A mural honouring late Prodigy frontman Keith Flint has been given the seal of approval of his bandmates.
The 49-year-old singer-and-dancer tragically passed away at the age of 49 in March this year, and in honour of his favourite football team, Braintree Town F.C., artist David ‘Gnasher’ Nash painted a striking picture of the ‘Omen’ hitmaker pulling his signature facial expression, sticking out his pierced tongue.
Gnasher has been a fan of the band since the beginning.
He said: "When I first saw Keith Flint on stage it blew me away – his performances always stole the show."
Braintree FC historian Jon Weaver came up with the idea to create a tribute to Keith, who lived near to the football ground in Essex.
He added to the BBC: "Keith lived locally for most of his life and we wanted to do something for the town.
"We had a space on our water tank next to the grandstand which is ideal for a mural."
The band’s remaining members, Liam Howlett and Maxim, commented on a picture of the art posted on the football club’s Instagram, writing: "Respect guys LH and M."
Following Keith’s passing, Braintree’s footballers have walked onto the pitch to The Prodigy’s ‘Firestarter’.
The mural unveiling comes after it was announced that Keith’s possessions are heading to auction.
In order to cover his debts, which reportedly amount to around £7.3 million, a number of his personal belongings will go on sale at Cambridge’s Cheffins Fine Art auction house in November.
Martin Millard, the director of auctioneers, said: "The sale is full of interesting items which give an insight into Keith’s personal life and highlight the difference between his stage persona and his private life.
"Valuing items with such provenance is almost impossible, and therefore we will not be publishing any pre-sale estimates, but expect there to be lots to cater to most budgets."
Among the items listed is the band’s MTV Moonman statuettes and a bespoke bed worth £20,000.
His solo music recordings, The Prodigy’s gold discs and his clothes and accessories, including his signature nose ring, will all be sold.
The late star’s collection of artwork, including a sketch of the singer, which was given to him on his 47th birthday, is also set to go under the hammer.
Keith’s body was discovered at his Essex home and Chelmsford Coroner’s Court heard Flint died from hanging and had unspecified amounts of cocaine, alcohol and codeine in his system at the time.
Police attended the singer’s home at the time and found there were no suspicious circumstances and there was no third party involvement.
The senior coroner for Essex, Caroline Beasley-Murray, recorded an open conclusion, stating there was not enough evidence to rule the musician’s death as suicide.
Following Keith’s death, the band cancelled all of their planned tour dates, including a slot at Glastonbury festival, over two decades since they became the first dance act to headline to legendary music festival in 1997, and one decade after their last appearance in 2009.
In August, the band’s songwriter and producer, Liam, confirmed they were back in the studio for the first time since Keith passed away.
Alongside a studio snap posted on the band’s official Facebook page, Liam – who is joined by Maxim in the group – wrote: "Back in the studio making noise .. brand new Prodigy tunes are gonna roll , boooom
#theprodigy #weliveforthebeats #weliveforever #cantstoptherock (sic)"
It’s not known whether Keith will make a posthumous appearance on any of the new tunes.
Keith Flint’s Braintree Town F.C. mural praised by The Prodigy
