Radioactivity (song) 5114906 212666301 2008-05-15T19:09:37Z 78.133.52.162 {{Infobox Single <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Songs --> | Name = Radioactivity | Cover = | Cover size = | Caption = | Artist = [[Kraftwerk]] | from Album = [[Radio-Activity]] | A-side = | B-side = "Antenne" <small>(Germany)</small><br>"Antenna" <small>(UK)</small> | Released = 1976 | Format = 7" single | Recorded = | Genre = [[Electronic music]], [[Krautrock]] | Length = 3:18 <small>(single edit)</small><br>6:44 <small>(album version)</small> | Label = Kling Klang/EMI <small>1C 006 82119 (Germany)</small><br>Capitol <small>CL15853 (UK)</small> | Writer = [[Ralf Hütter]], [[Florian Schneider]], [[Emil Schult]] | Producer = Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider | Certification = | Chart position = | Last single = "[[Comet Melody 2]]"<br>(1975) | This single = "Radioactivity"<br>(1976) | Next single = "[[Trans-Europe Express (song)|Trans-Europe Express]]"<br>(1977) | Misc = }} "'''Radioactivity'''" (original German language title: "Radioaktivität") is a song written by [[Ralf Hütter]], [[Florian Schneider]] and [[Emil Schult]], and recorded by [[electronic music|electronic]] band [[Kraftwerk]] as the title track of their 1975 album ''[[Radioactivity (album)|Radio-Activity]]''. The song was released as a single in most European territories and the US, and was a number one hit in [[France]]. It was re-recorded for ''[[The Mix]]'' album in 1991. "Radioactivity" has remained a regular part of Kraftwerk's live sets over the years. On its original performances in 1976, the band tried out an experimental light-beam operated "percussion cage", where [[Wolfgang Flür]] attempted to trigger electronic drum sounds by interrupting light beams using arm gestures. This system was temperamental and frequently failed. The original recording features an insistent [[Minimoog]] bass line (playing [[eighth notes]]), with chords played on the distinctive "choir" disc of the [[Orchestron|Vako Orchestron]]. [[Morse code]] signals are also present. Lyrically, the 1975 version of the song plays upon the meaning of its title, with the line "Discovered by [[Marie Curie|Madame Curie]]" juxtaposed with "Tune in to the melody". While the original does not offer a value judgement on the safety of radioactivity, the 1991 version drops all references to radio and incorporates additional lyrics with a pointed [[anti-nuclear]] theme, remaking the central lyrical hook as "stop radioactivity" and also referring to "contaminated population" and mentioning by name [[Chernobyl]], [[Three Mile Island|Harrisburg]], [[Sellafield]] and [[Hiroshima]]. The band performed it at the "Stop Sellafield" concert in 1992. It was further remixed, for subsequent single release, by [[William Orbit]] and [[François Kevorkian]]. In 2007 [[Fatboy Slim]] released "[[Radioactivity (Fatboy Slim song)|Radioactivity]]", a single from his compilation album ''[[Late Night Tales: Fatboy Slim]]'', which is a cover of the original Kraftwerk song. {{Kraftwerk}} {{1970s-single-stub}} [[Category:Kraftwerk songs]] [[Category:1975 singles]] [[it:Radioactivity]]