We Built This City (English Wikipedia)

Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "We Built This City" in English language version.

refsWebsite

Global rank English rank

13web.archive.org

1^st place

5billboard.com

19^th place

18^th place

4officialcharts.com

76^th place

69^th place

3worldradiohistory.com

316^th place

190^th place

2rollingstone.com

47^th place

38^th place

2books.google.com

3^rd place

2bac-lac.gc.ca

707^th place

396^th place

2worldcat.org

5^th place

2rock.co.za

4,836^th place

2,682^nd place

2cashboxmagazine.com

3,647^th place

1,917^th place

1stereogum.com

835^th place

490^th place

1oddculture.com

low place

1gq.com

568^th place

359^th place

1songfacts.com

1,695^th place

1,266^th place

1reelradio.com

low place

1wtop.com

5,544^th place

3,110^th place

1news.google.com

59^th place

45^th place

1spikemagazine.com

low place

1blender.com

3,836^th place

2,252^nd place

1smh.com.au

132^nd place

96^th place

1cbsnews.com

108^th place

80^th place

1mlive.com

966^th place

561^st place

1timesdispatch.com

low place

9,065^th place

1austriancharts.at

276^th place

477^th place

1ultratop.be

257^th place

219^th place

1irishcharts.ie

1,454^th place

841^st place

1top40.nl

1,183^rd place

838^th place

1dutchcharts.nl

400^th place

259^th place

1charts.nz

720^th place

419^th place

1swedishcharts.com

659^th place

483^rd place

1swisscharts.com

630^th place

421^st place

1offiziellecharts.de

190^th place

325^th place

1billboard.biz

2,332^nd place

1,381^st place

1imgur.com

1,445^th place

946^th place

1musiccanada.com

767^th place

503^rd place

1ifpi.dk

2,432^nd place

1,597^th place

1musikindustrie.de

1,018^th place

999^th place

1radioscope.co.nz

low place

1bpi.co.uk

292^nd place

226^th place

1riaa.com

162^nd place

128^th place

1metro.co.uk

296^th place

217^th place

1aria.com.au

948^th place

599^th place

1avclub.com

136^th place

93^rd place

1designrush.com

low place

aria.com.au (Global: 948^th place; English: 599^th place)

cdn.aria.com.au

"ARIA Australian Top 40 Digital Tracks" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. December 24, 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2018.

austriancharts.at (Global: 276^th place; English: 477^th place)

"Starship – We Built This City" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 13, 2012.

avclub.com (Global: 136^th place; English: 93^rd place)

"Cursive covers Starship's "We Built This City"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 1, 2024.

bac-lac.gc.ca (Global: 707^th place; English: 396^th place)

"Top RPM Singles: Issue 0608". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
"RPM's Top 100 Singles of 1985". RPM. Vol. 43, no. 16. December 28, 1985. p. 11. ISSN 0315-5994 – via Library and Archives Canada.

billboard.biz (Global: 2,332^nd place; English: 1,381^st place)

"Top Pop Singles of 1985". Billboard. December 31, 1985. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2020.

billboard.com (Global: 19^th place; English: 18^th place)

"Starship Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
"Starship Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
"Starship Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
"Starship Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
"Top Rock Songs Chart: December 29, 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 25, 2018.

blender.com (Global: 3,836^th place; English: 2,252^nd place)

"Run for Your Life! It's the 50 Worst Songs Ever!". Blender. May 2004. Archived from the original on January 24, 2005.

books.google.com (Global: 3^rd place; English: 3^rd place)

"Reviews". Billboard. August 31, 1985. p. 83. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
"Las canciones más populares en Latinoamérica". La Opinión (Los Angeles) (in Spanish). April 20, 1986. p. 20. Retrieved November 3, 2023.

bpi.co.uk (Global: 292^nd place; English: 226^th place)

"British single certifications – Starship – We Built This City". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 3, 2020.

cashboxmagazine.com (Global: 3,647^th place; English: 1,917^th place)

"Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending November 23, 1985". Cash Box. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
"The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1985 – Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. December 28, 1985. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2020.

cbsnews.com (Global: 108^th place; English: 80^th place)

"10 Really, Really Bad Songs". CBS News. April 20, 2004. Archived from the original on October 12, 2004. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

charts.nz (Global: 720^th place; English: 419^th place)

"Starship – We Built This City". Top 40 Singles.

designrush.com (Global: low place; English: low place)

"Quilted Northern Parodies 'We Built this City' in New Campaign". www.designrush.com. Retrieved April 23, 2025.

dutchcharts.nl (Global: 400^th place; English: 259^th place)

"Starship – We Built This City" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved September 25, 2020.

gq.com (Global: 568^th place; English: 359^th place)

Tannenbaum, Rob (August 21, 2016). "An Oral History of "We Built This City," the Worst Song of All Time". GQ. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2016.

ifpi.dk (Global: 2,432^nd place; English: 1,597^th place)

"Danish single certifications – Starship – We Built This City". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved March 2, 2022.

imgur.com (Global: 1,445^th place; English: 946^th place)

i.imgur.com

"National Top 100 Singles for 1986". Kent Music Report. No. 650. December 1986. Retrieved January 24, 2023 – via Imgur.

irishcharts.ie (Global: 1,454^th place; English: 841^st place)

"The Irish Charts – Search Results – We Built This City". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved September 25, 2020.

metro.co.uk (Global: 296^th place; English: 217^th place)

Alibhai, Zaina (December 18, 2018). "Who is LadBaby – the dad behind We Built This City poised to beat Ariana Grande in Christmas number one race?". Metro.

mlive.com (Global: 966^th place; English: 561^st place)

Recker, Rachael (May 2, 2010). "It's not Jefferson, but it is 'Starship starring Mickey Thomas' at 2010 Tulip Time". The Grand Rapids Press. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

musiccanada.com (Global: 767^th place; English: 503^rd place)

"Canadian single certifications – Starship – We Built This City". Music Canada. Retrieved August 2, 2023.

musikindustrie.de (Global: 1,018^th place; English: 999^th place)

"Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Starship; 'We Built This City')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved November 21, 2025.

news.google.com (Global: 59^th place; English: 45^th place)

De Atley, Richard (January 10, 1985). "Dire Straits, Tina Turner, Sting lead performer nominations". The Times-News. Associated Press. p. 23.

oddculture.com (Global: low place; English: low place)

"We Built This City On Rock and Roll". Oddculture.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2016.

officialcharts.com (Global: 76^th place; English: 69^th place)

"Starship Songs and Albums | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
"Official Singles Chart on 2/3/2014 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
"Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 21/12/2018 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
"Official Singles Chart on 21/12/2018 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 22, 2018.

offiziellecharts.de (Global: 190^th place; English: 325^th place)

"Offizielle Deutsche Charts (West Germany)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved September 15, 2020.

radioscope.co.nz (Global: low place; English: low place)

"New Zealand single certifications – Starship – We Built This City". Radioscope. Retrieved November 21, 2025. Type We Built This City in the "Search:" field and press Enter.

reelradio.com (Global: low place; English: low place)

"We Built This S**tty : The worst song of all time? Les Garland begs to differ" (PDF). Reelradio.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.

riaa.com (Global: 162^nd place; English: 128^th place)

"American single certifications – Starship – We Built This City". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 3, 2020.

rock.co.za (Global: 4,836^th place; English: 2,682^nd place)

"SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts S". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on August 26, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
"Top 20 Hit Singles of 1986". South African Rock Lists. Retrieved September 15, 2020.

rollingstone.com (Global: 47^th place; English: 38^th place)

Greene, Andy (September 26, 2013). "Bernie Taupin on Elton John's New LP: 'It's Kudos All Around'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 23, 2024. Anyway, there's an interesting anecdote about that song. I wrote it with Martin Page. The original song was a very dark kind of mid-tempo song, and it didn't have all this "We built this city!" It had none of that. It was a very dark song about how club life in L.A. was being killed off and live acts had no place to go. It was a very specific thing. A guy called Peter Wolf – not J. Geils Peter Wolf, but a big-time pop guy and German record producer – got ahold of the demo and totally changed it. He jerry-rigged it into the pop hit it was. If you heard the original demo, you wouldn't even recognize the song.
"1. Starship – 'We Built This City' Photo – Readers' Poll: The 10 Worst Songs of the 1980s". Rolling Stone. October 6, 2011. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.

smh.com.au (Global: 132^nd place; English: 96^th place)

"We built this city on detestable lyrics". The Sydney Morning Herald. April 27, 2004. Archived from the original on May 4, 2004. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

songfacts.com (Global: 1,695^th place; English: 1,266^th place)

Wiser, Carl (March 21, 2014). "Martin Page". Songfacts. Retrieved September 23, 2024. The demo was quite high-energy techno, because that was the sound of the band I was in. It was just very fortunate that I enjoyed writing to Bernie's lyrics straightaway. It was a magical experience ... I saw the words as almost like a rebellion lyric: it was like live music has been taken away from the city. So my demo, it was a little more edgy. And I'm very pleased with what Starship did with it, because they made it a universally appealing song.

spikemagazine.com (Global: low place; English: low place)

"Half Man Half Biscuit : Achtung Bono". Spikemagazine.

stereogum.com (Global: 835^th place; English: 490^th place)

Breihan, Tom (November 9, 2020). "The Number Ones: Starship's "We Built This City". Stereogum. Retrieved August 6, 2023. ...they turned "We Built This City" into a big, blaring synth-rock song with an ultra-bouncy beat...

swedishcharts.com (Global: 659^th place; English: 483^rd place)

"Starship – We Built This City". Singles Top 100.

swisscharts.com (Global: 630^th place; English: 421^st place)

"Starship – We Built This City". Swiss Singles Chart.

timesdispatch.com (Global: low place; English: 9,065^th place)

Ruggieri, Melissa (April 29, 2004). "Are you kidding me? Many tunes are obviously inferior to Blender's 50 Worst Songs of All Time". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on May 14, 2004. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

top40.nl (Global: 1,183^rd place; English: 838^th place)

"Nederlandse Top 40 – Starship" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 25, 2020.

ultratop.be (Global: 257^th place; English: 219^th place)

"Starship – We Built This City" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved September 25, 2020.

web.archive.org (Global: 1^st place; English: 1^st place)

"We Built This City On Rock and Roll". Oddculture.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
Tannenbaum, Rob (August 21, 2016). "An Oral History of "We Built This City," the Worst Song of All Time". GQ. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
"We Built This S**tty : The worst song of all time? Les Garland begs to differ" (PDF). Reelradio.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
"'We Built This City': 30 years ago, the day the music (almost) died". wtop.com. July 31, 2015. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
"Run for Your Life! It's the 50 Worst Songs Ever!". Blender. May 2004. Archived from the original on January 24, 2005.
"We built this city on detestable lyrics". The Sydney Morning Herald. April 27, 2004. Archived from the original on May 4, 2004. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
"10 Really, Really Bad Songs". CBS News. April 20, 2004. Archived from the original on October 12, 2004. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
Recker, Rachael (May 2, 2010). "It's not Jefferson, but it is 'Starship starring Mickey Thomas' at 2010 Tulip Time". The Grand Rapids Press. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
"1. Starship – 'We Built This City' Photo – Readers' Poll: The 10 Worst Songs of the 1980s". Rolling Stone. October 6, 2011. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
Ruggieri, Melissa (April 29, 2004). "Are you kidding me? Many tunes are obviously inferior to Blender's 50 Worst Songs of All Time". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on May 14, 2004. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
"SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts S". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on August 26, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
"Top Pop Singles of 1985". Billboard. December 31, 1985. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
"The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1985 – Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. December 28, 1985. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2020.

worldcat.org (Global: 5^th place; English: 5^th place)

search.worldcat.org

"European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 3, no. 1. January 6, 1986. p. 14. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
"RPM's Top 100 Singles of 1985". RPM. Vol. 43, no. 16. December 28, 1985. p. 11. ISSN 0315-5994 – via Library and Archives Canada.

worldradiohistory.com (Global: 316^th place; English: 190^th place)

"FMQB" (PDF). p. 30.
"Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. September 7, 1985. p. 9. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
"European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 3, no. 1. January 6, 1986. p. 14. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.

wtop.com (Global: 5,544^th place; English: 3,110^th place)

"'We Built This City': 30 years ago, the day the music (almost) died". wtop.com. July 31, 2015. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.

We Built This City (English Wikipedia)

aria.com.au (Global: 948th place; English: 599th place)

cdn.aria.com.au

austriancharts.at (Global: 276th place; English: 477th place)

avclub.com (Global: 136th place; English: 93rd place)

bac-lac.gc.ca (Global: 707th place; English: 396th place)

billboard.biz (Global: 2,332nd place; English: 1,381st place)

billboard.com (Global: 19th place; English: 18th place)

blender.com (Global: 3,836th place; English: 2,252nd place)

books.google.com (Global: 3rd place; English: 3rd place)

bpi.co.uk (Global: 292nd place; English: 226th place)

cashboxmagazine.com (Global: 3,647th place; English: 1,917th place)

cbsnews.com (Global: 108th place; English: 80th place)

charts.nz (Global: 720th place; English: 419th place)

designrush.com (Global: low place; English: low place)

dutchcharts.nl (Global: 400th place; English: 259th place)

gq.com (Global: 568th place; English: 359th place)

ifpi.dk (Global: 2,432nd place; English: 1,597th place)

imgur.com (Global: 1,445th place; English: 946th place)

i.imgur.com

irishcharts.ie (Global: 1,454th place; English: 841st place)

metro.co.uk (Global: 296th place; English: 217th place)

mlive.com (Global: 966th place; English: 561st place)

musiccanada.com (Global: 767th place; English: 503rd place)

musikindustrie.de (Global: 1,018th place; English: 999th place)

news.google.com (Global: 59th place; English: 45th place)

oddculture.com (Global: low place; English: low place)

officialcharts.com (Global: 76th place; English: 69th place)

offiziellecharts.de (Global: 190th place; English: 325th place)

radioscope.co.nz (Global: low place; English: low place)

reelradio.com (Global: low place; English: low place)

riaa.com (Global: 162nd place; English: 128th place)

rock.co.za (Global: 4,836th place; English: 2,682nd place)

rollingstone.com (Global: 47th place; English: 38th place)

smh.com.au (Global: 132nd place; English: 96th place)

songfacts.com (Global: 1,695th place; English: 1,266th place)

spikemagazine.com (Global: low place; English: low place)

stereogum.com (Global: 835th place; English: 490th place)

swedishcharts.com (Global: 659th place; English: 483rd place)

swisscharts.com (Global: 630th place; English: 421st place)

timesdispatch.com (Global: low place; English: 9,065th place)

top40.nl (Global: 1,183rd place; English: 838th place)

ultratop.be (Global: 257th place; English: 219th place)

web.archive.org (Global: 1st place; English: 1st place)

worldcat.org (Global: 5th place; English: 5th place)

search.worldcat.org

worldradiohistory.com (Global: 316th place; English: 190th place)

wtop.com (Global: 5,544th place; English: 3,110th place)

aria.com.au (Global: 948^th place; English: 599^th place)

austriancharts.at (Global: 276^th place; English: 477^th place)

avclub.com (Global: 136^th place; English: 93^rd place)

bac-lac.gc.ca (Global: 707^th place; English: 396^th place)

billboard.biz (Global: 2,332^nd place; English: 1,381^st place)

billboard.com (Global: 19^th place; English: 18^th place)

blender.com (Global: 3,836^th place; English: 2,252^nd place)

books.google.com (Global: 3^rd place; English: 3^rd place)

bpi.co.uk (Global: 292^nd place; English: 226^th place)

cashboxmagazine.com (Global: 3,647^th place; English: 1,917^th place)

cbsnews.com (Global: 108^th place; English: 80^th place)

charts.nz (Global: 720^th place; English: 419^th place)

dutchcharts.nl (Global: 400^th place; English: 259^th place)

gq.com (Global: 568^th place; English: 359^th place)

ifpi.dk (Global: 2,432^nd place; English: 1,597^th place)

imgur.com (Global: 1,445^th place; English: 946^th place)

irishcharts.ie (Global: 1,454^th place; English: 841^st place)

metro.co.uk (Global: 296^th place; English: 217^th place)

mlive.com (Global: 966^th place; English: 561^st place)

musiccanada.com (Global: 767^th place; English: 503^rd place)

musikindustrie.de (Global: 1,018^th place; English: 999^th place)

news.google.com (Global: 59^th place; English: 45^th place)

officialcharts.com (Global: 76^th place; English: 69^th place)

offiziellecharts.de (Global: 190^th place; English: 325^th place)

riaa.com (Global: 162^nd place; English: 128^th place)

rock.co.za (Global: 4,836^th place; English: 2,682^nd place)

rollingstone.com (Global: 47^th place; English: 38^th place)

smh.com.au (Global: 132^nd place; English: 96^th place)

songfacts.com (Global: 1,695^th place; English: 1,266^th place)

stereogum.com (Global: 835^th place; English: 490^th place)

swedishcharts.com (Global: 659^th place; English: 483^rd place)

swisscharts.com (Global: 630^th place; English: 421^st place)

timesdispatch.com (Global: low place; English: 9,065^th place)

top40.nl (Global: 1,183^rd place; English: 838^th place)

ultratop.be (Global: 257^th place; English: 219^th place)

web.archive.org (Global: 1^st place; English: 1^st place)

worldcat.org (Global: 5^th place; English: 5^th place)

worldradiohistory.com (Global: 316^th place; English: 190^th place)

wtop.com (Global: 5,544^th place; English: 3,110^th place)