Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse some readers may find distressing.
A musician who toured with Lostprophets has opened up about how he interacted with Ian Watkins, the disgraced pedophile.
Watkins, 48, was murdered in prison on October 11, 2025, while serving a lengthy sentence for a series of horrific child sex offenses.
Josh Friend Speaks Out
Josh Friend, a member of Modestep, toured with Watkins just before he was arrested for the horrific crimes, and seemingly had a chilling encounter with him.
Speaking on Andrew Gold's podcast, Heretics, Friend opened up very candidly.
“So the biggest show of the tour was Cardiff Arena, and one of our main piece of equipment stopped working just before the doors are about to open," he began.
"So we literally had it open and was soldering something together inside a piece of equipment, literally minutes before doors opened."
He claims Watkins then walked over to him wearing a Parka and sunglasses, before the Lostprophets singer uttered four chilling words: "Everything's gonna be alright."
Watkins then walked off, with Friend claiming this was the only time they interacted during the tour.
Ian Watkins’ Criminal Record
Watkins had been serving a 29-year sentence at HM Prison Wakefield in West Yorkshire, notorious for housing some of the UK's most violent criminals.
His conviction was related to 13 child sex offenses, which included charges of attempted r*pe of a baby, sexually assaulting a one-year-old, and possessing extreme pornographic material.
Despite his long sentence, Watkins’ death came at the hands of an inmate, who fatally stabbed him in the neck shortly after morning cells were unlocked.
Watkins was pronounced dead at the scene, despite emergency efforts from medical personnel.
Lee Gaze Responds to Online Speculation
Following Watkins' death, an interview from 2010 resurfaced online in which Watkins discussed what he described as a “guilty pleasure.”
In the wake of this, a user speculated that Watkins' criminal behavior may have been an “open secret” among members of Lostprophets.
This led to an immediate response from Lostprophets bandmember Lee Gaze, who warned: “Watch what you say online, or be prepared to back it up. You’ve been warned.”
In a separate post, Gaze was even more direct, writing: “Yeh, and that sick c*** obvs knew what he was saying. I can assure you had any of us known he’d never of made it as far as prison.”
Gaze’s message was a strong condemnation of Watkins, clarifying that if any of the band members had been aware of the Watkins' actions, things would have played out much differently.