Song · Bloc Party
“Helicopter” by Bloc Party
From the album Silent Alarm (2004)
“Helicopter” by Bloc Party appears on 20 radio countdowns from 13 stations between 2004 and 2025. It was first released in 2004 on the album Silent Alarm. Its best result is #11 on the John Peel's Festive Fifty of 2004. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #145 alternative song of 2005 and #1,570 alternative song of all time.
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"Helicopter" first came buzzing out of Bloc Party in October 2004, a stand-alone UK single on Wichita that later turned up on the Little Thoughts EP and then on their debut album, Silent Alarm. It's a nervy, jittery thing, all clipped guitar and a rhythm section that sounds like it's had far too much coffee, with Kele Okereke yelping over the top as if he's trying to outrun the song. The writing credit is split between Okereke, Russell Lissack, Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong, and Paul Epworth produced alongside the band, with Rich Costey on the mix.
It reached number 26 on the UK Singles Chart, and two years on it was issued as a US single too. Since then it has powered a stack of video games, Guitar Hero III and a couple of FIFA editions among them, and even an episode of The Crown.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 11 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 2004 | 50 |
| 2005 | 62 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2005 | 91 |
| 2005 | 100 | Live 105 San Francisco, CA | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2005 | 106 |
| 2005 | 98 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2005 | 100 |
| 2005 | 108 | Y100 Philadelphia, PA | Y100 Top 150 Songs of 2005 | 150 |
| 2005 | 70 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2005 | 103 |
| 2005 | 40 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2005 | 100 |
| 2005 | 313 | ModernRock.com Online | ModernRock.com Top 400 Songs of 2005 | 400 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 230 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 312 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 310 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 310 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 305 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 308 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2013 | 868 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) | 885 |
| 2014 | 312 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2019 | 495 | KEXP | KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time | 627 |
| 2022 | 482 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2024 | 241 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2025 | 655 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
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