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Keith Flint, The Prodigy vocalist, dead at 49

"A true pioneer, innovator and legend. He will be forever missed."
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Keith Flint, singer in the British electronic group The Prodigy, has died, the band said in a statement Monday.

He was 49.

"It is with deepest shock and sadness that we can confirm the death of our brother and best friend Keith Flint," a statement on the band's Facebook page said. "A true pioneer, innovator and legend. He will be forever missed."

The Prodigy was founded in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by Liam Howlett.

Neither police or the local coroner had released Flint's cause of death, but Howlett said he had killed himself.

"The news is true, I can’t believe I’m saying this but our brother Keith took his own life over the weekend, I’m shell shocked, f***** angry, confused and heart broken ..... r.i.p brother," Howlett wrote on the band's Instagram page Monday.

The group, comprised of Howlett, Maxim (whose real name is Keith Palmer) and Flint released an album in November, and was due to go on tour with stops in New Orleans, Chicago and New York in May.

Flint, who often spiked his hair into two horns and wore heavy eye makeup while performing, was the vocalist for the band's two No. 1 singles on charts in the United Kingdom, "Firestarter" and "Breathe."

Fellow U.K. band Kasabian called Flint a "beautiful man, incredible pioneer."

"Heartbroken," the band wrote in a statement. "Rest in Peace Brother."

"Whenever our paths crossed he was an absolute sweetheart. Really lovely. Incredible iconic frontman with a soft centre," DJ Jo Whiley wrote on Twitter.

The band has been nominated for two Grammys and seven MTV Video Music Awards, four of which it won.

Flint was also an avid motorcyclist.

Essex Police told The Associated Press that Flint's death was not being treated as suspicious.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.