no doubt about it, Ian Watkins is a nonce

[atomised]

Saw that earlier. Im fairly certain they knew nothing about what he was up to. They would've blown the whistle long before

[justanothername]

Saw that earlier. Im fairly certain they knew nothing about what he was up to. They would've blown the whistle long before

[atomised]

I'd like to see them form another band and at least give it a go, the last couple of years must have been awful for them. To me they count amongst the victims of what he's done. Obviously not to the same extent as those directly affected but victims all the sane.

I think it was a brave move for them to make that statement and perhaps that's the first step towards them moving forward.

[eFestivals]

Im fairly certain they knew nothing about what he was up to. They would've blown the whistle long before

The other day I read thru a chunk of the posts on that site someone linked to.

There's no way of knowing if what is posted there is true or not, but there are a number of posts there - all from long before Watkins was arrested - which state that an amount of what Waktins got up to (not nice, if not actually illegal) was happening in front of the band, and it's also said that the lyrics to one of their albums had to be re-written because of references to stuff within those lyrics.

As I say, I've no idea if these things are true or not.

[Guest]

i was watching a documentary on Donovan the other day (it wasn't great!) and he was proudly talking about Mellow Yellow. The words "I'm, just mad about 14, she's just mad about me" had a slightly different ring to them.....

[MJMilz14]

The band have appealed for other potential victims to come forward and seek justice.

Probably not something they would want to encourage if any of them knew anything about it. I honestly believe that they were blissfully unaware. Ian was an egotistical jerk, sure, but there are plenty of bands out there that don't like each other but carry on for the success and money. It wasn't uncommon to hear of fans meeting the band after gigs, minus Ian.

It just wouldn't add up that if they knew, not a single one of them would do anything about it. Most of them have children.

I always felt that one day Ian would leave the band (obviously not in these circumstances, I always figured his ego would convince him to try and make it as a solo artist) and the rest would carry on, eithier with Jamie Oliver taking over the roll of lead vocalist, or bringing someone new in.

As someone who was a fan of the band, I'd love to see it, but let's face it, it won't happen. They will always be known for this, which is really sad,

Hopefully, some of them may be allowed to peacefully find success in new bands seperatley, but we shall see.

Edited December 1, 2013 by MJMilz14

[Rufus Gwertigan]

Saw that earlier. Im fairly certain they knew nothing about what he was up to. They would've blown the whistle long before

[bunique]

Well put Rufus.

[thetime]

I think time will tell if the band knew anything, I'm sure Watkins will somehow leak it in the future.

I can't see how they didn't know part of what he was up to, perhaps not the baby stuff but the 'super fan ' business.

As his ex gf went to the police several times are we really saying nothing was said to band members?

[viberunner]

Whether they knew or not? Eh?

Guitarist: Just found out Ian has been raping babies.

Drummer: Is that a euphemism for some kind of drug?

Guitarist: No, actually raping babies. As in a human that's pre-toddler. He fucks them silly.

Drummer: Oh my.

Guitarist: Exactly, and with that EP on the way.

Drummer: Well, the Yanks had a "don't ask don't tell" policy that worked for them.

Guitarist: Exactly. Horses for courses.

Drummer: You know what I fancy for lunch?

Guitarist: KFC. You and your drumstick jokes.

Drummer: Tell me about it. Oh, by the way, been looking at getting a tidy second-hand Astra...

Riiiight.

Let's get this straight, ladies and gentlemen, the only people who keep quiet about baby raping are fellow baby rapists. Everybody else says something about it.

The entire band either rapes babies, or didn't know.

End.

Of.

[kaosmark2]

It's not quite as black and white as that though. They probably knew stuff was up and that he was up to some weird stuff, but didn't want to know what it was. You'd hate to find out that someone you knew was into that sort of thing, and they might have tried to hide away from signs and hints so they didn't discover what he was up to.

[Rufus Gwertigan]

Whether they knew or not? Eh?

Guitarist: Just found out Ian has been raping babies.

Drummer: Is that a euphemism for some kind of drug?

Guitarist: No, actually raping babies. As in a human that's pre-toddler. He fucks them silly.

Drummer: Oh my.

Guitarist: Exactly, and with that EP on the way.

Drummer: Well, the Yanks had a "don't ask don't tell" policy that worked for them.

Guitarist: Exactly. Horses for courses.

Drummer: You know what I fancy for lunch?

Guitarist: KFC. You and your drumstick jokes.

Drummer: Tell me about it. Oh, by the way, been looking at getting a tidy second-hand Astra...

Riiiight.

Let's get this straight, ladies and gentlemen, the only people who keep quiet about baby raping are fellow baby rapists. Everybody else says something about it.

The entire band either rapes babies, or didn't know.

End.

Of.

[feral chile]

No they don't

End of

[bunique]

My (limited, through work) experience is that disclosure is far more likely to come from the victim than a third party who has suspicions about another adult.

[eFestivals]

I think time will tell if the band knew anything, I'm sure Watkins will somehow leak it in the future.

I can't see how they didn't know part of what he was up to, perhaps not the baby stuff but the 'super fan ' business.

As his ex gf went to the police several times are we really saying nothing was said to band members?

I saw a snippet yesterday that said something about a police force being investigated over allegations made about Watkins a year before his arrest (so about 2 years ago).

I think the police force was Yorkshire; I'm pretty sure that his ex is based in South Wales and made her allegations much more than a year ago - so it sounds like there's allegations from more than just his ex.

[eFestivals]

Riiiight.

Let's get this straight, ladies and gentlemen, the only people who keep quiet about baby raping are fellow baby rapists. Everybody else says something about it.

The entire band either rapes babies, or didn't know.

End.

Of.

Let's get this straight - you're talking bollocks. There's plenty of evidence of people choosing to put aside what most of us would regard as unacceptable to instead keep a hold on what they regard as good for them.

A rather spiffing example is about one of our glorious GCHQ spies who turned out to be one of this country's biggest predatory paedophiles.... which concerned his wife so little that she stuck with him for over half a decade after his conviction.

I don't know if the band knew much about what he was up to, or (specifically) his interest in babies. But what I do know is that there's many allegations that they did do (for both parts), and which pre-date his arrest by quite a long while.

There's also a blog out there of someone who claims to have been amongst the band when certain 'unsavoury' incidents involving Watkins and young girl fans (often under-age) took place in front of them.

If I was to make a guess at things, my guess would be that they knew there was lots going on which wasn't good, which was at-best borderline-illegal (because of the ages of some of the girls involved), and which was about degrading the girls involved, but which they chose to close their eyes to - because it was to their benefit to keep their eyes closed.

Sadly, this sort of thing is fairly standard human behaviour.

[viberunner]

A rather spiffing example is about one of our glorious GCHQ spies who turned out to be one of this country's biggest predatory paedophiles.... which concerned his wife so little that she stuck with him for over half a decade after his conviction.

There's also a blog out there of someone who claims to have been amongst the band when certain 'unsavoury' incidents involving Watkins and young girl fans (often under-age) took place in front of them.

[eFestivals]

There's a big difference between a 15 year old and a 15 week old.

Yep, there is.

But from what i've read, there was more to any 15 year olds than just them being that age. If there's any truth to what I read then what they saw should have raised their suspicions that there was more to it than just what they were seeing right in front of them. The band's statement seems to make it pretty clear that they had an amount of awareness that he was well off the rails.

The fact that the band stayed as a band for nine months after his arrest seems to indicate that they kept faith with him being innocent, but at the same time their statement suggests that they had no reason to keep faith with him - other than for what they might gain from it themselves. It's puzzling, if nothing more than that.

[Rufus Gwertigan]

There is the issue that if the band have turned a blind eye to one thing they are going to find it difficult to raise the issue about anything else without implicating themselves. At the age of 35 or 36 Watkins would expect a few years on prison for having sex with an underage child. The courts and police take a dim view of it, so how are you able to cone forward to report further crimes without been accused of facilitating previous crimes.

Also as mention there is the issue of protecting your own interests. As to the band I hold no judgements, they either knew or they didn't but at the end of the day people are not infallible, this is the sort of crime that will have a lasting effect on those around.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Rufus Gwertigan

[Osama Jim Laden]

It will all come out in the end, as somebody stated previously, Watkins himself will probably do so if the band don't say anything..

That sounds accusatory, it isn't meant to..

I do find it hard to believe they knew nothing, their personal interests will undoubtedly have played in their minds about speaking out..

If they didn't know anything, it's sad that their careers will be tarnished, perhaps even ruined by this scandal.. If.............

[russycarps]

Read the comments on that dating site that someone linked the other day. There are a couple of mentions of the band being told (not about baby raping, just about his treatment of that girl who seems to be most angry on there).

But then how seriously would they take the rantings of a groupie that he's treated badly? They were probably treating groupies badly themselves (in terms of one night stands etc rather than raping their babies) like most bands do I'm sure.

I suspect all the band members shagged all and sundry while in the band, and you can bet they didnt ask to see the girls passports first.....it wouldnt be surprising that some of the other members are terrified that they may have unwittingly shagged a 15 year old or something and that if they say too much they themselves could get into trouble

[eFestivals]

It seems incredibly unfair to suggest someone knew about this stuff with zero evidence.

The police knew about this stuff and they didn't act.

Why might you think there'd be a greater motivation to act from the band, if they knew?

Edited December 3, 2013 by eFestivals

[Osama Jim Laden]

The police knew about this stuff and they didn't act.

Why might you think there'd be a greater motivation to act from the band, if they knew?

[Bisque]

Has anyone met any of the band, individually or all together? I'd be curious to see if they had acted any differently around their fans as Mr Watkins may or may not have done when committing these crimes.

There'd be absolutely no evidence at all to suggest they did, or he did, but was just curious as I know a couple of people who have met Mr Watkins in the past.

If this comment gets anyone in trouble I do apologise but just voicing out loud something I was thought earlier about Mr Watkins visiting a childrens hospital (didn't give any indication any other band members were present but neither denies it)

[eFestivals]

He's right, it is unfair.. Such is the case though, questions rightly are being asked of them..

it's more "questions being asked" than it is "suggestions being made".

The simple fact is that what Watkins was up to was in the *public* domain long before he was arrested.

Given that, to raise questions about what the band might have known is hardly taking things out on a limb, because it's difficult to believe that so much could be known by others when the band will have spent a large amount of time around him, and presumably there were friendships amongst them.