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 song was produced as a mixture of new wave rock and disco which had proven to be so successful in their #1 hit from earlier in 1979, "Heart of Glass". It is written in E natural minor ("Call Me" is written in Eb natural minor).
The 1980 single version of "Atomic" was in fact 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 hit number 1 in the UK - where it held for three weeks in March 1980 - and reached number 39 in the US the following summer. 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 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. The subsequent April 1995 US release reached #1 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Charts. 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. The song was also featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the New Wave/Pop radio station, 'Wave 103.' Its 7" mix was covered by Sleeper for the Trainspotting soundtrack in 1996.
The song was used in Coca-Cola's global television ad for 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup campaigns. Both ads use the "Eat football. Sleep football. Drink Coca-Cola" (or "Vivez Football, Vibrez Football, Buvez Coca-Cola") strapline.
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