The former members of Lostprophets played their first gig as new band No Devotion last night (July 22nd), and thanked fans for continuing to support them after former frontman Ian Watkins’ imprisonment for heinous child abuse charges.
Watkins was sentenced to 29 years’ imprisonment last year after pleading guilty to 13 charges, including the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13. Following the disbanding of Lostprophets, Watkins’ former bandmates formed No Devotion, with guitarist Richard Oliver addressing their decision to continue playing music via Instagram, writing: “It is obvious that the easier path would have been to slink into the shadows and quietly fade into obscurity. Today with courage we wear our hearts on our sleeves and add a new chapter to this story, one which can allow us to hold our heads high and face the world again as musicians.”
New frontman Geoff Rickly was heckled by a few fans demanding they play Lostprophets songs, but according to NME, the gig went off without a hitch. Addressing the crowd, Rickly thanked them for “sticking with us”, adding: “You’ve seen these guys on stage for 15 years”.
No Devotion played a set of completely new songs, refraining from playing any Lostprophets material.
Photo: Getty Images
