"This Is an Emergency" is the first single from The Pigeon Detectives second album ''Emergency''. It was first played on 24 March 2008 on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

and was released on 12 May 2008. The B-sides, "Get the Message" and "Make You Mine", were both recorded in the album sessions with Stephen Street.

Track listing

;CD #This Is an Emergency #Get the Message #Make You Mine ;Gatefold 7" #This Is an Emergency #Get the Message ;Standard 7" #This Is an Emergency #Make You Mine

Use in media

The track appeared briefly on ''Eastenders'' on 18 August 2008. It was also used for the video highlights of the

2008 Chinese Grand Prix The 2008 Chinese Grand Prix (officially the 2008 Formula 1 Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 19 October 2008 at the Shanghai International Circuit. It was the 17th and penultimate race of the 2008 Formula One World ...

on the Official Formula One website. It has been played at Villa Park not long before players come out of the tunnel for Aston Villa games. This track was also used for the BBC series, Junior Doctors: Your Life in Their Hands, as the theme song for the first season.

Chart performance

"This Is an Emergency" is to date The Pigeon Detectives' second biggest UK chart hit. It debuted in 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 ...

at #24 on 11 May 2008, via download sales alone. It rose ten places the following week to its peak at #14, just two places behind their biggest UK hit "

I'm Not Sorry I Am or I'm may refer to: Language and literature * " I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name ** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible * "I Am" (p ...

" released the year before. It is the band's fourth UK Top 20 single, and as of 2021, it remains their last UK Top 40 hit.

Chart positions

{{Authority control 2008 singles 2008 songs The Pigeon Detectives songs Song recordings produced by Stephen Street