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The Prodigy
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Artist · chart history · #111 in alternative artist polls

The Prodigy

Band Braintree United Kingdom Formed 1990 UK electronic group, main member Liam Howlett

The Prodigy formed in 1990 in Braintree, United Kingdom. The Prodigy has 119 chart appearances on 74 radio countdowns from 28 stations on RockLists, spanning 1994–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Breathe”, which appears on 40 lists with a best position of #2. The station that charted The Prodigy most often is KROQ (Los Angeles, CA), with 16 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1997.

119appearances
74countdowns
14songs charted
28stations
0#1 finishes
1994–2026years

The Prodigy came out of Braintree, Essex, in 1990, when producer and keyboardist Liam Howlett teamed up with 2 dancers, Keith Flint and Leeroy Thornhill, and MC Maxim, and they grew up fast in the rave underground, with "Charly" and "Everybody in the Place" crashing the British top five in 1991. After the debut, Experience, Howlett pushed past rave's sugar rush into harder techno and breakbeats on the acclaimed Music for the Jilted Generation, with "Voodoo People".

Then came The Fat of the Land in 1997, and it went to number one in 16 countries, America included. Howlett calls the sound electronic punk, and that's exactly how it hits: breakbeats like pile drivers and distorted riffs, and "Firestarter" and "Breathe" both went to number one in Britain. "Smack My Bitch Up" followed into the top ten and a storm of outrage over its lyrics and video. They took the Brit for Best British Dance Act in 1997, pioneers of big beat with a rock crowd hanging off every drop.

Thornhill left in 2000, and Invaders Must Die, in 2009, brought "Omen". Flint died in 2019, leaving Howlett and Maxim to carry the name back out on the road.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

Songs by The Prodigy on radio countdowns

#SongStrengthListsBest#1sPeak year
1 Breathe
1,976		 40 #2 – 1997
2 Firestarter
1,792		 37 #13 – 1997
3 Smack My Bitch Up
893		 22 #21 – 1997
4 Omen
146		 3 #42 – 2009
5 Smack
88		 1 #13 – 1997
6 Spitfire
82		 1 #41 – 2004
7 Baby's Got A Temper
80		 1 #46 – 2002
8 Light Up The Sky
69		 1 #28 – 2019
9 Voodoo People
64		 1 #37 – 1994
10 Funky Shit
45		 1 #56 – 1997
11 Timebomb Zone
42		 1 #38 – 2020
12 Nasty
32		 1 #86 – 2015
13 No Tourists
14		 1 #56 – 2020
14 Take Me To The Hospital
7		 1 #89 – 2010

Albums with charting songs

Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.

Year-end chart timeline

Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.

94 96 97 02 04 09 10 15 19 20

Every countdown appearance

Year#SongCountdown
2026 273 Breathe 101X 500 (2026)
2026 402 Smack My Bitch Up 101X 500 (2026)
2025 101 Firestarter WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s
2023 235 Firestarter 105.9 The X July 420 (2023)
2023 278 Breathe 105.9 The X July 420 (2023)
2023 338 Smack My Bitch Up 105.9 The X July 420 (2023)
2023 723 Firestarter The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s
2022 85 Artist ranking The End Top 100 Alternative Artists of All Time
2022 212 Breathe 101X 500 (2022)
2022 242 Firestarter 105.9 The X July 420 (2022)
2022 276 Breathe 105.9 The X July 420 (2022)
2022 332 Smack My Bitch Up 105.9 The X July 420 (2022)
2022 356 Smack My Bitch Up 101X 500 (2022)
2022 461 Firestarter X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time
2021 243 Firestarter 105.9 The X July 420 (2021)
2021 274 Breathe 105.9 The X July 420 (2021)
2021 323 Smack My Bitch Up 105.9 The X July 420 (2021)
2021 315 Breathe 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s
2021 701 Firestarter 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s
2020 38 Timebomb Zone WBER Listener Countdown 2020
2020 56 No Tourists WBER Listener Countdown 2020
2020 284 Breathe 105.9 The X July 420 (2020)
2020 308 Firestarter 105.9 The X July 420 (2020)
2020 332 Smack My Bitch Up 105.9 The X July 420 (2020)
2020 385 Firestarter The DC101 Top 500
2019 28 Light Up The Sky WBER Listener Countdown 2019
2015 86 Nasty WBER Listener Countdown 2015
2013 15 Breathe Triple J Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years (2013)
2010 42 (tie) Omen WBER Listener Countdown 2010
2010 89 (tie) Take Me To The Hospital WBER Listener Countdown 2010
2009 47 Omen WBER Listener Countdown 2009
2009 68 Omen Triple J Hottest 100 of 2009
2009 456 Smack My Bitch Up Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009)
2009 483 Firestarter Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009)
2009 70 Breathe Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (2009)
2008 264 Smack My Bitch Up KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008)
2007 131 Smack My Bitch Up KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007)
2007 239 Breathe KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007)
2007 317 Firestarter KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007)
2007 78 Artist ranking Live 105 Top 105.3 Artists of All-Time (May 2007)
2006 84 Smack My Bitch Up KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006)
2006 361 Breathe KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006)
2006 124 Smack My Bitch Up Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006)
2006 247 Breathe Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006)
2006 367 Firestarter WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006)
2006 72 Breathe The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006)
2005 197 Firestarter WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005)
2005 372 Breathe 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005)
2005 524 Smack My Bitch Up 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005)
2005 556 Firestarter 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005)
2005 78 Smack My Bitch Up Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of the '90s (August 2005)
2005 104 Artist ranking KROQ Top 106.7 Biggest Bands of All-Time (July 2005)
2004 41 (tie) Spitfire WBER Listener Countdown 2004
2004 49 Smack My Bitch Up Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004)
2004 262 Firestarter Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004)
2004 187 Smack My Bitch Up The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004)
2004 255 Firestarter The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004)
2004 377 Breathe The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004)
2003 122 Firestarter WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003)
2003 426 Breathe WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003)
2002 46 (tie) Baby's Got A Temper WBER Listener Countdown 2002
2002 168 Firestarter WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002)
2002 480 Breathe WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002)
2002 21 Smack My Bitch Up The Buzz Top Songs of All-Time (Labor Day 2002, partial)
2002 1875 Breathe Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)
2002 80 Artist ranking KROQ Top 106.7 Artists of All-Time (Memorial Day 2002)
2002 67 Artist ranking WHFS Top 99 Artists of All-Time (November 2002)
2001 310 Firestarter WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001)
2001 413 Breathe WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001)
2000 309 Firestarter WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000)
1999 387 Breathe 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999)
1999 102 Firestarter Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 585 Smack My Bitch Up Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 115 Breathe WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999)
1999 180 Firestarter WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999)
1999 443 Smack My Bitch Up WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999)
1999 189 Firestarter The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 230 Breathe The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 433 Smack My Bitch Up The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 593 Firestarter CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999)
1999 833 Breathe CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999)
1999 96 Breathe The Buzz Top 99 Songs of All-Time (1999)
1999 114 Breathe KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999)
1999 272 Smack My Bitch Up KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999)
1999 300 Firestarter KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999)
1999 78 Breathe WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999)
1999 277 Firestarter WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999)
1999 67 Artist ranking KROQ Top 106.7 Artists of All-Time (Year End 1999)
1999 83 Artist ranking KROQ Top 106.7 Artists of All-Time (Memorial Day 1999)
1998 95 Breathe Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1998)
1997 11 Breathe KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1997
1997 43 Firestarter KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1997
1997 73 Smack My Bitch Up KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1997
1997 14 Breathe 91X Top 91 Songs of 1997
1997 29 Firestarter 91X Top 91 Songs of 1997
1997 15 Breathe Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1997
1997 101 Smack My Bitch Up Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1997
1997 43 Breathe Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1997
1997 14 Breathe WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1997
1997 47 Firestarter WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1997
1997 23 Breathe The End Top 107 Songs of 1997
1997 67 Firestarter The End Top 107 Songs of 1997
1997 2 Breathe X103.9 Top 103.9 Songs of 1997
1997 7 Breathe WBER Listener Countdown 1997
1997 13 Smack WBER Listener Countdown 1997
1997 23 Firestarter WBER Listener Countdown 1997
1997 25 Firestarter X103.9 Top 103.9 Songs of 1997
1997 40 Firestarter 105.7 The Point Top 105.7 of 1997
1997 56 Breathe WEQX Top 102.7 of 1997
1997 65 Breathe 105.7 The Point Top 105.7 of 1997
1997 94 Breathe KNRK Top 94 Songs of 1997
1997 56 Funky Shit Triple J Hottest 100 of 1997
1997 56 Breathe Radio & Records Top 97 Songs of 1997
1996 38 Firestarter The End Top 107 Songs of 1996
1996 13 Firestarter WBER Listener Countdown 1996
1996 37 Firestarter John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1996
1996 7 Breathe Triple J Hottest 100 of 1996
1996 17 Firestarter Triple J Hottest 100 of 1996
1994 37 Voodoo People Triple J Hottest 100 of 1994

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