Atomic (song)

"Atomic"
Single by Blondie
from the album Eat to the Beat
B-side "Die Young, Stay Pretty"
Released February 1980 (UK)
April 1980 (US)
Format 7", 12"
Recorded 1979
Genre Disco
Length
  • 3:48 (7" version)
  • 4:35 (LP version)
Label Chrysalis
Writer(s) Debbie Harry, Jimmy Destri
Producer(s) Mike Chapman
Certification Gold (UK)
Blondie singles chronology
"Call Me"
(1980)		 "Atomic"
(1980)		 "The Tide Is High"
(1980)
Music sample
"Atomic"
Alternative cover
European edition of the "Atomic" single with the famous picture of Debbie Harry wearing her "Andy Warhol's BAD" T-shirt, in 1981 used for the free fold-out poster that came with the hits compilation The Best of Blondie.

"Atomic" is a hit song by the American new wave band Blondie, written by Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri and produced by Mike Chapman. It was released as the third single from the band's Platinum-selling 1979 album Eat to the Beat.

Song information

Atomic was composed by Jimmy Destri and Debbie Harry, who (in the book "1000 UK #1 Hits" by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh) stated "He was trying to do something like "Heart of Glass", and then somehow or another we gave it the spaghetti western treatment. Before that it was just lying there like a lox. The lyrics, well, a lot of the time I would write while the band were just playing the song and trying to figure it out. I would just be scatting along with them and I would just start going, 'Ooooooh, your hair is beautiful.'" The word atomic in the song carries no fixed meaning and functions as a signifier of power and futurism.[1] The bridge to, and the break in the melody before "Atomic" is spoken, is heavily influenced by the bridge in the song "I'm on my way" by Dean Parish.

The song was produced as a mixture of new wave, rock and disco which had proven to be so successful in their No.1 hit from earlier in 1979, "Heart of Glass". It is written in E natural minor ("Call Me" is written in E♭ natural minor).

The 1980 single version of "Atomic" was a remix. The original 4:35 version as featured on the albums Eat to the Beat and 1981's The Best of Blondie opens with an intro inspired by the nursery rhyme "Three Blind Mice" and includes an instrumental break with a bass guitar solo. The 7" version mixed by Mike Chapman omits the "Three Blind Mice" intro and replaces the instrumental break with a repeat of the verse.

The song became the band's third number one in the UK Singles Chart, where it held the top spot for two weeks.[2] It reached the Top 40 in the US in Spring 1980.

The B-side was "Die Young, Stay Pretty", also from the album Eat to the Beat, a reggae-influenced track, a style the band would perform again in their global chart-topper "The Tide Is High". The UK 12" single contained a live cover version of Bowie's "Heroes" featuring Robert Fripp on guitar recorded at London's Hammersmith Odeon just a month before. The track was included on 1993's rarities compilation Blonde and Beyond.

"Atomic" was remixed and re-released in the UK in September 1994 where it peaked at #19 on the UK Top 40 singles chart.[3] The subsequent April 1995 US release reached #1 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Charts.[4] The 1994 remix was included on the compilations The Platinum Collection, Beautiful - The Remix Album and Remixed Remade Remodeled - The Remix Project. The track was remixed again four years later for the UK compilation Atomic - The Very Best of Blondie and the '98 Xenomania mix was later included on the first Queer as Folk soundtrack album.

In Popular Culture

Blondie re-recorded the song for their 2014 compilation album Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux. The compilation was part of a 2-disc set called Blondie 4(0) Ever which included their 10th studio album Ghosts of Download and marked the 40th anniversary of the forming of the band.

Music video

The music video depicts the band performing on stage at what looks like a post-apocalyptic nightclub in which Debbie Harry is wearing a garbage bag as a punkish futuristic costume. The audience at the club are also dressed in suitably futuristic costumes, and footage of a horseman and an atomic explosion are also intercut. Model Gia Carangi (a strong supporter of the band) made a guest appearance in the music video and can be seen in various shots.

Track listing

UK 7" (Chrysalis CHS 2410)
US 7" (Chrysalis CHS 2410)
  1. "Atomic" (7" Mix) (Deborah Harry, Jimmy Destri) - 3:48
  2. "Die Young Stay Pretty" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) - 3:27
UK 12" (Chrysalis CHS 12 2410)
  1. "Atomic" (7" Mix) (Deborah Harry, Jimmy Destri) - 3:48
  2. "Die Young Stay Pretty" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) - 3:27
  3. "Heroes" (Live) (David Bowie, Brian Eno) - 6:28
UK 1994 Remix CD1 (7243 8 81661 2 6)
  1. "Atomic" (Diddy's Edit) - 4:10
  2. "Atomic" (Diddy's 12" Mix) - 6:54
  3. "Atomic" (Diddy's Push The Button Mix) - 6:06
  4. "Atomic" (Boom Mix) - 5:49
  5. "Atomic" (New Disco Mix) - 7:56
UK 1994 Remix CD2 (7243 8 81662 2 5)
  1. "Atomic" (Diddy's Edit) - 4:10
  2. "Sunday Girl" - 3:01
  3. "Union City Blue" - 3:18
  4. "Atomic" (Original 1980 7" Edit) - 3:50
US 1995 Remix CD (7243 8 58340 2 8)
  1. "Atomic" (Diddy's Remix Edit) - 4:10 *
  2. "Atomic" (Original Single Version) - 3:50 **
  3. "Atomic" (Diddy's 12" Mix) - 6:54
  4. "Atomic" (Armand's Atomizer Mix) - 9:00
  5. "Atomic" (Explosive Ecstacy Mix) - 5:50
  6. "Atomic" (Beautiful Drum And Bass Mix) - 7:43
  7. "Atomic" (New Disco Mix) - 7:56
  8. "Slow Motion" (Stripped Down Motown Mix) - 3:30

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1980) Peak
Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 12
Austria 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 8
Canada (RPM 100 Singles)[8] 57
Dutch NVPI Charts 17
France SNEP Singles Chart[9] 6
German Media Control Singles Chart 20
Irish Singles Chart 3
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart [10] 7
Norway 5
UK Singles Chart[2] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 39
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[12][13] 98
UK Singles Chart 19
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1980) Rank
Australia [14] 55
New Zealand [15] 46

Preceded by
"Coward of the County"
by Kenny Rogers		 UK number one single
"Atomic"
1 March 1980
(for two weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Together We Are Beautiful"
by Fern Kinney

Party Animals recording

"Atomic"
Single by Party Animals
from the album Party@worldaccess.nl
Released May 10, 1997
Genre Happy Hardcore, Gabber
Length 3:27
Label Mokum Records
Writer(s) Debbie Harry, Jimmy Destri
Producer(s) Flamman & Abraxas
Party Animals singles chronology
"We Like to Party"
(1997)		 "Atomic" "My Way"
(1997)

"Atomic" is the fifth single of the Party Animals from their second album Party@worldaccess.nl. The song was released in 1997 and was a minor success in Hong Kong. The song is a cover version of the Blondie song recorded with a gabber beat. The song peaked at number 8 in the Dutch Top 40.

Track listing

# Title Length
1. "Atomic (Flamman & Abraxas radio mix)" 3:31
2. "Mocht Ik onder het Hakkûh Bezwijken" 5:32
3. "Atom-X" 4:52
4. "Total Smash" 5:15

Sleepy Sleepers recording

"Painimaan" by the Finnish band Sleepy Sleepers is a cover version of the song. The song was released on the band's 1980 album Metsäratio and is sung entirely in Finnish.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Plagenhoef, Scott; Schreiber, Ryan, eds. (November 2008). The Pitchfork 500. Simon & Schuster. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-4165-6202-3.
  2. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 378. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ↑ "Blondie - Atomic {1994}". Chart Stats. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Blondie - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  5. ↑ Rogers, Daniel (April 24, 2002). "Coca-Cola signs 'Leggsy' as star of World Cup ad - Marketing news". Marketing magazine. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  6. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 37. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Blondie – Atomic" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  8. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 33, No. 22, August 23 1980". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  9. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tout les Titres par Artiste". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  10. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1980-05-18. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
  11. ↑ "Blondie awards at Allmusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  12. ↑ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 11 Dec 1994". ARIA. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  13. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  14. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
  15. ↑ "Top Selling Singles of 1980 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1980-12-31. Retrieved 2016-10-16.

External links

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