Thunderbirds / 3AM

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

"Thunderbirds" (titled "Thunderbirds Are Go" on some editions of the single and album) and "3AM" are two songs by English pop punk band Busted. The songs were issued as a double A-side single 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)
Genre	Pop-punk[1]
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)
Music videos
"Thunderbirds Are Go" on YouTube
"3AM" on YouTube

"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.^[2] "3AM" was later performed by Matt Willis during his 2007 solo tour, and by James Bourne on his 2012 acoustic solo tour.^[3]

Track listings

UK CD1^[4]

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

UK CD2^[5]

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^[6]

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^[7]

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.^[8]

• 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.^[9]

• 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)[10] 16 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[11] 4 Germany (GfK)[12] 92 Ireland (IRMA)[13] "Thunderbirds" / "3AM" 6 Japan (Oricon)[14] 50 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] 72 Scotland (OCC)[16] "Thunderbirds" / "3AM" 1 Spain (Top 40 Radio)[17] 30 UK Singles (OCC)[18] "Thunderbirds" / "3AM" 1

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

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20]	Gold	400,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	26 July 2004	CD	Universal Island	[21]
Japan	4 August 2004		Universal Music Japan	[22]