Warrior's Dance

• 11th May 2009, 12” Take Me To The Hospital, HOSPT04
• 11th May 2009, CD Take Me To The Hospital, HOSPCDS04
• 11th May 2009, Digital Bundle Take Me To The Hospital, HOSPDLS04

The Prodigy’s second single from the Invaders Must Die album, “Warrior’s Dance,” unfortunately delivers another batch of underwhelming remixes. Most of them fall flat, and frankly, aren't worth your money. The only standout is Future Funk Squad’s "Rave Soldier" mix — a powerful, high-energy rework that’s actually worth a listen. The rest? Largely forgettable.

The digital single was first released on Australian iTunes on 17 April 2009, featuring only the edited version of the track without any remixes. Upon release, a technical error led to the track being mislabeled and replaced by a song from Placebo — a mistake that was later corrected.

The physical version of Warrior’s Dance was officially released on 11 May 2009. It peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart and went on to become one of The Prodigy’s most iconic tracks. The memorable chorus, “Come with me to the dancefloor, you and me, ’cause that’s what it’s for,” is sampled from Take Me Away by the Detroit techno-industrial group Final Cut, featuring vocals by Bridget Grace.

The single was released across multiple formats, including CD, vinyl, and various digital versions. In addition to the album and edit versions, it featured remixes by South Central, Benga, Kicks Like A Mule, and Future Funk Squad

The Origins: From Gatecrasher to Anthem

Warrior’s Dance was first unveiled live on 16 May 2008 at Plug in Sheffield, during a Prodigy show where three new tracks were introduced: World’s On Fire, Beat 55, and Warrior’s Dance. Interestingly, Liam Howlett originally never intended the track to be on the album — it was created specifically for the upcoming Gatecrasher Festival at Keith Flint’s suggestion. As Liam later told Clash Music, the idea was to “fuck the album for a minute” and instead whip up a banger that would hit hard on first listen. It worked.

With its swirling rave samples, punchy breakbeats, and euphoric vocal hook — lifted from Final Cut’s Take Me Away, featuring Bridget Grace — the track resonated instantly with fans. It was only after overwhelmingly positive reactions at the first two shows (Sheffield and Birmingham) that Liam decided to keep working on it. The studio version changed little from the early live take, except for some refinements in sample layering and the removal of a direct vocal sample from Addis Posse’s Let The Warriors Dance, which did make it into a leaked 2008 demo.

Sampling the Spirit of ’89

According to Liam, Warrior’s Dance was a kind of bootleg tribute to the late-’80s/early-’90s rave era. The song fused together an archive of vintage textures: the iconic Hot Pants break, a dreamy saxophone from Dave Angel’s remix of Sweet Dreams, and snippets from True Faith, amongst others.

The track became a creative turning point during the production of Invaders Must Die. Liam admitted he was struggling creatively, and making a track without pressure gave him the excitement that had been missing. He even likened Warrior’s Dance to Firestarter in terms of its energising role for the album’s direction.

Release & Reception

Released on 11 May 2009, the physical single came out via Take Me To The Hospital/ Cooking Vinyl, featuring cover art by longtime collaborator Luke Insect. The track quickly peaked at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart and would remain a mainstay in the band’s live setlists for the next 15 years.

Clash Music praised the track as a euphoric throwback, saying it “reinforces the ‘Experience’ feel... exploding into a day-glo riot of neon colour and mind-altering uppers.”

A shorter edit of the track was released earlier in Australia via iTunes (April 17), followed by multiple formats including CD, 12" vinyl, and digital bundles. These included remixes from South Central, Benga, Kicks Like A Mule, and Future Funk Squad.

Lost & Leaked: The Alternate Versions

Beyond the official remixes, two unreleased reworks quietly surfaced online over the years:

• Vicarious Bliss (of Ed Banger Records fame) shared his own shelved remix in 2010 via Orlando Boom’s blog. Intended for the Invaders Must Die remix LP, it was never finished in time. He described it as “ravey-gravey,” admitting he didn’t know what exactly happened in the process — but fans dug the fuzz-bass outro nonetheless.

• Hadouken! revealed their unofficial remix via SoundCloud in 2011. Originally teased in a YouTube vlog during the Warrior’s Dance Festival in Tokyo (Sept 2009), it became fan lore. After various bootlegs and spliced edits circulated, the band dropped the full track — surprisingly with no backlash from The Prodigy or their label.

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