"Fire Woman" is a song by British rock band

the Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury's ...

, written by singer

Ian Astbury Ian Robert Astbury (born 14 May 1962) is an English singer, best known as a founding member, lead vocalist and frontman of the rock band the Cult. During various hiatuses from the Cult, Astbury has fronted the short-lived Holy Barbarians in 1 ...

and guitarist

Billy Duffy William Henry Duffy (born 12 May 1961) is an English rock musician, best known as the guitarist of the band The Cult. Early life Duffy was born and grew up in Manchester. He has Irish and Jewish heritage and ancestry. He began playing the guit ...

. It was the first single released from their fourth studio album, ''

Sonic Temple ''Sonic Temple'' is the fourth studio album by British rock band The Cult, released on 10 April 1989. The album features some of the band's most popular songs, including "Fire Woman" and "Edie (Ciao Baby)". ''Sonic Temple'' was the last album re ...

'', and was subsequently featured on all of the Cult's compilation/greatest hits albums, as well as being a steady fixture of the band's live performances. "Fire Woman peaked at 2 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart and No. 46 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also reached No. 1 on New Zealand's

Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

(then RIANZ) chart and No. 15 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Two remixed versions of the song were released as B-sides or promos—the "LA Rock Mix" and the "NYC Rock Mix". Astbury claims the eponymous "fire woman" is a universal symbol, along the lines of a primary element.

Crush 40 Crush 40 is a Japanese-American hard rock band. The group consists of guitarist and composer Jun Senoue and vocalist Johnny Gioeli, although Senoue has featured other lead vocalists on a Crush 40 album. Crush 40 is best known for their contribu ...

, best known for their contributions to

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series, featured a cover of "Fire Woman" as the ninth track of their 2009

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

''The Best of Crush 40 - Super Sonic Songs'', and the tenth in their first

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

''Live!''.

Track listings

UK 7-inch single :A Side: "Fire Woman" :B Side: "Automatic Blues" UK 12-inch single :A Side: "Fire Woman", "Automatic Blues" :B Side: "Messing Up the Blues" :A Side: "Fire Woman (LA Rock Mix)" :B Side: "Fire Woman (NYC Rock Mix)"

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

In popular culture

* The song been used during the closing credits of every Australian broadcast of the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

season since 2007. * The song was used in the 2013 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' episode "

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" is the tenth episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on 27 April 2013 on BBC One and was written by Stephen Thompson and direc ...

". * The song, along with its video, was featured in the first episode of the second season of ''

Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, ...

''.

References

{{Authority control 1989 singles 1989 songs Beggars Banquet Records singles The Cult songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Song recordings produced by Bob Rock Songs written by Billy Duffy Songs written by Ian Astbury