"Atomic" was composed by Jimmy Destri and Debbie Harry, who 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. 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 number-one single from earlier in 1979, "Heart of Glass". It 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. It reached the Top 40 in the US in Spring 1980. In review made after single release, Billboard editors praised the laidback vocal of Debbie Harry and musical woodwork. The B-side was "Die Young, Stay Pretty", also from the albumEat 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. 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. Billboard Magazine described "Atomic" as a "electronic enhanced dance number" in which the vocals blend with the instrumental music.
Music video
The music video depicts the band performing on stage at what looks like a post-apocalypticnightclub 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 with the "Blondie: in the disco" new year's concert advertisement. and an atomic explosion are also intercut. Model Gia Carangi made a guest appearance in the music video and can be seen in various shots.
Track listing
UK 7" US 7"
"Atomic" – 3:48
"Die Young Stay Pretty" – 3:27
UK 12"
"Atomic" – 3:48
"Die Young Stay Pretty" – 3:27
"Heroes" – 6:28
Recorded live at The Hammersmith Odeon, London, on January 12, 1980. Produced by C. Stein, J. Destri and P. Maloney.
UK 1994 Remix CD1
"Atomic" – 4:10
"Atomic" – 6:54
"Atomic" – 6:06
"Atomic" – 5:49
"Atomic" – 7:56
UK 1994 Remix CD2
"Atomic" – 4:10
"Sunday Girl" – 3:01
"Union City Blue" – 3:18
"Atomic" – 3:50
US 1995 Remix CD
"Atomic" – 4:10 *
"Atomic" – 3:50 **
"Atomic" – 6:54
"Atomic" – 9:00
"Atomic" – 5:50
"Atomic" – 7:43
"Atomic" – 7:56
"Slow Motion" – 3:30
* Identical to the UK Diddy's Edit version.
** Identical to the UK Original 1980 7" Edit version.
"Atomic" is the fifth single of the Party Animals from their second albumParty@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.
"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.
In other media
The Blondie version of the song appeared in the 2002 video game on the fictional in-game radio station "Wave 103". The song was also covered by the British rock band Sleeper which was featured in the Trainspotting soundtrack.
