"Believe"
Single by the Chemical Brothers
from the album Push the Button
B-side
  • "Giant"
  • "Spring"
Released2 May 2005 (2005-05-02)
Genre
Length7:01 (album version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers singles chronology
"Galvanize"
(2005) 		"Believe"
(2005) 		"The Boxer"
(2005)
Kele Okereke singles chronology
"Believe"
(2005) 		"Tenderoni"
(2010)

"Believe" is the second single from English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers' fifth studio album, Push the Button (2005). The single was released on 2 May 2005 and peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart while reaching the top 20 in Italy and Spain. Kele Okereke, lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the indie rock band Bloc Party is featured on vocals. A remix of the song was featured in the 2005 snowboarding video "Flavor Country" by Sandbox.[3]

Composition

John Bush from AllMusic described: "[The song] agonizing over an energized electroshock production composed of equal parts Prince and Chicago acid house."[1]

Critical reception

While reviewing Push the Button, Robert Christgau called the song along with "The Big Jump", "rock the block."[4] Thump, "an electronic music and culture channel" from Vice, listed the song as one of the duo's 15 best collaborations, ranked at number 12.[5] Rolling Stone's Bill Werde wrote that "the urgent yelp of Kele Okereke from Bloc Party makes 'Believe' a club-anthem-in-waiting."[2]

Music video

The video was premiered on MTV on 18 March 2005. The music video for the song was directed by Dom and Nic, contains scenes filmed at the now defunct MG Rover Longbridge plant (now owned by SAIC) and different parts of London. It starts out with a man watching women in an exercise video dance on a window TV in a store, possibly spoofing the then-recent video for Eric Prydz's single "Call on Me". The man turns out to be a paranoid factory worker terrified of the automated assembly robot he operates, possibly under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs or possibly painkillers, as he has a cast on his left arm.

He imagines the machines watching and threatening him, seeing them outside the factory, chasing him before disappearing. Finally, even after quitting his job, the man is pursued to the top of the building by one of the arms, where it lunges at him before disappearing. He runs onto the street, and sees multiple machines lumbering toward him, and his view of the world (in actuality the Welbeck Street car park) disintegrates into a mess of geometric shapes and colours. He collapses, laughing hysterically as robots disappear once again.

The video won a MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video at its 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Track listings

Charts

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 69
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 48
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[13] 11
Germany (Official German Charts)[14] 84
Ireland (IRMA)[15] 22
Ireland Dance (IRMA)[16] 1
Italy (FIMI)[17] 18
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 90
Scotland (OCC)[19] 17
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[20] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 63
UK Singles (OCC)[22] 18

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Australia 2 May 2005 CD
[23]
United Kingdom [24]

References

  1. ^ a b c Bush, John. "The Chemical Brothers – Push the Button review". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b Werde, Bill (27 January 2005). "The Chemical Brothers – Push The Button review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 24 November 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Sandbox - Flavor Country - Intro". YouTube. 1 January 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  4. ^ Robert Christgau. "The Chemical Brothers". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Here are the Best the Chemical Brothers Collaborations Ever, Ranked".
  6. ^ Believe (UK CD1 liner notes). The Chemical Brothers. Freestyle Dust, Virgin Records. 2005. CHEMSD22, 0724386992123.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Believe (European CD single liner notes). The Chemical Brothers. Freestyle Dust, Virgin Records. 2005. 0724386996022; 0724386995223.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Believe (UK CD2 liner notes). The Chemical Brothers. Freestyle Dust, Virgin Records. 2005. CHEMSDX22, 0724386992109.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ Believe (UK 12-inch single sleeve). The Chemical Brothers. Freestyle Dust, Virgin Records. 2005. CHEMST22, 7243 8 69921 6 1.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ Believe (Australian CD single liner notes). The Chemical Brothers. Freestyle Dust, Virgin Records. 2005. 724386995025.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ "Issue 794" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  12. ^ "The Chemical Brothers – Believe" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  13. ^ "The Chemical Brothers – Believe" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  14. ^ "The Chemical Brothers – Believe" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Chemical Brothers". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 5 May 2005". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved 20 June 2019.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "The Chemical Brothers – Believe". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  18. ^ "The Chemical Brothers – Believe" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  19. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  20. ^ "The Chemical Brothers – Believe" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  21. ^ "The Chemical Brothers – Believe". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  22. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  23. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 2nd May 2005" (PDF). ARIA. 2 May 2005. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2005. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  24. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 30 April 2005. p. 27.
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