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Cover of The Fat of the Land by The Prodigy
Cover: The Fat of the Land

Song · The Prodigy

“Firestarter” by The Prodigy

From the album The Fat of the Land (1997)

“Firestarter” by The Prodigy appears on 37 radio countdowns from 21 stations between 1996 and 2025. It was first released in 1997 on the album The Fat of the Land. Its best result is #13 on the WBER Listener Countdown 1996. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #52 alternative song of 1997, #1,081 alternative song of all time and #185 of the '90s.

37countdowns
21stations
#13best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1996–2025years charted

Watch

The Prodigy - Firestarter (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (The Prodigy). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Firestarter" came roaring out of the Prodigy's camp on XL Recordings in 1996 as the first taste of their third album, The Fat of the Land, and it sounds like a rave kicked over into a street fight. Liam Howlett produced and mixed it and wrote it with Keith Flint, who snarls the vocal like a cartoon arsonist, while Jim Davies' guitar scrapes against the beats. The credits run eight writers deep, taking in Kim Deal, Trevor Horn and Anne Dudley as well.

It gave the Prodigy their first UK number one, holding the top spot for three weeks, and Melody Maker named it the second-best single of 1996. Walter Stern shot the video in black-and-white down in the London Underground.

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#StationCountdownof
1996 38 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1996 107
1996 37 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1996 50
1996 13 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 1996 100
1996 17 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1996 100
1997 43 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1997 107
1997 29 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1997 91
1997 47 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1997 100
1997 67 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1997 107
1997 23 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 1997 99
1997 25 X103.9 Riverside-San Bernardino, CA X103.9 Top 103.9 Songs of 1997 104
1997 40 105.7 The Point St. Louis, MO 105.7 The Point Top 105.7 of 1997 106

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 300 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 277 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 102 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 180 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 189 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 593 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 309 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2001 310 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2002 168 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2003 122 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2004 262 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 255 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2005 197 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 556 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 367 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 317 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2009 483 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2020 308 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2020 385 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 701 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 243 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 461 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 242 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2023 723 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 235 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2025 101 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500

Charting alongside it in 1997

Best songs of 1997 →
  1. 1Song 2Blur
  2. 2Walkin' On The SunSmash Mouth
  3. 3TubthumpingChumbawamba
  4. 4FlySugar Ray
  5. 5The Impression That I GetThe Mighty Mighty Bosstones
  6. 6Semi-Charmed LifeThird Eye Blind

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