1996 single by The Prodigy
"Firestarter " is a song by the British band the Prodigy , released on 18 March 1996. It was the first single from their third album The Fat of the Land , and their tenth single overall. It 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.
It showcased Keith Flint , with punk rock -style vocals, as the group's frontman and is an important crossover song, meshing electronic beats, with industrial metal and punk rock.[citation needed ]
Composition
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 hey 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 .
Critical reception
In October 2011, NME placed it at number 52 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[4] Writing for pitchfork.com 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."[5]
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 1 spot again. This was done out of respect for Keith Flint and to raise awareness of suicide among men.[6]
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 Dance chart of any kind.[7]
Notable cover versions
"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.[8]
The song has also been covered by Gene Simmons of KISS , Torre Florim of De Staat , Sepultura and Papa Roach .[9] [10] [11]
Music video
The music video was directed by Walter Stern and was filmed in an abandoned London Underground tunnel at Aldwych .[12]
Track listing
XL Recordings/Maverick/Mute
12-inch single
Side one Title 1. "Firestarter" 4:40 2. "Firestarter (Instrumental)" 4:39
Side two Title 3. "Firestarter (Empirion Mix)" 6:45 4. "Molotov Bitch" 4:51
CD single
Title 1. "Firestarter (Edit)" 3:45 2. "Firestarter (Empirion Mix)" 7:48 3. "Firestarter (Instrumental)" 4:39 4. "Molotov Bitch" 4:51
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
^ "Q&A: The Prodigy Look Back on the Most Aggressive Career in Electronic History" . 27 April 2015.
^ Browne, David (July 11, 1997). "The Fat of the Land" . Entertainment Weekly . No. 387. Retrieved October 9, 2017 .
^ Pattison, Louis (2008). "The Prodigy Fat Of The Land Review" . bbc.co.uk . BBC. Retrieved October 9, 2017 .
^ "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years" . NME . 26 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014 .
^ "The Prodigy: Their Law: The Singles Album Review - Pitchfork" . pitchfork.com .
^ Colothan, Scott (March 6, 2019). "Prodigy fans launch 'Firestarter for Number 1' campaign in memory of Keith Flint" . Planet Radio . Retrieved April 4, 2019 .
^ "The Prodigy Return to Billboard's Charts After Keith Flint's Death" from Billboard (13 March 2019)
^ Gaines, Caseen (September 23, 2017). " 'The Weird Al Show': The Complete Oral History" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved November 15, 2017 .
^ "Design The GENE SIMMONS Alter-Ego: FIRESTARTER!" . BLABBERMOUTH.NET . January 14, 2004. Retrieved December 26, 2019 .
^ Torre Florim (DE STAAT) - Firestarter (Official Music Video) on YouTube
^ Cornell, Jeff. "The Prodigy Salute Keith Flint on His 50th Birthday" . Loudwire . Retrieved March 30, 2020 .
^ "Video - Firestarter | Video" . Musicpilgrimages.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2018-09-27 .
^ "The Prodigy – Firestarter" . ARIA Top 50 Singles . Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "The Prodigy – Firestarter" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40 . Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "The Prodigy – Firestarter" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50 . Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "The Prodigy – Firestarter" (in French). Ultratop 50 . Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "The Prodigy Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)" . Billboard . Retrieved 2 March 2019 .
^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 3182 ." RPM . Library and Archives Canada . Retrieved 2 March 2019.
^ "Top 10 Czech Republic" (PDF) . Music & Media . Retrieved 24 June 2018 .
^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF) . Music & Media . Vol. 13, no. 14. 6 April 1996. p. 22. Retrieved 13 April 2020 .
^ "Hits of the World" . Billboard . 108 (18). Prometheus Global Media : 48. 4 May 1996. ISSN 0006-2510 .
^ "Prodigy: Firestarter" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat . Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "Top 10 Hungary" (PDF) . Music & Media . Retrieved 24 June 2018 .
^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (27.4. – 3.5. '96)" . Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 27 April 1996. p. 26. Retrieved 2 October 2019 .
^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Firestarter" . Irish Singles Chart . Retrieved 2 March 2019.
^ "Hits of the World – Italy" (PDF) . Billboard . Vol. 109, no. 21. 24 May 1997. p. 50. Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 18, 1996 " (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 . Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "The Prodigy – Firestarter" (in Dutch). Single Top 100 . Retrieved 2 March 2019.
^ "The Prodigy – Breathe" . Top 40 Singles . Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "The Prodigy – Breathe" . VG-lista . Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved 2 March 2019.
^ "The Prodigy – Breathe" . Singles Top 100 . Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "The Prodigy – Breathe" . Swiss Singles Chart . Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "The Prodigy Chart History (Hot 100)" . Billboard . Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "The Prodigy Chart History (Alternative Airplay)" . Billboard . Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "2019 Archive: Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales (March 16, 2019)" . Billboard . Retrieved 13 March 2019 .
^ "Jaaroverzichten 1996" (in Dutch). Ultratop . Retrieved 2 March 2019 .
^ "Rapports annuels 1996" (in French). Ultratop . Retrieved 2 March 2019 .
^ "1996 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF) . Music & Media . Retrieved 18 December 2019 .
^ "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1996" (in German). GfK Entertainment . Retrieved 7 August 2015 .
^ "Árslistinn 1996" . Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1997. p. 16. Retrieved 30 May 2020 .
^ "Top 40 – Jaargang 32, 1996" . Dutch Top 40 (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 28 July 2012 .
^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1996" (in Dutch). MegaCharts . Retrieved 2 March 2019 .
^ "Årslista Singlar, 1996" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved 30 May 2020 .
^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1996" (in German). Retrieved 2 March 2019 .
^ Zywietz, Tobias. "CIN Singles 1996 – The Top 200 Singles Of 1996" . Zobbel.de . Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved 28 July 2012 .
^ "End of Year Charts 1997" . Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved 30 May 2020 .
^ a b "Prodigy" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland . Retrieved 28 July 2012 .
^ "New Zealand single certifications – The Prodigy – Firestarter" . Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved 4 April 2019 .
^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 28 July 2012 .
^ Copsey, Rob (5 March 2019). "The Prodigy's biggest singles and albums on the Official Chart" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved 5 March 2019 .
^ "British single certifications – Prodigy – Firestarter" . British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 21 March 2014 . Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Firestarter in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "American single certifications – Prodigy – Firestarter" . Recording Industry Association of America . 9 April 1997. Retrieved 28 July 2012 .
External links
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