"Pompeii" is a song by British
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
band
Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...
. It is the fourth single from their debut studio album ''
Bad Blood'' and was released on 11 January 2013. The song's title and lyrics refer to the
Roman town of the same name that was destroyed and buried in the
eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79
Of the many eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, a major stratovolcano in southern Italy, the best-known is its eruption in 79 AD, which was one of the deadliest in European history. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD is one of the best-known in h ...
.
"Pompeii" became the band's breakthrough hit, peaking at number two 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 ...
and became the eleventh best-selling song that year and, until June 2014, was the country's most streamed single of all time. It was also successful worldwide, reaching the top ten in fifteen countries, including the United States where it peaked at number five on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Bastille's most successful single to date, until "
Happier" reached number two on both the UK and US charts in October 2018 and February 2019 respectively.
The song was nominated for British Single of the Year at the
2014 BRIT Awards
Brit Awards 2014 was held on 19 February 2014. It was the 34th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London and was presented by James Corden for the fourth consec ...
. A
mashup of the song with
Rudimental
Rudimental are a British drum and bass band, signed to Asylum Records, Atlantic Records and Black Butter Records. The band consists of Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle.
They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and w ...
and
Ella Eyre
Ella McMahon (born 1 April 1994), known professionally as Ella Eyre, is a British singer and songwriter. She is known for her collaborations with Rudimental on their UK number-one single " Waiting All Night" (2013), which won the 2014 Brit Awa ...
's "
Waiting All Night
"Waiting All Night" is a song by English drum and bass band Rudimental. It features vocals from English singer Ella Eyre. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2013 as the fourth single from their debut studio album, ''Home (Ru ...
" was performed live by Rudimental, Eyre and Bastille at the aforementioned ceremony, which reached number 21 in the UK.
It was also performed at the
2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards
The 2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards was the inaugural music award show presented by iHeartMedia's platform iHeartRadio and NBC. The awards were held on May 1, 2014, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The awards show was announced on February 2 ...
, where it was nominated for Alternative Rock Song of the Year.
Composition
The song has a tempo of 127.5 beats per minute and is written in the key of
A major with a chord progression of D-A-F#m-E. According to Dan Smith, the song is written as a conversation between two victims of the eruption of
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...
, stating in an interview, "I was reading a book that had some picture of the people who got caught up in the volcanic eruption. And it’s just such a kind of dark powerful image, and it got me thinking about how boring it must have been emotionally after the event. To be sort of stuck in that same position for hundreds and hundreds of years. So, the song is sort of an imaginary conversation between these two people who are stuck next to each other in their sort of tragic death pose."
Music video
The official music video was filmed in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and
Palm Springs, California. It was directed by Jesse John Jenkins and produced by Tova Dann. The video was first released onto YouTube on 20 January 2013 at a total length of three minutes and fifty-two seconds. It currently has 706 million views, the highest out of all the band's songs.
The video follows Bastille frontman
Dan Smith, as he wanders about an empty-looking
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, before realizing the few people around all have unnatural vacant
black eyes. He steals a car and drives into the desert to escape them, but the car breaks down and he soon realizes he's been infected as well. He climbs a mountain and looks out at the view, before turning around to reveal his own eyes have turned black as well. The story is an
allegory for the eruption of
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...
in
Pompeii.
Grammy Award nomination
A popular dance remix of the track by Audien was nominated for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classic at the
57th Annual Grammy Awards
The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time ...
. It lost to Tiësto's remix of John Legend's "
All of Me".
Track listing
;Digital download
# "Pompeii" – 3:34
# "Poet" – 2:44
# "Pompeii" – 4:22
# "Pompeii" – 4:23
# "Pompeii" – 3:37
# "Pompeii" – 4:52
;7" vinyl single
# "Pompeii" – 3:34
# "Poet" – 2:44
;CD single
# "Pompeii" – 3:34
# "Pompeii" – 3:36
;BRITs performance digital download
#"Pompeii/
Waiting All Night
"Waiting All Night" is a song by English drum and bass band Rudimental. It features vocals from English singer Ella Eyre. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2013 as the fourth single from their debut studio album, ''Home (Ru ...
" – 5:47
Commercial performance
The song reached number one in Scotland and Ireland, and peaked at number two in Italy and the UK. Previously, the single also held the record (now belonging to
Clean Bandit
Clean Bandit are an English electronic music group, formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have had four number 1 hits and ten top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart. They direct and produce their own music videos, many of which have been nominated for ...
's "
Rather Be
"Rather Be" is a song by English electronic music group Clean Bandit, featuring vocals by Jess Glynne. It was released on 5 December 2013 as the fourth single from the group's debut studio album, ''New Eyes'' (2014). It also appears on the delu ...
") for the longest time at number one on the
Official Streaming Chart
The Official Audio Streaming Chart (previously the Official Streaming Chart) is a music chart based on plays of songs through audio streaming services (including Spotify, Deezer, Google Play Music, Apple Music and Tidal) in the United Kingdom. I ...
, remaining at the peak for seven weeks, and was the second most streamed track of 2013 in the UK. "Pompeii" spent the anniversary of its debut at number 30, having re-entered the top 40 the previous week following a live performance (a mash-up with
Rudimental
Rudimental are a British drum and bass band, signed to Asylum Records, Atlantic Records and Black Butter Records. The band consists of Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle.
They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and w ...
's "
Waiting All Night
"Waiting All Night" is a song by English drum and bass band Rudimental. It features vocals from English singer Ella Eyre. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2013 as the fourth single from their debut studio album, ''Home (Ru ...
") at the
2014 BRIT Awards
Brit Awards 2014 was held on 19 February 2014. It was the 34th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London and was presented by James Corden for the fourth consec ...
. It spent a record 92 consecutive weeks in the top 100 (since matched by "
Happy" by
Pharrell Williams). With over 26 million streams by June 2014, "Pompeii" became the most streamed song of all time in the UK at that time
and has sold 895,000 copies there.
The B-side track "Poet" has also managed to chart in the UK at #121.
The song reached number one on the ''Billboard''
Alternative Songs chart in October 2013 and began climbing the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It peaked at number 5 in the Hot 100 in March 2014 and reached a million in sales in the US. By March 2014, the song had reached top 5 in the Hot 100 in its 29th week, and has sold over two million digital copies. By the end of its US run, Pompeii had managed to chart for a total of 53 weeks in the top 100 as well as sell 3 million digital sales mark by June 2014. As of December 2014, the song has sold 3.4 million copies in the US.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from ''
Bad Blood''.
* Backing vocals –
Ralph Pelleymounter, Jon Willoughby, Ian Dudfield, Josh Platman, Alex Martinez
* Bass – William Farquarson
* Drums – Chris "Woody" Wood
* Mastering –
Bob Ludwig
* Mixing –
Mark 'Spike' Stent
Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sh ...
, Matty Green
* Recording – Mark Crew
* Producer, programming, keyboards – Mark Crew, Kyle Simmons
* Writer, vocals, piano – Dan Smith
*
Label
A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...
–
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
In popular culture
Media
* The arcade machine featured in the cover art is ''
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes''.
* The song is featured in the trailers for the 2014
DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to:
* DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin
** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio
** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...
animated film ''
Mr. Peabody & Sherman'' and the 2015
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...
animated film ''
The Good Dinosaur
''The Good Dinosaur'' is a 2015 American computer-animated adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film was directed by Peter Sohn (in his feature directorial debut) an ...
''.
* The Kat Krazy Remix edit is used in the 2013 video game ''
Need for Speed Rivals
A need is dissatisfaction at a point of time and in a given context. Needs are distinguished from wants. In the case of a need, a deficiency causes a clear adverse outcome: a dysfunction or death. In other words, a need is something required for a ...
''.
* It is featured in the British
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...
'' and the TV series ''
Reign
A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-prince of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kings, the Franks, List of ...
'' in the third episode of the first season, "Kissed".
* The song is featured in the official soundtrack of the First Touch game ''First Touch Soccer 15'' as No. 1 and the
Konami
, is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casino ...
game ''
Pro Evolution Soccer 2015
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2015'' (abbreviated as ''PES 2015'' and known as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2015'' in Japan) is a football simulation game developed by PES Productions and published by Konami for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Pla ...
'' as No. 3.
* The cast of ''
Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
'' performs "Pompeii" as the closing number of the season 5 finale.
* The song was used for an advert by
EE in January 2020 as part of their
5G promotion.
* The lyrics are referenced in an in-game achievement for the video game ''
Civilization VI
''Sid Meier's Civilization VI'' is a turn-based strategy 4X video game developed by Firaxis Games, published by 2K Games, and distributed by Take-Two Interactive. The mobile port was published by Aspyr Media. The latest entry into the ''Civiliz ...
'', as part of the ''
Gathering Storm'' DLC.
* In January 2021, the song's chorus became an Internet meme involving a before and after shot of countries, states or provinces viewed on a map, usually disappearing or changing after the line "But if you close your eyes" is sang, as well as a major meme in the
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
community over similar events that look almost exactly the same, such as finishes or crashes.
Events
* The song is featured in the official trailer of the
Earth Hour 2015.
* On 18 November 2019, the song was the first to be played on
Absolute Radio 10s after an online poll asked for the biggest song of the past decade, which was won by "Pompeii".
Cover versions
Belgian singer Heleen Uytterhoeven recorded a cover version in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, the language spoken in
Pompeii, the namesake of the song.
''Bustle'' magazine noted that the YouTube video contained commenters arguing in Latin over the accuracy of her translation.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
*
List of number-one dance singles of 2014 (U.S.)
References
External links
Song on YouTube
{{Authority control
2013 singles
Bastille (band) songs
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Number-one singles in Scotland
Pompeii in popular culture
Virgin Records singles
Songs about cities
Songs about Italy
Songs based on actual events
Songs about death
Songs about natural disasters
2012 songs
Internet memes introduced in 2021