From the very dawn of biological evolution, ATP was selected as a multipurpose energy-storing molecule. Metabolism of ATP required intracellular free Ca 2þ to be set at exceedingly low concentrations, which in turn provided the background for the role of Ca 2þ as a universal signalling molecule. The early-eukaryote life forms also evolved functional compartmentalization and vesicle trafficking, which used Ca 2þ as a universal signalling ion; similarly, Ca 2þ is needed for regulation of ciliary and flagellar beat, amoeboid movement, intracellular transport, as well as of numerous metabolic processes. Thus, during evolution, exploitation of atmospheric oxygen and increasingly efficient ATP production via oxidative phosphorylation by bacterial endosymbionts were a first step for the emergence of complex eukaryotic cells. Simultaneously, Ca 2þ started to be exploited for shortrange signalling, despite restrictions by the preset phosphate-based energy metabolism, when both phosphates and Ca 2þ interfere with each other because of the low solubility of calcium phosphates. The need to keep cytosolic Ca 2þ low forced cells to restrict Ca 2þ signals in space and time and to develop energetically favourable Ca 2þ signalling and Ca 2þ microdomains. These steps in tandem dominated further evolution. The ATP molecule (often released by Ca 2þ -regulated exocytosis) rapidly grew to be the universal chemical messenger for intercellular communication; ATP effects are mediated by an extended family of purinoceptors often linked to Ca 2þ signalling. Similar to atmospheric oxygen, Ca 2þ must have been reverted from a deleterious agent to a most useful (intra-and extracellular) signalling molecule. Invention of intracellular trafficking further increased the role for Ca 2þ homeostasis that became critical for regulation of cell survival and cell death. Several mutually interdependent effects of Ca 2þ and ATP have been exploited in evolution, thus turning an originally unholy alliance into a fascinating success story.This article is part of the themed issue 'Evolution brings Ca 2þ and ATP together to control life and death'.