watkins’ voice had to be added to a backing track, due to him not being able to sing. He said Watkins’ behaviour was erratic and “you could tell his mind was elsewhere”. Watkins, 48, died after being stabbed in the neck at HMP Wakefield, also known as Monster Mansion, last month.
Source: Mirror
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