"Firestarter" | ||||
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Single by the Prodigy | ||||
from the album The Fat of the Land | ||||
B-side | "Molotov Bitch" | |||
Released | 18 March 1996 | |||
Recorded | Essex, United Kingdom | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | XL | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Liam Howlett | |||
The Prodigy singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Firestarter" on YouTube |
"Firestarter" is a song by British electronic dance music band the Prodigy, released on 18 March 1996 by XL Recordings as the first single from their third album, The Fat of the Land (1997). It was co-written and produced by Liam Howlett and features vocals by Keith Flint. It also was the group's first number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, staying on top for three weeks, and their first big international hit, topping the charts in the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, and Norway. The music video was directed by Walter Stern and filmed in black-and-white. In 2020, British newspaper The Guardian ranked the song number eight on their list of "The 100 Greatest UK No 1 Singles". [3]
The songwriting credits include Kim Deal of alternative rock group the Breeders, as the looped wah-wah guitar riff in "Firestarter" was sampled from the Breeders' track "S.O.S." from the album Last Splash . The drums are sampled from a remix of the song "Devotion" of the group Ten City. The "hey" sample is from the 1984 song "Close (to the Edit)" by Art of Noise. Then-members Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn, J. J. Jeczalik, Gary Langan and Paul Morley also receive songwriting credits. The "Empirion Mix", which does not include these samples, is credited solely to Liam Howlett and Keith Flint.
Martin James from Melody Maker wrote, "'Firestarter' finds onstage dancer, MC and man of scary eye make-up Keith Flint delivering his first vocal performance and...it's not really up to much. A 60-Marlboros-a-day growl more suited to guitar-drenched cider punk than The Prodigy's fast and furious cyber punk. Never mind though, because musically this cut finds the boys slamming through an exhilarating, breakbeat techno theme for snowboarding freestylers. Half-pipe hardcore — you know the score." [4] A reviewer from Music Week gave "Firestarter" top score of five out of five, and named it Single of the Week and a "Powerful return for the kings of live techno." [5] Gerald Martinez from New Sunday Times noted its "heavy metal meets techno-dance stylisations". [6] Brad Beatnik from the Record Mirror Dance Update described it as "a typically searing chunk of heavy techno featuring some manic vocale and an awesome synth line". He concluded, "Straight in the Top 10, no question, and destined to be pounded in the clubs." [7] Writing for Pitchfork in 2005, Jess Harvell said, "'Firestarter' sounds like Trent Reznor in one of his all-too-rare moments of self-aware humor, like the Bomb Squad at +5 with a pink-haired British bulldog bellowing about how tuff he is." [8] David Sinclair from The Times noted, "A racing, twitchy, all-hands-on-deck rhythmic pulse, with a first beat in the bar that lands like a bodyblow, it is spiced up by a siren-wail synth sound and various shrieks that resemble an Art of Noise vocal sample." [9]
The accompanying black-and-white music video for "Firestarter" was directed by English director Walter Stern and was filmed in an abandoned London Underground tunnel at Aldwych. [10]
In October 2011, NME placed it at number 52 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". [11] Following Flint's death on 4 March 2019, fans used the hashtag 'Firestarter4Number1' on various social media platforms to replicate the song's success by getting it to the number one spot again. This was done out of respect for Keith Flint and to raise awareness of suicide among men. [12] During this time the single also returned to the Billboard charts, entering number 13 on its Dance/Electronic Digital Songs Sales chart in its 16 March 2019 issue, marking the first time that this song has appeared on a Billboard dance chart. [13] In 2020, British newspaper The Guardian ranked "Firestarter" number eight on their list of "The 100 Greatest UK No 1 Singles". [14] In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked it number 110 on their list of "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time". [15]
|
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [65] | Gold | 6,452 [65] |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [66] | Platinum | 10,000* |
Sweden (GLF) [67] | Gold | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [68] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [69] | Gold | 500,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 18 March 1996 |
| XL | [70] |
Japan | 22 May 1996 | CD | Avex Trax | [71] |
"Weird Al" Yankovic created a loose parody of "Firestarter", titled "Lousy Haircut", for an episode of The Weird Al Show ; he could not do a full parody of the song as the network CBS did not want to pay royalties to the Prodigy. [72] The song has also been covered by Jimmy Eat World, Gene Simmons of KISS, Torre Florim of De Staat, Sepultura, Papa Roach, and Kristina Esfandiari under her project NGHTCRWLR. [73] [74] [75] [76] A cover has also been created for the video game Just Cause 3 by Torre Florim. [77]
"Professional Widow" is a song written by the American singer-songwriter Tori Amos, released on her third album, Boys for Pele (1996). It is a harpsichord-driven rock song and its lyrics are rumored to have been inspired by the American songwriter Courtney Love. The song was released on July 2, 1996 by Atlantic and EastWest, as the third single from the Boys for Pele album in the US, containing remixes by the house music producers Armand van Helden and MK. The single reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. In Italy, the original version peaked at number two in October 1996. An edited version of the Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix of "Professional Widow" was originally released as a double A-side single with "Hey Jupiter" in Europe and Australia.
The Fat of the Land is the third studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy, released on 30 June 1997 through XL Recordings. The album received critical acclaim and topped the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. It has sold over 10 million copies worldwide as of 2019. It is their best-selling album.
"The Best Things in Life Are Free" is a duet between American singers Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson, recorded for the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced soundtrack to the 1992 American film Mo' Money, starring Damon Wayans. The song was composed by Jam, Lewis, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch. The song was released as the soundtrack's lead single on May 12, 1992, by Perspective Records and A&M Records. Additionally, the song was remixed by David Morales, Frankie Knuckles, and CJ Mackintosh. The duet became a major hit in several countries, peaking at number two in Australia and the United Kingdom, number six in Ireland and New Zealand, number eight in Canada and Germany, and number 10 in the United States. Its music video was directed by Paris Barclay, but didn't feature Vandross and Jackson. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
"Dancing in the Moonlight" is a song written by Sherman Kelly, originally recorded in 1970 by Kelly's band Boffalongo, and then a hit single by King Harvest in 1972, reaching number 5 in Canada and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2000, a cover by English band Toploader became a worldwide hit and achieved multi-platinum status in the United Kingdom. A version by Swedish EDM duo Jubël, released in 2018, was a hit in Europe.
"No Diggity" is a song by American R&B group Blackstreet as the first single for their second studio album, Another Level (1996), featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen. Released on July 29, 1996 by Interscope, the song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and in Iceland and New Zealand. It ended "Macarena"'s 14-week reign atop the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number nine. "No Diggity" was the final number-one single of Cash Box magazine. The track sold 1.6 million copies in 1996 and won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. It uses samples from Bill Withers's "Grandma's Hands". The music video for the song was directed by Hype Williams.
"Bailamos" is a single by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias sung in Spanglish. The song was released in 1999 as part of the soundtrack to the film Wild Wild West (1999) and later included on Iglesias's fourth and debut English-language album, Enrique (1999). "Bailamos" reached number one on the Spanish Singles Chart and on the US Billboard Hot 100, and it became a top-three hit in Canada, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden. In both New Zealand and Spain, it was the second-most-successful single of 1999.
"Fastlove" is a song by English singer-songwriter George Michael, released on 22 April 1996 by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom and by DreamWorks Records in the United States as the second single from his third album, Older (1996). Written by Michael, Patrice Rushen, Freddie Washington and Terri McFaddin and produced by Michael and Jon Douglas, the song interpolates Rushen's 1982 single "Forget Me Nots".
"The Rockafeller Skank", often referred to as "Funk Soul Brother" by fans, is a song by English big beat musician and DJ Fatboy Slim. It was released as the lead single from his second studio album, You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998), on 8 June 1998. The single peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart in June 1998 and topped the Icelandic Singles Chart for a week the same month. It was the second Fatboy Slim single to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 76. In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked "The Rockafeller Skank" at number 199 on their list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".
"Breathe" is a song by English band the Prodigy, released in November 1996 as the second single from their third album, The Fat of the Land (1997). It features a drum break from the song "Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed" by Thin Lizzy. The whiplashing sword sound effect is a sample of "Da Mystery of Chessboxin" by Wu-Tang Clan. As with "Firestarter", Jim Davies played the guitar in the song.
"Baby's Got a Temper" is a song by English electronica group the Prodigy, released as a non-album single on 1 July 2002 by record labels XL and Maverick. It was the band's first single in five years after 1997's "Smack My Bitch Up", and was also their first release after dancer Leeroy Thornhill left the band in 2000.
"Pony" is a song by American singer Ginuwine, released as the debut single from his first album, Ginuwine...The Bachelor (1996). Ginuwine co-wrote the song with Swing Mob associates Static Major and Timbaland; the latter made his breakthrough as a producer with the song. It peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart.
"You're the One" is a song recorded by American female R&B vocal trio SWV for their second studio album, New Beginning (1996). RCA Records released the song on March 29, 1996, as the lead single from New Beginning. "You're the One" topped the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and became a top-10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and in New Zealand, receiving gold certifications in both countries. A sample of this song can be heard in South Korean boy group EXO's song "Ya Ya Ya" from their seventh studio album, Obsession (2019).
"Hey Lover" is a song by American rapper LL Cool J, released as the first single from his sixth album, Mr. Smith (1995). The song features vocals from American R&B group Boyz II Men. It was released on October 31, 1995, for Def Jam Recordings and was produced by The Trackmasters and LL Cool J. The song samples Michael Jackson's "The Lady in My Life" from his 1982 hit album Thriller; thus Rod Temperton, the writer of that song, was given credit as a writer of this song. On the B-side is the "I Shot Ya" remix.
English electronic music group the Prodigy has released seven studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, one mix album, three extended plays, twenty-one singles, and twenty-two music videos. Hailed as pioneers of genres such as rave, techno, and big beat, the group have sold over 20 million albums worldwide. As of 9 November 2018 their UK album sales stood at 4,707,982.
"I Love You Always Forever" is the debut single by Welsh singer Donna Lewis from her debut album, Now in a Minute (1996). Written by Lewis and produced by Lewis and Kevin Killen, it was released as the album's lead single in the United States on 16 April 1996 and in the United Kingdom on 26 August 1996. The song is inspired by H. E. Bates' novel Love for Lydia, from which the chorus is taken.
"If I Ever Fall in Love" is the debut single by American R&B-soul quartet Shai, released by Gasoline Alley and MCA in September 1992 from their debut album of the same name (1992). The song reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1992 and peaked at number one on the Billboard R&B chart. It spent eight weeks at number two on the Hot 100, which at the time was the second-most number of weeks that a song held the position without topping the chart, behind Foreigner's "Waiting for a Girl Like You". The song was also their only top-40 hit in the UK, peaking at number 36.
"I Want You Back" is a song by American boy band NSYNC, from their debut studio album, NSYNC (1997). It was released in Germany on January 15, 1997, as the band's debut single. The dance-pop and pop song was later released in the United States on February 17, 1998, and in the United Kingdom on February 15, 1999. It was written by Max Martin and the producer Denniz Pop. In its initial release, "I Want You Back" peaked at number four in Germany, and topped the charts in the Netherlands. After releasing internationally, the song charted at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and at number five on the UK Singles Chart. Two music videos for "I Want You Back" were released for the song's initial release and global re-release, which were directed by Alan Calzatti, and Jesse Vaughan and Douglas Biro respectively.
"Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" is the debut solo single of Australian singer Gina G. The song was written by British songwriters Simon Tauber and Steve Rodway, and released on 25 March 1996 as the first single from her debut album, Fresh! (1997). The song was the United Kingdom's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996, held in Oslo, Norway, where it finished in eighth place. The single topped the UK Singles Chart in May 1996, peaked at No. 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for Best Dance Recording at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards in 1998.
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and vocalist Keith Flint, dancer and occasional live keyboardist Leeroy Thornhill, dancer Sharky, and MC and vocalist Maxim. They are pioneers of the breakbeat-influenced genre big beat, and describe their style as electronic punk.
"Cold Rock a Party" is the lead single released from American rapper MC Lyte's fifth studio album, Bad As I Wanna B (1996). While the original version of the song that appears on the album was produced by Rashad Smith and samples Audio Two's "Top Billin", the single version features Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, was produced by Sean Combs, and samples Diana Ross' 1980 hit "Upside Down".
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