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The Prodigy change lyrics to 'Smack My B***h Up' 26 years after song was released

Home> Entertainment> Music

Updated 12:14 27 Nov 2023 GMTPublished 12:01 27 Nov 2023 GMT

The Prodigy change lyrics to 'Smack My B***h Up' 26 years after song was released

The song was voted the most controversial ever in a 2010 poll

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

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The Prodigy changed the lyrics to their controversial hit 'Smack My B***h Up' more than two decades after it was released.

The song, which peaked at number eight in the UK charts where it spent 16 weeks in the top 10, was released all the way back in 1997.

The song’s entire lyrics are made up of the lines: “Change my pitch up/Smack my b***h up” and it was accused of glorifying domestic violence - so much so that it was banned from some radio and TV stations.

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The song was even voted the most controversial of all time in a 2010 poll by the Performing Right Society (PRS).

The Prodigy released the song back in 1997.
Brian Rasic/Getty Images

However, the band, including the late singer Keith Flint, had insisted that it was misunderstood and the lyrics simply meant ‘doing anything intensely’.

In an interview in Rolling Stone at the time the song was released, founder and singer Maxim said: “When you listen to Smack My B***h Up, you don’t go out and beat your wife up, do you?”

While Flint - who died in 2019 aged 49 - 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.”

The Prodigy are currently on a European tour and had two nights at London’s Alexandra Palace this weekend (Friday 24 and 25 November).


Footage from the gig, shared by a fan on X - formerly known as Twitter - shows Maxim repeating: “Change my pitch up/Change my pitch up” as he sings the song, seemingly dropping the latter half of the lyrics.

According to the Sun, the lyric change was used on both nights at the Ally Pally and fans in the audience weren’t made aware of it ahead of the song being played.

The band took a four year break following the death of Flint, with Maxim saying: “You can’t replace Keith. Who is going to try and fill his gap? There’s just nobody.

“If we got on stage and we didn’t feel it worked, then we wouldn’t do it.

“But, we were excited and we loved it and you can never tell until you do the first show.”

Featured Image Credit: Mick Hutson/Redferns/Brian Rasic/Getty Images

Topics: Music, UK News

Claire Reid
Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

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