"Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

by Welsh

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Lostprophets Lostprophets (stylised as lostprophets) were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer and lyricist Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The band was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruited Mike ...

. "Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)" was released to American radio on 16 May 2006. The song was released on 19 June 2006 as the first single from their third studio album ''

Liberation Transmission ''Liberation Transmission'' is the third studio album by Welsh rock band Lostprophets, released on 26 June 2006 by Visible Noise. Recording This is the first Lostprophets album recorded without original drummer Mike Chiplin. Josh Freese drummed ...

'' (2006). The first live performance of the single in the UK was in the Muni Arts Centre in

Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...

on 24 April 2006 prior to it even getting radioplay. The B-sides found on the single came from the same sessions – all of which are brand new tracks. The single entered the UK Singles Chart at number eight, making it the highest performing Lostprophets single along with " Last Train Home". It was nominated for the

Kerrang! Award for Best Single The Kerrang! Award for Best Single is an honor presented at the Kerrang! Awards, an annual ceremony established in 1993 to recognise achievements in rock music. The award was renamed 'Best Song' for the 2018 ceremony onwards, but serves the same pu ...

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was filmed on location in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California and was directed by Ryan Smith. It shows the band performing on what appears to be a helicopter pad at the top of a tall building (possibly a hospital or a news station). At the beginning, the individual band members are shown while a flag showing the band's logo flutters behind them. As the band begins, three teenagers are shown: a girl sitting at dinner with her parents, who suddenly start arguing, a boy sitting in the back seat of a car as his father shouts at him while driving and another boy working in a restaurant kitchen as his boss starts berating at him. When the band reaches the "scream your heart out" refrain near the end of the song, the teenagers start to scream suddenly: the girl shatters every wine glass on the table as her mother covers her ears, the boy in the kitchen blows plates off the shelf in front of him, and the boy in the car shatters the car's windows. Another group of teenagers are then shown on the helicopter pad, in front of the same flag the band members were in front of at the beginning of the video, during the final chorus. The band then finishes the song, and the video fades out.

Track listing

(The B side of the vinyl release was an etched design rather than containing music)

Personnel

* Ian Watkins –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

Lee Gaze Lee James Gaze (born 21 May 1975 in Pontypridd, Wales) is a Welsh musician. He is the lead guitarist, and also one of the founding members, of the Welsh/American alternative rock band No Devotion and previously a member of the Welsh rock band L ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

* Mike Lewis –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

Stuart Richardson Stuart Richardson (born 15 August 1973) is a Welsh musician. He is the bassist for the rock band No Devotion, formed by former members of Lostprophets and Geoff Rickly of Thursday. He is also the touring bassist for Thursday. Career Richardson ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Jamie Oliver James Trevor Oliver MBE OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants. Oliver reache ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, samples,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American session drummer. He is the son of tuba soloist Stan Freese and the older brother of musician Jason Freese. He is a member of the Vandals (since 1989) and Devo (since 1996), having forme ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Ilan Rubin Ilan Rubin (born July 7, 1988) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is known primarily for playing drums with bands such as Nine Inch Nails, Paramore, and Angels & Airwaves. In 2008 he formed The New Regime, in which he sings and ...

– drums, percussion

Charts

Certifications

Other media

*The song was included as a playable track in the video games ''

Guitar Hero World Tour ''Guitar Hero World Tour'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero IV'' or ''Guitar Hero IV: World Tour'') is a music rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fourth main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' ...

'' and ''

Lego Rock Band ''Lego Rock Band'' is a music rhythm game developed by TT Fusion in partnership with Harmonix and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It is the 4th major console installment of the ''Rock Band'' series; it incorporates elements f ...

''. *

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

used the song as the background track for a promotional video highlighting the career of

Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regarded ...

. However, on the WWE Network, the song has been replaced due to the sexual offences of Ian Watkins.

References

External links

ContactMusic review
{{Lostprophets Lostprophets songs 2006 singles Rock ballads 2006 songs Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Bob Rock