'You can't go back from that': Former Lostprophets band members talk Ian Watkins abuse

Former members of Lostpropets clung on to hope he was innocent but have now moved on with a new band.

17:31 29 July 2014

Former members of Lostprophets shared their disgust after learning that singer Ian Watkins, who was jailed for 29 years in December, was a paedophile.

In an interview with Newsbeat, Bassist Stuart Richardson said: "Even though I was completely done with him, I hoped it was all a mistake, he was innocent, he had to be.

"The first time, we knew the band was done. You can't go back from that."

The five remaining members - Lee Gaze, Mike Lewis, Stuart Richardson, Jamie Oliver and Luke Johnson - say they are trying to move forward with their new band, No Devotion.

The group also said that the news about Ian Watkins was difficult to process. "When 15 years of your life is washed down the toilet in that one moment, it's harsh to take in," says Lewis, the band's rhythm guitarist.

Fellow guitarist Gaze adds: "There was two sets of it [shock] because there were the accusations - which was one thing.

"And then there was the actual, 'Yeah I did do it' which was a year later. He dragged that out for a year, so we got hit by it twice."