Thunderbirds / 3AM

"Thunderbirds (song)" redirects here. For other uses, see Thunderbird (disambiguation) § Music.

"Thunderbirds / 3AM" (titled "Thunderbirds Are Go" on some editions of the single and album) is a double A-side single by English pop punk band Busted. It was released on 26 July 2004 as the fourth single from their second studio album, A Present for Everyone (2003). "Thunderbirds" was not originally included on the album, having been written specifically for the 2004 film Thunderbirds, although it later appeared on a re-issue of the album in Europe. "Thunderbirds" was not released on an album in the United Kingdom until the release of the group's live album A Ticket for Everyone: Busted Live in 2005.

"Thunderbirds / 3AM"
Single by Busted
from the album A Present for Everyone (re-issue) and A Ticket for Everyone: Busted Live
Released	26 July 2004 (2004-07-26)
Length	3:02 ("Thunderbirds") 3:35 ("3AM")
Label	Universal Island
Songwriter(s)	James Bourne, Matt Willis, Charlie Simpson, Tom Fletcher, Barry Gray ("Thunderbirds") Lauren Christy, Scott Spock, Graham Edwards, Charlie Simpson, James Bourne ("3AM")
Producer(s)	Steve Power ("Thunderbirds") The Matrix ("3AM")
Busted singles chronology
"Air Hostess" (2004) "Thunderbirds / 3AM" (2004) "She Wants to Be Me" (2004)

"Thunderbirds / 3AM" was Busted's last single to enter the UK Singles Chart until the release of "On What You're On" in 2016, reaching number one. It was the 19th best-selling single of 2004 in the UK and also won the title of 2004 Record of the Year, and received an 8/10 rating from Stylus Magazine.^[1] "3AM" was later performed by Matt Willis during his 2007 solo tour, and by James Bourne on his 2012 acoustic solo tour.^[2]

Track listings

UK CD1^[3]

1. "3AM" (live from tour)
2. "Thunderbirds"

UK CD2^[4]

1. "3AM" (radio edit)
2. "Thunderbirds"
3. "Runaway Train" (Soul Asylum cover)
4. "3AM" (acoustic version)
5. "Thunderbirds" (acoustic version)
6. "Busted in Japan" (Part 1)

UK DVD single^[5]

1. "3AM"
2. "Thunderbirds"
3. "Crashed the Wedding" (live audio mix from tour)
4. "Crashed the Wedding" (live footage from tour)
5. "Thunderbirds" (video)
6. "Busted in Japan" (Part 2)

Japanese CD single^[6]

1. "Thunderbirds"
2. "3AM"
3. "Runaway Train" (Soul Asylum cover)
4. "3AM" (acoustic version)
5. "Thunderbirds" (acoustic version)
6. "Thunderbirds" (video)
7. "Crashed the Wedding" (live footage from tour)

Personnel

"Thunderbirds"

Personnel are taken from the A Ticket for Everyone: Busted Live album booklet.^[7]

• James Bourne – writing
• Matt Willis – writing
• Charlie Simpson – writing
• Tom Fletcher – writing
• Barry Gray – writing
• Steve Power – production
• Bob Clearmountain – mixing (at Mix This, Pacific Palisades, California)
• Jim Brumby – Pro Tools engineering
• Kevin Harp – assistant engineering

"3AM"

Personnel are taken from the A Present for Everyone album booklet.^[8]

• The Matrix – production, arrangement, recording
  • Lauren Christy – writing
  • Scott Spock – writing
  • Graham Edwards – writing
• Charlie Simpson – writing
• James Bourne – writing
• Andrew Nast – production, arrangement, and recording assistant
• Steve Power – mixing
• Tim Young – mastering

Charts

All entries charted as "Thunderbirds" except where noted.

Weekly charts Chart (2004) Peak position Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)^[9] 16 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[10] 4 Germany (Official German Charts)^[11] 92 Ireland (IRMA)^[12] "Thunderbirds" / "3AM" 6 Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[13] 72 Scotland (OCC)^[14] "Thunderbirds" / "3AM" 1 UK Singles (OCC)^[15] "Thunderbirds" / "3AM" 1

Year-end charts Chart (2004) Position UK Singles (OCC)^[16] 19

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[18]	Silver	258,000^[17]

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	26 July 2004	CD	Universal Island	^[19]
Japan	4 August 2004		Universal Music Japan	^[20]

References

1. ""Gotta Get Thru This": Dom Passantino's Survey of the New Millenium's UK #1 Singles – Article – Stylus Magazine". stylusmagazine.com.
2. Full Set - James Bourne Acoustic Tour, Manchester Academy 3 12/3/12 14:00. Published 21 January 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
3. Thunderbirds / 3AM (UK CD1 liner notes). Busted. Universal Music, Island Records. 2004. MCSTD40375, 986741-6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
4. Thunderbirds / 3AM (UK CD2 liner notes). Busted. Universal Music, Island Records. 2004. MCSXD40375, 986741-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
5. 3AM / Thunderbirds (UK DVD single liner notes). Busted. Universal Music, Island Records. 2004. MCSVD 40375, 986 741-8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
6. Thunderbirds / 3AM (Japanese CD single liner notes). Busted. Universal Music Japan. 2004. UICI-5016.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
7. A Ticket for Everyone: Busted Live (UK CD album booklet). Busted. Universal Records, Island Records. 2005. MCD60096, 986 854-1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
8. A Present for Everyone (UK CD album booklet). Busted. Universal Records, Island Records. 2003. MCD60090, 9865875.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. "Busted – Thunderbirds" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
10. "Hits of the World: Eurocharts". Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 33. 14 August 2003. p. 61.
11. "Busted – Thunderbirds" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
12. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Thunderbirds". Irish Singles Chart.
13. "Busted – Thunderbirds" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
14. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
15. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
16. "End of Year Charts: 2004" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
17. Copsey, Rob (6 October 2015). "Are Busted reforming? Their Official Top 10 songs revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
18. "British single certifications – Busted – Thunderbirds/3AM". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
19. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 24 July 2004. p. 27.
20. [August 2004 New Release List] (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Archived from the original on 6 December 2004. Retrieved 28 August 2023.