"One Way or Another" is a song by American rock band Blondie from their 1978 album ''

Parallel Lines In geometry, parallel lines are coplanar infinite straight lines that do not intersect at any point. Parallel planes are planes in the same three-dimensional space that never meet. '' Parallel curves'' are curves that do not touch each oth ...

''. Lyrically, the song was inspired by Blondie frontwoman Deborah Harry's experience with a stalker in the early 1970s, an incident which forced her to move away from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. The song's music was composed by bassist

Nigel Harrison Nigel Harrison (born 24 April 1951) is an English musician. Harrison spent several years as the bassist of the American rock band Blondie during the 1970s and 1980s. Life and career Harrison grew up in Princes Risborough, a small town in the ...

, who introduced the Ventures-influenced track to keyboardist Jimmy Destri. "One Way or Another" was released as the fourth North American single from ''Parallel Lines'', following the band's chart-topping " Heart of Glass" single. The song reached number 24 in the US and number 7 in Canada. It was not released as a single in the UK, but later charted in 2013, along with a cover by British band

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...

for

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, with the latter reaching number 1. "One Way or Another" has since seen critical acclaim for Harry's aggressive vocals and the band's energetic performance. It has been ranked by many critics as one of the band's best songs, has appeared on several compilation albums, and has become a live favorite for the band.

Background

Written by

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

and

for the band's third studio album, ''

'' (1978), "One Way or Another" was inspired by one of Harry's ex-boyfriends who stalked her after their breakup. According to Harry, the boyfriend's constant calling and persistent stalking forced her to move out of

. The stalking had taken place in 1973, when Harry was a member of The Stilettos; Harry's former bandmate Elda Gentile recalled, "It was freaking us all out, especially

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), Nigerian autho ...

tein. Harry explained in an interview with ''

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'': Musically, the song was composed by bassist Nigel Harrison, who first introduced the song to keyboardist Jimmy Destri. He explained, "My original music for 'One Way or Another' was this psychedelic, Ventures-like futuristic surf song gone wrong. Jimmy estrireally liked this piece of music, and we would play it on the road. Then Debbie picked up on it; she came up with the 'getcha-getcha-getcha's. Harry later claimed to have worked out the song live with Harrison. The song was recorded between June and July 1978 at New York's Record Plant studio. According to Harrison, producer Mike Chapman came up with the chaotic ending section.

Release

"One Way or Another" was released as the fourth single from ''Parallel Lines'' in the US and

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, as the follow-up to the number 1 hit " Heart of Glass". "One Way or Another" reached number 24 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 7 on the ''RPM'' 100 Singles. Although never officially released as a single in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the song charted there from download sales in February 2013 due to the success of

's cover "

One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks) "One Way or Another" is a song by American rock music, rock band Blondie (band), Blondie from their 1978 album ''Parallel Lines''. Lyrically, the song was inspired by Blondie frontwoman Deborah Harry's experience with a stalker in the early 197 ...

". Adam Boult of ''

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'' considered this version of the song to be an "abomination". In addition to its appearance on ''Parallel Lines'', the song was included on the US and Canadian versions of the band's first hits compilation, '' The Best of Blondie'' (1981), as it was released as a single there, but not on the international releases. It has since appeared on multiple other compilations, including a re-recorded version on 2014's '' Blondie 4(0) Ever''. Blondie released a manipulated live version of the song (with the audience noise removed) as the theme for the 1999 US television series '' Snoops''. This version was released in the US as a bonus track on the ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

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. The original un-edited live version was later included on the European edition of ''Live'', which was re-titled ''Livid'', instead of the manipulated one. Harry has since noted the song as a live favorite, recalling concerts where the crowd would point back at her and sing along.

Reception

Since its release, "One Way or Another" has seen critical acclaim. ''

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'' said that "One Way or Another" as "moves in machine gun fashion as Debbie Harry's vocal sounds almost demonic." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' noted the "gritty fuzz guitar," "pummelling drum beat," "slightly quirky" beat, "engaging bass line" and said that "Harry's slinky vocals are delivered with playful aggressiveness." ''

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'' praised the song as "exuberant new wave, far looser than the stiff, herky-jerky tracks that would go on to characterize that sound in the 80s," while ''Louder'' said of the track, "It was the song that took them from the punk clubs of New York to the arenas of the world, and cemented Debbie Harry's status as rock's foremost badass." ''

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 the song at number 298 on its list of

the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

. '' Paste'' ranked the song as the second greatest Blondie song, writing that the song "stands as one of the best songs—by Blondie or anyone else—of all time." ''

'' ranked it as the band's fifth best song, while '' Ultimate Classic Rock'' named it as the band's sixth best, writing, "From the opening stabbing guitar riff to the song's wailing, chaotic finale, 'One Way or Another' is the sound of a great band earning its rep." '' Far Out Magazine'' named it as Blondie's seventh best song, calling it, "the band's most iconic song", while ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' named it as the band's ninth best.

Track listing

;US 7" (CHS 2336) # "One Way or Another" (

) – 3:31 # "Just Go Away" (Harry) – 3:21 ;US 12" promo (CHS 10 PDJ) # "One Way or Another" (Harrison, Harry) – 3:31

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

One Direction version

English-Irish

boy band A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...

covered "One Way or Another" as a charity single for

2013, titled "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)", as it also interpolates lyrics from the Undertones' " Teenage Kicks" ("I wanna hold you, wanna hold you tight / Get teenage kicks right through the night"). The single was released on 17 February 2013, and was produced by Julian Bunetta and John Ryan. "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, making it One Direction's third UK number one. It was nominated for Best British Single at the 2014 Brit Awards.

Background and response

Ahead of its release, an early version of the song leaked online. A spokesperson for

Syco Music Syco Music, originally S Records, was a division of Syco Entertainment which operated from 2002 until 2020. The label was founded by British entrepreneur, record executive and media personality Simon Cowell, who was formerly employed at Bertels ...

told the ''

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'', "It is very disappointing that the song has been leaked and we are currently investigating the matter." The single received mixed reviews from music critics. Robert Copsey of ''

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'' said "the cheeky lyrics, bouncy pop-rock melody and singalong chorus feel like an obvious but reassuringly safe option for this year's official Comic Relief single", concluding that it was "predictable but ..undeniably fun".

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critic Bill Lamb called the single a "strong performance", assessing, "The layering of the 'Na Na Na Na' bridge from 'One Way Or Another' with the chorus, "I wanna hold you wanna hold you tight, get teenage kicks right through the night" is truly inspiring." However, Lamb also noted that "lyrically, 'One Way Or Another' is nearly a song about the finer points of stalking, and that can be just a bit creepy coming from young males." Jessica Sager of '' PopCrush'' summarised it as "catchy, fun and ... sounds exactly what you'd expect when One Direction cover Blondie." Sager additionally praised

Louis Tomlinson Louis William Tomlinson ( ; born 24 December 1991) is an English singer, songwriter, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Doncaster, England, Tomlinson auditioned for British singing competition ''The X Factor'' as a solo artist in 2010, w ...

's vocals as sounding "phenomenal" in his solo. Writing for

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, Jenna Rubenstein assessed: "1D's version sticks mainly to the original's vibe, mixing in sugary-sweet pop production with Blondie's punk rock sensibilities." Writing for ''

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'', Kitty Empire was scathing, describing the medley as "execrable". When the single reached number 1 in the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

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described the news as "shocking", noting the single as "just a bit ho hum". The ''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media, which also publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and various other newspapers and magazines in Ireland. Its e ...

'' was equally critical, blasting the cover as a "travesty" that had been "re-worked into a sanitised Comic Relief single", which were "scrappy shadows of the originals". ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' gave it the No.1 spot on its "Best Mainstream Pop Singles of 2013" list, calling it "the most inspired, fun track of the year". The song was later included in the Japanese edition of the band's third studio album '' Midnight Memories'' as the 19th track.

Commercial performance

"One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart dated 24 February 2013, shifting 113,000 copies in its first week—the second highest first-week UK sales for any song in 2013 at the time. It marks their third chart-topper and seventh top ten hit in the United Kingdom. As of March 2013, the song has sold 292,000 copies in the UK.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" was shot in

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, and

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, including at

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, featuring a cameo from the then- British prime minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

. The clip was released on 20 February 2013.

Live performances

One Direction debuted the song live during the 2013 Brit Awards on 20 February 2013. The group also performed the song live during the Comic Relief telethon on 15 March 2013.

Track listing

* Digital download # "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" – 2:37 # "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" – 3:07 # "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" – 2:37 * Digital download (Live version)iTunes Store
/ref> # "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" – 3:20

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1978 songs 1979 singles 2013 singles Blondie (band) songs Mandy Moore songs One Direction songs Chrysalis Records singles American power pop songs Song recordings produced by Mike Chapman Songs written by Debbie Harry Songs written by Nigel Harrison Songs about stalking Songs about revenge Comic Relief singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles UK singles chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in the Netherlands Number-one singles in Poland Number-one singles in Scotland Syco Music singles