"Radio" is a song by British

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

singer

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stu ...

, co-written by William and

Stephen Duffy Stephen Anthony James Duffy (born 30 May 1960 in Alum Rock, Birmingham, England) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was a founding member, vocalist, bassist and then drummer of Duran Duran. He went on to record as a solo perform ...

. It was the first single from Williams' compilation album ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'', released in 2004. Williams wrote the song's distinctive

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

melody by attempting (and failing) to play

Harold Faltermeyer Hans Hugo Harold Faltermeier (born 5 October 1952) is a German musician, composer and record producer. Faltermeyer is best known for composing the "Axel F" theme for the feature film '' Beverly Hills Cop'', an influential synth-pop hit in the ...

's "

Axel F "Axel F" is the electronic instrumental theme from the 1984 film '' Beverly Hills Cop'' performed by Harold Faltermeyer. It was an international number one hit in 1985. Background The title comes from the main character's name in the film, ...

" on an

electronic keyboard An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument, an electronic derivative of keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs ...

, from memory. "Radio" is Williams's first solo outing without the involvement of long-time producer and co-writer

Guy Chambers Guy Antony Chambers (born 12 January 1963) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work with Robbie Williams. Education Chambers attended Quarry Bank Comprehensive School sixth form in Liverpool. From 18, ...

, and is particularly notable as Williams's last UK number-one for eight years, until 2012's "

Candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies ( Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called '' sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, ...

Chart performance

"Radio" became

' sixth number-one single on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, selling 41,734 copies during its first week. The song was Williams's last UK number-one for eight years until "

" took the top spot in November 2012. "Radio" also topped the

Danish Singles Chart Hitlisten, also known as Tracklisten, is a Danish top 40 record chart that is updated every Thursday midnight on the website hitlisten.nu. The weekly Danish singles chart Track Top-40 combines the 40 best-selling tracks from legal music downloa ...

and reached the top 10 across Europe, peaking at number one on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

. In Australia, the single charted at number 12, and after seven weeks on the charts, the single was certified gold.

Track listings

UK CD1 and European CD single # "Radio" # "Radio" (Maloney Mix) UK CD2 # "Radio" # "Northern Town" # "Radio" (Sam La More Jumpin' Radio Mix) # Gallery and video clips UK DVD single # "Radio" (video) # "1974" (audio) # "Radio" (Massey Mix audio) # Gallery and video clips Australian CD single # "Radio" # "Northern Town" # "Radio" (Sam La More Jumpin' Radio Mix)

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the ''

'' album booklet. Studio * Mastered at

Metropolis Mastering A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

(London, England) Personnel * Robbie Williams – writing, lead vocals, synthesiser *

– writing, guitars, synthesiser, drums production *

Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, Oa ...

– string leader * Claire Worrall – string arrangement *

Nick Littlemore Nicholas George Littlemore (born 6 May 1978) is an Australian musician, record producer, singer and songwriter. As a musician, he is the frontman of the electronic duo Pnau, an ex-member of the art-rock band Teenager and one part of the electro ...

– additional programming * Andy Strange – production *

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very l ...

– mixing * Tony Cousins – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radio (Robbie Williams Song) Robbie Williams songs 2004 singles 2004 songs Chrysalis Records singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Music videos directed by Vaughan Arnell Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Scotland Songs about radio Songs written by Robbie Williams Songs written by Stephen Duffy UK Singles Chart number-one singles