Star 69

Album: Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars (2000)
Charted: 10
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Star 69," alternatively titled "Star 69 (What the F--k)," is a song by British big beat artist Fatboy Slim from his third studio album, Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars (2000). Released both as a double A-side with "Weapon of Choice" and as a standalone single, the track peaked at #10 in the UK and #3 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.

    The title alludes to the *69 callback feature available in North America, which allows users to return their most recent incoming call.
  • The track's defining feature is a recurring vocal sample: "They know what is what, but they don't know what is what, they just strut. What the f--k?" This sample, sourced from American house DJ Roland Clark's "I Get Deep," also appears in another Fatboy Slim song, "Song for Shelter," from the same album.
  • Due to its explicit content, "Star 69" contributed to the album receiving a "Parental Advisory" label and was omitted from clean versions of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars. The sanitized album edition also modified the original cover art, removing the visible thigh gap of the female figure and replacing the advisory sticker with a "Kiddies' Clean Version" label.

    Clark's "I Get Deep" was later sampled in Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj's 2017 track "Swish Swish."
  • Tim Fleming and Damian Harris directed the music video for "Star 69," which features two women dancing interspersed with shots of a Roland TB-303 synthesizer. Fatboy Slim is a well-known enthusiast of the TB-303, even dedicating the song "Everybody Needs a 303" to it on his 1996 debut album, Better Living Through Chemistry.

    In a 2022 interview with "Synth History," Cook elaborated on his love for the instrument: "Everybody needs a 303. Most importantly, though people might not know it, what they need is a real 303, not a clone. The clones are good, but they're not a 303."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Carl Sturken

Carl SturkenSongwriter Interviews

Hitmaker Carl Sturken on writing and producing for Rihanna, 'N Sync, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Donny Osmond, Shakira and Karyn White.

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Bob Daisley

Bob DaisleySongwriter Interviews

Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.

Christopher Cross

Christopher CrossSongwriter Interviews

The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.

Colbie Caillat

Colbie CaillatSongwriter Interviews

Since emerging from MySpace with her hit "Bubbly," Colbie has become a top songwriter, even crafting a hit with Taylor Swift.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.