Firestarter (The Prodigy song)

"Firestarter"
Single by The Prodigy
from the album The Fat of the Land
Released	18 March 1996
Format	12" CD
Recorded	Essex, England
Length	3:45 (edit) 4:42 (album version)
Label	XL Maverick Mute
Writer(s)	Kim Deal Anne Dudley Keith Flint Trevor Horn Liam Howlett J.J. Jeczalik Gary Langan Paul Morley
Producer(s)	Liam Howlett
Certification	Gold (BPI, RIAA)
The Prodigy singles chronology
"Poison" (1995) "Firestarter" (1996) "Breathe" (1996)

"Firestarter" is a song by the English 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. It was also the group's first number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, staying on top for three weeks, and their first big international hit, also reaching number one in Finland and Norway. It featured Flint's punky vocals which showcased him as the group's frontman. The title and lyrics were subject of controversy in the UK because of their violent nature. The music video further boosted these controversies.

Background and writing

The songwriting credits—among Liam Howlett and Keith Flint—include Kim Deal of alt-rock group The Breeders. The looped wah-wah guitar riff in "Firestarter" was sampled from The Breeders' track "S.O.S." from the album Last Splash. Because of the use of a sample from a 1984 single "Close (to the Edit)" songwriting credits also list Art of Noise's then-members: Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn, J. J. Jeczalik, Gary Langan and Paul Morley. The "Empirion Mix," which does not include these samples, is credited solely to Howlett and Flint.

Critical reception

In October 2011, NME placed it at number 52 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".^[1] 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."^[2]

Track listing

XL recordings

12" vinyl record

1. "Firestarter" – 4:40
2. "Firestarter" (Instrumental) – 4:39
3. "Firestarter" (Empirion Mix) – 7:49
4. "Molotov Bitch" – 4:51

CD single

1. "Firestarter" (Edit) – 3:45
2. "Firestarter" (Empirion Mix) – 7:48
3. "Firestarter" (Instrumental) – 4:39
4. "Molotov Bitch" – 4:51

7" Jukebox vinyl record (Limited to 500)

1. "Firestarter" (Edit) – 3:46
2. "Molotov Bitch" – 4:52

Maverick records 12" vinyl record

1. "Firestarter" – 4:40
2. "Firestarter" (Instrumental) – 4:39
3. "Firestarter" (Empirion Mix) – 7:48
4. "Molotov Bitch" – 4:51

Mute records CD single

1. "Firestarter" (Edit) – 3:45
2. "Firestarter" (Empirion Mix) – 7:49
3. "Firestarter" (Instrumental) – 4:39
4. "Molotov Bitch" – 4:51

Music video

The music video was directed by Walter Stern and was filmed in an abandoned London Underground tunnel at Aldwych.^[3] Keith Flint's appearance and the video's stark black and white also instigated controversies about being too scary for children watching it. Some television channels even refused to show the video until after the watershed.

Chart performances

The song was a number-one hit in Finland, Norway and the United Kingdom.^[4] It also made the top 5 in New Zealand and Sweden, the top 10 in Austria and the top 20 in several countries, such as Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), the Netherlands and Switzerland. In addition, it reached number 22 in Australia,^[5] and number 30 in the United States.^[6]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1996–97) Peak position scope="row" Australia (ARIA)[7] 22 scope="row" Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 8 scope="row" Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 17 scope="row" Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[10] 15 Canada Alternative 30 (RPM)[11] 10 Denmark (IFPI)[12] 8 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12] 2 scope="row" Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 1 scope="row" Germany (Official German Charts)[14] 6 Ireland (IRMA)[15] 2 Italy (FIMI)[16] 21 scope="row" Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 8 scope="row" New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 3 scope="row" Norway (VG-lista)[19] 1 scope="row" Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 2 scope="row" Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 11 scope="row" UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[22] 1 scope="row" US Billboard Hot 100[23] 30 scope="row" US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[24] 24

Year-end charts Chart (1996) Position Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[25] 48 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[26] 14 Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[27] Gold 6,452[27] Sweden (GLF)[28] Gold 15,000 United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Platinum 600,000 United States (RIAA)[30] Gold 0 ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

1. "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". Nme.Com. 2014-03-26. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
3. "Video - Firestarter | Video". Musicpilgrimages.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 591. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
5. Steffen Hung. "The Prodigy - Firestarter". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
6. "The Prodigy | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
7. "Australian-charts.com – The Prodigy – Firestarter". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
8. "Austriancharts.at – The Prodigy – Firestarter" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
9. "Ultratop.be – The Prodigy – Firestarter" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
10. "Ultratop.be – The Prodigy – Firestarter" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
11. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
12. "Hits of the World". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media) 108 (21): 67. May 25, 1996. ISSN 0006-2510.
13. "The Prodigy: Firestarter" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
14. "Musicline.de – Prodigy Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
15. "The Irish Charts – All there is to Know" (enter search parameter The Prodigy into Search by Artist box, then select Go). Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
16. "Hit Parade Italia – Indice per Interprete: P". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
17. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 18, 1996" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved July 28, 2012.
18. "Charts.org.nz – The Prodigy – Breathe". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
19. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Prodigy – Breathe". VG-lista. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
20. "Swedishcharts.com – The Prodigy – Breathe". Singles Top 100. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
21. "Swisscharts.com – The Prodigy – Breathe". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
22. "Archive Chart: 1996-03-30" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
23. "The Prodigy – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for The Prodigy. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
24. "The Prodigy – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for The Prodigy. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
25. "Top 40 – Jaargang 32, 1996". Dutch Top 40 (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
26. Zywietz, Tobias. "CIN Singles 1996 – The Top 200 Singles Of 1996". Zobbel.de. Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
27. "Prodigy" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
28. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
29. "British single certifications – Prodigy – Firestarter". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 22, 2014. Enter Firestarter in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
30. "American single certifications – Prodigy – Firestarter". Recording Industry Association of America. April 8, 1997. Retrieved July 28, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

• "Firestarter" music video on YouTube