Firestarter (The Prodigy song)

"Firestarter"
Single by The Prodigy
from the album The Fat of the Land
Released 18 March 1996
Format
Recorded Essex, United Kingdom
Genre Breakbeat
Length
  • 3:45 (edit)
  • 4:42 (album version)
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Liam Howlett
Certification Gold (BPI, RIAA)
The Prodigy singles chronology
"Poison"
(1995)		 "Firestarter"
(1996)		 "Breathe"
(1996)

"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. 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 United Kingdom because of their violent nature. The music video further boosted these controversies. In 2012, the song was covered by De Staat.

Composition

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]

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.

Track listing

XL Recordings

12-inch single

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Firestarter"   4:40
2. "Firestarter (Instrumental)"   4:39
Side two
No. Title Length
3. "Firestarter (Empirion Mix)"   6:45
4. "Molotov Bitch"   4:51

CD single

No. Title Length
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

Chart (1996–97) Peak
position
scope="row"Australia (ARIA)[4] 22
scope="row"Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 8
scope="row"Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 17
scope="row"Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[7] 15
Canada Alternative 30 (RPM)[8] 10
Denmark (IFPI)[9] 8
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[9] 2
scope="row"Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] 1
scope="row"Germany (Official German Charts)[11] 6
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 2
Italy (FIMI)[13] 21
scope="row"Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] 8
scope="row"New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 3
scope="row"Norway (VG-lista)[16] 1
scope="row"Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 2
scope="row"Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 11
scope="row"UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[19] 1
scope="row"US Billboard Hot 100[20] 30
scope="row"US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[21] 24

Year-end charts

Chart (1996) Position
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[22] 48
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[23] 14

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[24] Gold 6,452[24]
Sweden (GLF)[25] Gold 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Platinum 600,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] Gold 0^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". Nme.Com. 2014-03-26. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "Video - Firestarter | Video". Musicpilgrimages.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  4. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – The Prodigy – Firestarter". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Prodigy – Firestarter" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Prodigy – Firestarter" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Prodigy – Firestarter" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  9. 1 2 "Hits of the World". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 108 (21): 67. May 25, 1996. ISSN 0006-2510.
  10. ↑ "The Prodigy: Firestarter" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Musicline.de – Prodigy Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  12. ↑ "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.
  13. ↑ "Hit Parade Italia – Indice per Interprete: P". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 18, 1996" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – The Prodigy – Breathe". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Prodigy – Breathe". VG-lista. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The Prodigy – Breathe". Singles Top 100. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The Prodigy – Breathe". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1996-03-30" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  20. ↑ "The Prodigy – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for The Prodigy. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  21. ↑ "The Prodigy – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for The Prodigy. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Top 40 – Jaargang 32, 1996". Dutch Top 40 (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  23. ↑ Zywietz, Tobias. "CIN Singles 1996 – The Top 200 Singles Of 1996". Zobbel.de. Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  24. 1 2 "Prodigy" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  26. ↑ "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
  27. ↑ "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
Preceded by
"XL5" by Kaunis peto		 Finnish Singles Chart number-one single
13/1996 - 18/1996 		Succeeded by
"Children" by Robert Miles
Preceded by
"Velvet" by Velvet		 Norway Singles Chart number-one single
13/1996 - 16/1996 		Succeeded by
"Children" by Robert Miles
Preceded by
"How Deep Is Your Love" by Take That		 UK Singles Chart number-one single
24 March 1996 - 13 April 1996 		Succeeded by
"Return of the Mack" by Mark Morrison
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