"The Great Defector" is the lead single from

Bell X1 The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a Rocket-powered aircraft, rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics–U.S. Army Air Forces–U.S. Air Force supersonic resea ...

's fourth studio album '' Blue Lights on the Runway''. The single was released in Ireland on 30 January 2009 and internationally on 3 February 2009. It was selected as Tony's Daily Download by

Today FM Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a licen ...

presenter

Tony Fenton Tony Fenton (born Anthony James Fagan; 25 March 1961 – 12 March 2015) was an Irish radio presenter and DJ. For 18 years until he left in 2003, he worked with RTÉ 2fm; then joined Today FM in 2004, where he worked until his death 11 years ...

on 16 January 2009 before its release. Upon its release it reached number three 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 ...

. It reached number one in the airplay charts and the band went on to feature on the cover of ''

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a monthly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who cont ...

'' the following month. It was Bell X1's most successful single at the time of its release.

Composition and recording

Vocalist

Paul Noonan Paul Anthony Noonan is a songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist from Lucan, County Dublin. He is best known as the frontman of the Irish group Bell X1 and as a solo artist and collaborator on various musical projects. Early years Born i ...

has compared the song's style to that of

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

. The song was recorded in November 2008 in Ballycumber House, "a big, draughty, stately home... ...under the beady gaze of musty portraits of the Lords and Ladies of the estate from the 15th century". Jim Farber of the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'' has praised Noonan's "flair for dialogue and his keen way with a metaphor", claiming "his cruel writing will make you swoon". "The Great Defector" was given its debut live performance on 11 July 2008 during

Oxegen 2008 Oxegen '08 was the fifth Oxegen festival to take place, following the dissolution of its predecessor Witnness in 2004. It took place on the weekend of Friday 11 July, Saturday 12 July and Sunday 13 July at Punchestown Racecourse near Naas in Coun ...

Reception

The song has been widely praised in the Irish media; amongst its fans are

presenter

and

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

's radio presenter and television chat show host

Ryan Tubridy Ryan Tubridy (born 28 May 1973) is an Irish broadcaster. He currently presents the weekday mid-morning programme ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' on Virgin Radio UK, as well as a weekend programme on Sundays. His broadcasting career with RTÉ spanned ...

, who has described it as his "favourite hit of the year". A US disc jockey said it reminded him of "late period

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

". ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

'' journalist Eamon Sweeney described it as "an extremely Talking Headish song, but also happens to the best thing on the airwaves at the moment". The song was credited with a renewed surge in demand for tickets to the band's live shows.

Television performances

Following its release, Bell X1 performed "The Great Defector" on ''

Tubridy Tonight ''Tubridy Tonight'' is a talk show hosted by Ryan Tubridy that aired on RTÉ One for five seasons between 2004 and 2009. The programme featured guest interviews (usually three per show), audience participation and live music from both a guest mu ...

'' on 21 February 2009. They performed the song on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'' on 17 March 2009.

Charts

References

External links

Live performance
on ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Great Defector, The 2009 singles Bell X1 (band) songs 2009 songs Songs written by Paul Noonan Songs written by David Geraghty