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Narcotic (Liquido song)

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"Narcotic"
Single by Liquido
from the album Liquido
B-side"Amie"
Released31 August 1998
Recorded1997
GenreAlternative rock
Length
  • 3:52 (radio edit)
  • 4:42 (album version)
LabelVirgin Records
Composer(s)Wolfgang Schrödl
Lyricist(s)Tim Eiermann, Wolfgang Schrödl
Producer(s)Olaf Opel
Liquido singles chronology
"Narcotic"
(1998) 		"Clicklesley"
(1999)

"Narcotic" is a song by German rock band Liquido. It was released on 31 August 1998 as the band's debut single, and was included on their self-titled debut album.

Built around a prominent keyboard riff, the song was a commercial success throughout Western Europe, reaching the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Liquido is considered a one-hit wonder because none of the band's other songs saw much success.[1]

Background

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The music to "Narcotic" was written by Liquido singer and keyboardist Wolfgang Schrodl, who wrote it in 1996 in his Heidelberg home when he was 21 years old.[2] The song's opening keyboard riff came from a modified Roland D-70 synthesiser that Schrodl bought second-hand.[3] Schrodl said "I was the only person who had these exact sounds, because that older guy created them."[2] Schrodl wrote the song about a recent breakup.[4]

The band sent the demo to various companies, but it was not accepted until Virgin Records in 1998 decided to release it as the band's debut single. Liquido wanted the song to sound as "Weezer-esque" as possible, because the band was Schrodl's biggest influence.[5][6] It was produced by Olaf Opel. It took weeks before it finally entered the German singles chart at No. 87 and kept climbing.[5]

Singer and guitarist Tim Eiermann, whose origins lied in grindcore, said "The harder stuff definitely wouldn't have been a hit. What I like to listen to in my private life is in the extreme range. I make that music out of passion and not to storm the charts."[7]

The lyric "my cocaine" is frequently misheard as "Michael Caine".[8]

Commercial performance

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"Narcotic" sold eight million copies worldwide.[9] It peaked at number three in Germany and was a continental hit throughout Western Europe, also reaching number one in Austria.

However, the song was not a hit in the United Kingdom or the United States. The single was not even released in the United Kingdom, and Schrodl was told it was because the market for continental European music there is too small and because the song would not receive much radio play due to the drug references in the lyrics. In the United States, it received some rotation on K-Rock but not enough to make a Billboard chart.[10]

Legacy

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Because none of Liquido's further singles gained much success, the band is considered a one-hit wonder. Schrodl said, "I was already horrified by the force with which the song was gaining more and more attention and a hype was starting to develop. I would have preferred to see the band develop healthily, with initial successes that could serve as a foundation. It was clear to me early on that 'Narcotic' would shape the entire perception of the band for an indefinite period of time and would be hard to top, and of course I wasn't very happy about it. I had to learn to understand that a hit can develop its own momentum and that as the creator you have to let go."[5]

Musikexpress wrote that "Narcotic" was "the most successful German alternative rock song".[11]

The song became the official anthem of the FC Girondins de Bordeaux football club in France[12] and the UFC Eferding club in Austria.[13]

In 2019, the song was covered by German DJ duo YouNotUs alongside Dutch songwriter Janieck, and Schrodl received credit under the alias Senex. It was also a hit throughout continental Europe.[9]

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ "Welk nummer geeft jou dat zomerse gevoel? - overijssel". 3voor12 (in Dutch). 21 June 2004. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Hoe Liquido's 'Narcotic' plotseling een wereldhit werd". NPO Radio 2 (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Classic hits: Wie maakte 'Narcotic' en waarom?". Hit100 - radio (in Dutch). 30 March 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  4. ^ Hartmann, Andreas (22 August 2021). "Musiker Wolfgang Schrödl im Gespräch: "Das ist ein Privileg"". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Mein Song und seine Geschichte - Pop - INTRO". 4 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  6. ^ Soethof, Fabian (16 June 2020). "Ex-Liquido-Sänger Wolfgang Schrödl im Interview: "Von 'Narcotic' kann ich bis heute leben"". Musikexpress (in German). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Hinter dem Hit | edit.Magazin". www.edit-magazin.de. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  8. ^ "Una canzone di Phil Collins". Il Post (in Italian). 30 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  9. ^ a b ME-Redaktion (26 April 2019). "Über 20 Jahre später: Dieses DJ-Duo legt Liquidos Hit "Narcotic" neu auf". Musikexpress (in German). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  10. ^ Soethof, Fabian (16 June 2020). "Ex-Liquido-Sänger Wolfgang Schrödl im Interview: "Von 'Narcotic' kann ich bis heute leben" - Seite 2 von 4". Musikexpress (in German). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  11. ^ Soethof, Fabian (16 June 2020). ""Never Forget – der 90er-Podcast", Folge 2: Wir sprechen mit Wolfgang Schrödl (Ex-Liquido) über Alternative Rock und seinen Hit "Narcotic"". Musikexpress (in German). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  12. ^ Lyytikäinen, Tarmo (23 November 2020). "Seurahymnien jäljillä: Narcotic (Bordeaux) | Byyri" (in Finnish). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  13. ^ Merschmeier, Frank (31 July 2019). "Younotus & Janieck & Senex – Narcotic". HeavenOnAir (in German). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  14. ^ "Liquido – Narcotic". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  15. ^ "Liquido – Narcotic" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  16. ^ "Liquido – Narcotic" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  17. ^ "Liquido – Narcotic" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  18. ^ "Liquido – Narcotic" (in French). Les classement single.
  19. ^ "Liquido – Narcotic" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  20. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 13, 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  21. ^ "Liquido – Narcotic" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  22. ^ "Liquido – Narcotic". VG-lista.
  23. ^ "Liquido – Narcotic". Singles Top 100.
  24. ^ "Liquido – Narcotic". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. ^ "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1998" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  26. ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1999" (in German). Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  27. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1999" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  28. ^ "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1999" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  29. ^ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1999". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  30. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1999" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  31. ^ "Swiss Year-End Charts 1999" (in German). Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
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