"Radioactive" | ||||
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Single by The Firm | ||||
from the album The Firm | ||||
B-side | "Together" | |||
Released | 1985 | |||
Recorded | 1984 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 2:49 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Paul Rodgers | |||
Producer(s) | Paul Rodgers, Jimmy Page | |||
The Firm singles chronology | ||||
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"Radioactive" is a song by English rock band The Firm. It was the first single released from their eponymous debut album The Firm , where it was the fifth track. It was written by Paul Rodgers. Rodgers still performs this song during his solo sets and it appears on the 2007 Paul Rodgers: Live In Glasgow DVD.
A compact and straightforward rock song from the 1980s, structured with Tony Franklin's fretless bass hook at the beginning, combined with Jimmy Page's guitar scratch on the third line in the verse, Rodgers' reverbed vocal, and followed by a wah pedal inflected guitar solo. Chris Slade plays a steady drum beat throughout. On live performances, the song was introduced with a drum solo from Slade, leading into Franklin's opening bass line. [1] Page utilized his brown 1960s Fender Telecaster guitar featuring a Parsons and White B-string bender on tour with this song.
Their self-titled album, appearing on Atlantic Records, cracked the Billboard Top 20 on the strength of this single. A music video to promote the song was filmed in October 1984. [2] Jimmy Page broke with the past and participated in the recording for the music video and single, the first time he had done both since the late 1960s. [3] Page can be seen miming to the recording with his famous red doubleneck 1971 Gibson EDS-1275 guitar. In March 1985, MTV began heavily promoting the video, although the track was a modest seller, reaching #28 in America and topping the Top Rock Tracks chart for one week. "Radioactive" was also released as a 12" single and limited-edition picture disc.
1985 7" single(US: Atlantic 7-89586, UK: Atlantic A-9586)
1985 12" special mix edition(US: Atlantic 86896, UK: Atlantic A-9586T)
1985 12" single(UK: Atlantic A-9586TE)
1986 7" single reissue(US: Atlantic Oldies Series 7-84966)
Chart (1985) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [4] | 75 |
UK Singles (OCC) [5] | 76 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [6] | 28 |
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [7] | 2 |
US Radio & Records Top 40 Singles [8] | 27 |
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles [9] | 28 |
The Firm is the first studio album by British rock band the Firm, released by Atlantic Records on 11 February 1985. Its tracks range from the epic "Midnight Moonlight", based on a previously unreleased song by Led Zeppelin called "Swan Song" – first tinkered with during the Physical Graffiti sessions – to the commercially successful "Radioactive". "Closer" employs a horn section to subtle effect. The album also includes a version of the Righteous Brothers' hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'".
Mean Business is the second and final studio album by The Firm, released by Atlantic Records on 3 February 1986. Repeating the same bluesy formula as on the first album, The Firm (1985), Mean Business did not achieve the same commercial success.
Paul Bernard Rodgers is an English-Canadian singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead vocalist of numerous successful rock bands, including Free, Bad Company, the Firm and the Law. He has also performed as a solo artist and collaborated with the remaining active members of Queen under the moniker Queen + Paul Rodgers, from 2004 to 2009. A poll in Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 55 on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In 2011, Rodgers received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.
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The Firm were a British rock supergroup formed in 1984, featuring singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Jimmy Page, drummer Chris Slade, and bassist Tony Franklin. The band released two albums in 1985 and 1986 and eventually saw their greatest chart success with the songs "Radioactive", "All the King's Horses", and "Satisfaction Guaranteed".
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Anthony James Franklin is an English rock musician, best known for his work on the fretless bass guitar with Roy Harper, The Firm, Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers, John Sykes' Blue Murder, David Gilmour, Kate Bush, Whitesnake, Lou Gramm, Gary Hoey and most recently with Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
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