Firestarter (The Prodigy Song)
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"Firestarter" is a song by British
electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...
band
the Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...
, released on 18 March 1996 by
XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. It releases an average of six albums a year. T ...
as the first single from their third album, ''
The Fat of the Land ''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. ...
'' (1997). It was co-written and produced by
Liam Howlett Liam Paul Paris Howlett (born 21 August 1971) is an English record producer, musician, DJ, songwriter, co-founder and leader of the British electronic band the Prodigy. Early years Liam Paul Paris Howlett was born on 21 August 1971 in Braint ...
and features vocals by
Keith Flint Keith Charles Flint (17 September 1969 – 4 March 2019) was an English singer, motorcyclist, dancer and a vocalist of the Electronic dance music, electronic dance act The Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer for the group, he became the vocalist an ...
. 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 the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
, in black-and-white. ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' ranked the song number two in their list of "Singles of the Year" in 1996. 24 years later, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' ranked it number eight in their list of "The 100 Greatest UK No 1 Singles".


Composition

The songwriting credits include
Kim Deal Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American musician. She was the original bassist and co-vocalist in the alternative rock band the Pixies (band), Pixies from 1986 to 1993 and again from 2004 to 2013. She is the frontwoman of the Bre ...
of
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
group
the Breeders The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherson ( ...
, as the looped wah-wah guitar riff in "Firestarter" was sampled from the Breeders' track "S.O.S." from the album ''
Last Splash ''Last Splash'' is the second album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on August 30, 1993. Originally formed as a side project for Pixies (band), Pixies bass guitar, bassist Kim Deal, the Breeders quickly became her primar ...
''. The drums are sampled from a remix of the song "Devotion" of the group
Ten City Ten City (derived from ''intensity'') is an American, Chicago, Illinois-based R&B and house music act, that enjoyed a number of club hits and Urban radio hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was one of the first exponents of deep house. ...
. The "hey" sample is from the 1984 song "
Close (to the Edit) Close may refer to: Music * ''Close'' (Kim Wilde album), 1988 * ''Close'' (Marvin Sapp album), 2017 * ''Close'' (Sean Bonniwell album), 1969 * "Close" (Sub Focus song), 2014 * "Close" (Nick Jonas song), 2016 * "Close" (Rae Sremmurd song), 201 ...
" by
Art of Noise Art of Noise (also the Art of Noise) were a British avant-garde synth-rock group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and ...
. Then-members
Anne Dudley Anne Jennifer Dudley (née Beckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genre ...
,
Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an ...
, J. J. Jeczalik,
Gary Langan Gary Michael Langan (born 19 April 1956) is an English engineer, record producer, mixer and musician. Biography Langan's career started at age 18 when he worked as an assistant engineer at Sarm East Studios, learning the craft from Gary Lyons ...
and
Paul Morley Paul Robert Morley (born 26 March 1957) is a British music journalist. He wrote for the ''New Musical Express'' from 1977 to 1983, and has since written for a wide range of publications and written his own books. He was a co-founder of the reco ...
also receive songwriting credits. The "Empirion Mix", which does not include these samples, is credited solely to
Liam Howlett Liam Paul Paris Howlett (born 21 August 1971) is an English record producer, musician, DJ, songwriter, co-founder and leader of the British electronic band the Prodigy. Early years Liam Paul Paris Howlett was born on 21 August 1971 in Braint ...
and
Keith Flint Keith Charles Flint (17 September 1969 – 4 March 2019) was an English singer, motorcyclist, dancer and a vocalist of the Electronic dance music, electronic dance act The Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer for the group, he became the vocalist an ...
.


Critical reception

Martin James from ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' wrote, "'Firestarter' finds onstage dancer, MC and man of scary eye make-up
Keith Flint Keith Charles Flint (17 September 1969 – 4 March 2019) was an English singer, motorcyclist, dancer and a vocalist of the Electronic dance music, electronic dance act The Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer for the group, he became the vocalist an ...
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 Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting said to focus on a combination of " low-life and high tech". It features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...
. 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." A reviewer from ''
Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...
'' 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 Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
." Gerald Martinez from ''
New Sunday Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...
'' noted its " heavy metal meets techno-dance stylisations". Brad Beatnik from the ''
Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...
'' 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." Writing for ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' in 2005, Jess Harvell said, "'Firestarter' sounds like
Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He came to prominence as the founder, lead singer, multi-instrumentalist, and primary songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. T ...
in one of his all-too-rare moments of self-aware humor, like
the Bomb Squad The Bomb Squad was an American hip hop production team known for their work with hip hop group Public Enemy. The Bomb Squad are noted for their dense, distinct, innovative production style, often utilizing dozens of samples on just one track. ...
at +5 with a pink-haired British bulldog bellowing about how tuff he is." DJ Freshy-D of ''
Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...
'' gave it four out of five, saying, "Mad metal guitary bits, scary vocals and the bangin'est of beats make for a momentous indie-dance track! Hey, 'Firestarter' even manages to make
the Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture. Originally known as The Dust Brothers, th ...
sound soft... LET'S ROCK!" David Sinclair from ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' 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 Art of Noise (also the Art of Noise) were a British avant-garde synth-rock group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and ...
vocal sample."


Music video

The accompanying black-and-white music video for "Firestarter" was directed by English director Walter Stern and was filmed in an abandoned
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
tunnel at
Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End of London, West End West End Theatre, Theatreland. T ...
. The video was subsequently banned by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
after it was shown on ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
'' and supposedly terrorized children.


Impact and legacy

In December 1996, ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' ranked "Firestarter" number two in their list of "Singles of the Year", writing, "Bringing vague but keenly felt terror to a million living rooms, "Firestarter" was superbly ominous, a funny, freakish and pulse-quickening rumble through the tunnels of the psychotic mind." In October 2011, ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' placed it at number 52 in its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". In 2017, ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' magazine ranked "Firestarter" number 25 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Pop Songs of 1997". Following
Keith Flint Keith Charles Flint (17 September 1969 – 4 March 2019) was an English singer, motorcyclist, dancer and a vocalist of the Electronic dance music, electronic dance act The Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer for the group, he became the vocalist an ...
'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 Flint and to raise awareness of suicide among men. During this time the single also returned to the US ''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. In June 2020, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' ranked "Firestarter" number eight in their list of "The 100 Greatest UK No 1 Singles". In July 2022, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked it number 110 in their list of "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time". In March 2025, ''Billboard'' magazine ranked it number 47 in their "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time", writing that it "was less of a lit fuse than a powder keg ready to blow everything to smithereens." "Firestarter" was also used in the '' Call of Duty: Black Ops 6'' reveal trailer and in the 2024 film ''
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 1994 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. Like previous ''Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic'' games, players traverse side-scrolling levels while collecting Rings (Sonic the Hedgehog), ri ...
''.


Track listings

* UK, Australian, and Japanese CD single * US maxi-CD single # "Firestarter" (edit) – 3:45 # "Firestarter" ( Empirion mix) – 7:49 # "Firestarter" (instrumental) – 4:39 # "Molotov Bitch" – 4:51 * UK and US 12-inch single :A1. "Firestarter" – 4:40 :A2. "Firestarter" (instrumental) – 4:39 :B1. "Firestarter" (Empirion mix) – 7:49 :B2. "Molotov Bitch" – 4:51 * UK cassette single # "Firestarter" (edit) – 3:45 # "Molotov Bitch" – 4:51 * European CD single # "Firestarter" (edit) – 3:45 # "Firestarter" (Empirion mix) – 7:49 * US CD single and cassette single # "Firestarter" (edit) # "Firestarter" (instrumental)


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


Cover versions

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...
created a loose parody of "Firestarter", titled "Lousy Haircut", for an episode of ''
The Weird Al Show ''The Weird Al Show'' is an American television show hosted by "Weird Al" Yankovic. Produced in association with Dick Clark Productions and taped at NBC Studios, it aired on Saturday mornings on CBS. The show ran for one season, from September ...
''; he could not do a full parody of the song as the network
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
did not want to pay royalties to the Prodigy. The song has also been covered by
Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mesa, Arizona, in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach ...
,
Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...
of
KISS A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
, Torre Florim of
De Staat De Staat () is a Dutch alternative rock band, formed in Nijmegen in 2006. Their name translates to "The State". In May 2016, the band supported Muse (band), Muse in their Drones World Tour in Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain. Biogra ...
,
Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera.Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. They were a major force in the groove metal, thrash met ...
,
Papa Roach Papa Roach is an American Rock music, rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, drummer Dave Buckner, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luth ...
, and
Kristina Esfandiari Kristina Esfandiari (born 4 March 1988) is an American singer-songwriter and music producer. She writes music and performs under the monikers Dalmatian, Miserable, and NGHTCRWLR, and with the bands King Woman and Sugar High. Early life Kristina E ...
under her project NGHTCRWLR. A cover has also been created for the video game
Just Cause 3 ''Just Cause 3'' is a 2015 action-adventure game developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Square Enix's European subsidiary. It is the third game in the ''Just Cause'' series and the sequel to 2010's '' Just Cause 2''. It was released w ...
by
Torre Florim De Staat () is a Dutch alternative rock band, formed in Nijmegen in 2006. Their name translates to "The State". In May 2016, the band supported Muse in their Drones World Tour in Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain. Biography De Staat ...
.


See also

* ''
Wipeout 2097 ''Wipeout 2097'' (released as ''Wipeout XL'' in North America and Japan) is a 1996 racing video game developed and published by Psygnosis for the PlayStation. It is the second installment of the '' Wipeout series'' and a sequel to the original g ...
''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Firestarter (Song) 1995 songs 1996 singles Avex Trax singles Black-and-white music videos Maverick Records singles Music videos directed by Walter Stern Mute Records singles Number-one singles in the Czech Republic Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Hungary Number-one singles in Norway The Prodigy songs Songs written by Anne Dudley Songs written by Kim Deal Songs written by Liam Howlett Songs written by Trevor Horn Techno songs UK singles chart number-one singles XL Recordings singles