This article will inform curious and interested readers about the Wikipedia of Ian Watkins and also tell the age of the singer.
Ian David Karslake Watkins was born on July 30, 1977, and is a Welsh convicted child sex offender, singer-songwriter, and musician. He was the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Lostprophets.
In 2013, he was sentenced to 29 years imprisonment for multiple sexual offences, including the sexual assault of young children and babies, a sentence later augmented by ten months for having a mobile phone in prison. His bandmates disbanded Lostprophets shortly after his imprisonment and formed the band No Devotion, with American singer Geoff Rickly.
Ian David Karslake Watkins was born on 30 July 1977 in Merthyr Tydfil. He later moved to Pontypridd, where he attended Hawthorn High School with future Lostprophets bandmate Mike Lewis. He gained a first-class honours degree in graphic design from the University of Wales, Newport.
Lewis’ and Watkins’s mutual enjoyment of rock and metal music strengthened their friendship, leading them to form a group as teenagers in 1991 called Aftermath, a thrash metal band that played in a shed in Watkins’s garden. Aftermath never recorded any material. Whilst spending time in the local Ynysangharad Park, where (17 years later) Lostprophets would headline The Full Ponty festival, Watkins was introduced to future bandmate Lee Gaze through a mutual friend.
Having abandoned Aftermath, which made two live appearances in its lifespan of two years, Watkins and Gaze decided to form a new band called Fleshbind, based on their American hardcore punk influences. The band played several shows, including one supporting Feeder in London, but the group was short-lived.
Watkins reunited with Mike Lewis as a drummer in a hardcore band called Public Disturbance, formed in 1995. By this time, Watkins and Gaze had left Fleshbind to create their own band, Lost Prophets, who made their live debut in May 1997 alongside Public Disturbance, with Watkins as the lead vocalist. In 1998, Watkins left Public Disturbance to concentrate on the newly named lost prophets.
In 2003, Watkins was featured on the Hoobastank song “Out of Control” along with Jamie Oliver, who was by then a member of Lost Prophets.
On New Year’s Eve 2008, Watkins took part in a concert for the Kidney Wales Foundation and stated that his reasons for being involved were as a result of his mother needing a kidney transplant: “Having that direct experience is why I wanted to get more involved with Kidney Wales and organise a fundraising concert on New Year’s Eve.” The concert featured Welsh bands The Blackout, Kids in Glass Houses, and Attack! Attack!
Watkins was also featured on the Blackout’s song “It’s High Tide Baby!” from their debut studio album We Are the Dynamite (2007), and also accompanied them on tour.
In 2009, Watkins started a remixing side project called “L’Amour La Mortuary”. He released 17 remixes by artists such as the Killers, Beyoncé, Young Guns, Magic Wands, Tears for Fears, and Bring Me the Horizon. He also released a free mixtape, which was available online, along with a free download of a song that premiered at a fashion show in 2008.
Lostprophets released five studio albums: The Fake Sound of Progress (2000), Start Something (2004), Liberation Transmission (2006), The Betrayed (2010), and Weapons (2012). They toured extensively in Europe and America, playing shows such as the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2004, 2007, 2009, and 2010.
Watkins’ abuse and misconduct with children were reported as early as 2008 to South Wales Police, though the authorities repeatedly failed to act upon any leads linking Watkins to these allegations. Around 2006 or so, whilst on tour in support of the band’s third studio album, Liberation Transmission, multiple band members and road crew employees recalled seeing Watkins backstage with multiple underage fans. Watkins’ former bandmates claimed they were unaware of his conduct as his drug use had begun to cause heavy strain on his relationship with them.
Watkins had requested his own private dressing room away from the other five band members, where much of his abuse of children allegedly took place. Watkins had also chosen to minimize personal contact with most of his bandmates, spending more of his time at his residence in Wales during much of their off-time, while the rest of his bandmates resided in Los Angeles.
On the morning of 5 August 2023, Watkins was taken hostage by three other inmates at HM Prison Wakefield and was freed by prison officers six hours later. The motive for the incident is currently under investigation. During the scuffle, Watkins was stabbed in the neck by several inmates and hospitalized in critical condition due to lacerations and blood loss.
How old is Ian Watkins?
Ian Watkins was born on July 30, 1977, hence he was Ian Watkins 46.
Source: www.ghbase.com
