Star 69 (Fatboy Slim song)

"Star 69" (also known as "Star 69 (What the F**k)") is a song by English electronic music producer Fatboy Slim, released on 23 April 2001 as the second single from his third studio album Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (2000). It was released as a double A-side single with "Weapon of Choice", as well as its own standalone release.

"Star 69"
Single by Fatboy Slim
from the album Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
A-side	"Weapon of Choice"
Released	23 April 2001 (2001-04-23)
Genre	Acid techno[1]
Length	5:55
Label	Skint Astralwerks
Songwriter(s)	Norman Cook
Producer(s)	Norman Cook
Fatboy Slim singles chronology
"Demons" (2001) "Star 69" / "Weapon of Choice" (2001) "Song for Shelter" / "Ya Mama" (2001)
Music video
"Star 69" from YouTube

The song peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 40 in Australia, Finland, and Ireland. It was later sampled by Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj on their 2017 collaboration "Swish Swish". Despite being promoted as a single, "Star 69" was omitted from edited versions of Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars due to its frequent looping of an expletive.

Background

The vocals on the song consist almost entirely of the repeating verse, "They know what is what, but they don't know what is what, they just strut. What the fuck?", sampled from "I Get Deep" by Roland Clark, which was also used on Fatboy Slim's song "Song for Shelter".^{[citation needed]}

A radio edit of the track exists with the word "fuck" taken out. "Star 69" is popular with DJs and has often been remixed and used in mashups due to the vocal hook.^{[citation needed]}

The song is included in the compilation CD Soundtrack 1: The Definitive Xbox Compilation, a compilation CD released in Canada to promote the first Xbox console.^[2]

Track listing

CD

CD1: "Star 69" / "Weapon of Choice"

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Star 69" (full version)	5:57
2.	"Star 69" (radio edit)	3:35
3.	"Weapon of Choice"	5:38
4.	"Weapon of Choice" (video)	3:31

CD2: remixes

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Star 69 (Timo Maas remix)"	7:10
2.	"Star 69 (X-Press 2 Wine 'Em, Dine 'Em, 69 'Em Mix)"	8:20
3.	"Star 69 (DJ Godfather Detroit Getto-Tek Mix 1)"	4:03

12-inch vinyl

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Star 69"
2.	"Star 69 (Timo Maas remix)"
3.	"Star 69 (DJ Delite)"

Charts

"Star 69" / "Weapon of Choice"

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[3]	23
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[4]	14
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[5]	18
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[6]	40
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[7]	20
Germany (GfK)[8]	81
Ireland (IRMA)[9]	21
Ireland Dance (IRMA)[10]	1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11]	85
Scotland (OCC)[12]	6
UK Singles (OCC)[13]	10
UK Dance (OCC)[14]	2
UK Indie (OCC)[15]	1

"Year-end charts"

Chart (2001)	Position
UK Singles (OCC)[16]	197

"Star 69"

Chart (2001)	Peak position
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[17]	3

Chart (2022)	Peak position
Hungary (Single Top 40)[18]	33

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	23 April 2001 (2001-04-23)	12-inch vinyl CD	Skint	[19]
Australia	14 May 2001 (2001-05-14)	CD		[20]

References

1. "Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars - Fatboy Slim | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
2. "Various Artists, Crystal Method, Public Enemy, Godsmack, Snoop Dogg, Rob Zombie, Wu-Tang Clan, Underworld, Chemical Brothers, Placebo - Soundtrack 1 The Definitive Xbox Compilation - Amazon.com Music". Amazon. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
3. "Fatboy Slim – Star 69". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
4. "Fatboy Slim – Star 69" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
5. "Fatboy Slim – Star 69" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
6. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18, no. 20. 12 May 2001. p. 15. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
7. "Fatboy Slim: Star 69" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
8. "Fatboy Slim – Star 69" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Star 69". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
10. "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 3 May 2001". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved 1 June 2019.^{[dead link‍]}
11. "Fatboy Slim – Star 69" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
12. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
14. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
15. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
16. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
17. "Fatboy Slim Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
18. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
19. "New Releases – For Week Starting April 23, 2001: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 21 April 2001. p. 23. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
20. "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 14th May 2001" (PDF). ARIA. 14 May 2001. p. 23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2002. Retrieved 14 August 2021.