{{short description|1988 single by Pop Will Eat Itself}} {{more citations needed|date=May 2013}} {{Infobox song | name = Def Con One | cover = | alt = | type = single | artist = Pop Will Eat Itself | album = This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This! | B-side = Inside You (Live) | released = 11 July 1988<ref name="MusicWeek">{{cite magazine|title=New Singles |work=Music Week |page=25 ([https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1988/MW-1988-07-09.pdf pdf p. 33])|issn=0265-1548}}</ref> | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = Electronic rock | length = *{{Duration|4:00}} <small>(Album version)</small><ref name="Discogs-album"/> *{{Duration|3:44}} <small>(7″ single version)</small><ref name="Discogs-single"/> | label = Chapter 22 | writer = Marius Constant, Graham Crabb, Clinton Mansell, Richard March & Adam Mole | producer = Flood | prev_title = There Is No Love Between Us Anymore | prev_year = 1988 | next_title = Can U Dig It? | next_year = 1989 }}
"'''Def Con One'''"{{efn|Stylised as "Def.Con One" on the single<ref name="Discogs-single"/> and "Def. Con. One" on the album release.<ref name="Discogs-album"/>}} is a song by Pop Will Eat Itself released as a single in July 1988<ref name="MusicWeek"/> and included on the 1989 album ''This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This!''. The single reached number 63 in the UK Singles chart in late July 1988.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/pop-will-eat-itself-def-con-one/ |title=Chart history of DEF CON ONE |publisher=Official Charts Company |access-date=5 February 2026}}</ref>
The song combines several musical genres and features elements of alternative rock, hip-hop, pop and punk, but was proclaimed by the band to be grebo rock. It is an early example of a song composed by sampling other songs and musical scores, including "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by the Stooges, "Funkytown" by disco band Lipps Inc., the 1973 hit "Crazy Horses" by the Osmonds and ''The Twilight Zone'' theme tune. The title comes from the United States' Defense Readiness Condition DEFCON 1, which signifies that "war is imminent".
Several versions of the song are found on the 1988 single, although none is the version that would appear on ''This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This!'' the following year. The live tracks that appear on the 12″ single and CD editions were recorded in Gothenburg, Sweden, during a tour in March 1988.
A music video was recorded for the song that appears on the 1991 video release ''Unspoilt by Progress''. It features the band performing the song in front of a large image of the ''This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This!'' album cover. An effect is used that freezes and blurs the image several times a second. The album version of the song is used in the video.
==Track listing== ===7″ version=== Side One # "Def.Con.One (7″ Version)" 3:44 Side Two # "Inside You (Live in Gothenburg)" 2:33
===12" version=== Side One # "Def.Con.One (12″ Version)" 4:40 Side Two # "Inside You (Live in Gothenburg)" 2:38 # "She's Surreal (Live in Gothenburg)" 4:20 # "Hit the Hi-Tech Groove (Live in Gothenburg)" 5:01
===CD version=== # "Def.Con.One (7″ Version)" 3:44 # "Inside You (Live in Gothenburg)" 2:38 # "She's Surreal (Live in Gothenburg)" 4:20 # "Hit the Hi-Tech Groove (Live in Gothenburg)" 5:01
===Remix 12″ version=== Side One # "Def.Con.One (The Doomsday Powermix)" 5:58 Side Two # "Def.Con.One (7″ Version)" 3:44 # "Inside You (Live in Gothenburg)" 2:38 # "She's Surreal (Live in Gothenburg)" 4:20.
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="Discogs-single">{{Discogs master|3889|name=Def.Con One|type=single}}</ref> <ref name="Discogs-album">{{Discogs master|3951|name=This Is The Day...This Is The Hour...This Is This!|type=album}}</ref> }}
==External links== * http://www.popwilleatitself.co.uk/def-con-one/#.VbiONvmqqko * http://pweination.com/pwei/
{{Pop Will Eat Itself}}
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Category:1988 singles Category:1988 songs Category:Pop Will Eat Itself songs Category:Songs written by Graham Crabb Category:Songs written by Clint Mansell