Back for Good
Encyclopedia
"Back for Good" is a song by the British
pop group Take That
. It was released in 1995 as the second single from the band's third studio album, Nobody Else
and achieved great success in many countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Spain and the UK where it topped the charts. The song went on to reach number one in over 30 nations, making it the most successful song ever recorded by a boy band
.
, who also sang the lead vocal on the track, it was their sixth UK chart-topper, and their only US top ten hit. It was initially unveiled at the 1995 BRIT Awards
, and such was the demand for the single that the release date was brought forward and the song made available to the media an unprecedented six weeks before release.
It was released on 27 March 1995 and entered the UK singles chart
at number one, selling nearly 350,000 copies in its first week. This was one of the fastest selling singles of the year, selling almost as many as the rest of the top 10 that week added together. It remained at number one for four weeks. It is their biggest selling single in the UK, with sales of 1,055,000 up to 30 May 2010. The song won Best British Single at the 1996 Brit Awards
.
The song would later reach number seven on the American Billboard Hot 100
chart, Take That's only charting US single. The song was a big hit in Brazil
, during the years of 1995 and 1996, due to soap-opera "Explode Coração" on which the song appeared as one of the main songs on the TV show's soundtrack. Robbie Williams
recorded a live version, which was a b-side to his 1998 single Angels. The song was featured on the final episode of the second series of "Spaced
", in which Tim, Brian, and Mike, along with Mike's Territorial Army buddies, attempt to play the song for Marsha, ala boombox scene from "Say Anything..." It also featured in the final episode of Ricky Gervais
and Stephen Merchant
's The Office
as a love theme for characters Tim (Martin Freeman
) and Dawn (Lucy Davis
). Gary Barlow stated on ITV1
's An Audience With Take That Live broadcast on 2 December 2006 that there were 89 recorded versions of the song by other artists.
The song has received a Platinum sales status certification in the UK. "Back for Good" was covered by Boyz II Men
for their Love album, by The Wedding Present
for their How The West Was Won album, and by The Concretes
on the Guilt by Association Vol. 1 compilation. Coldplay
performed this song with Gary Barlow at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London in aid of War Child
in 2009.
The song appeared on most releases in a slightly remixed form, which added some extra instrumentation including additional drum beats. Some releases featured both radio and album versions.
The music video appears on the DVD release: Never Forget: The Ultimate Collection. A 1958 Chevrolet Impala
and a 1951 Mercury, both customised in the styles of the 1950s/early 60's feature in the video.
UK Cassette Single (74321 27148 2)
UK CD Single #1 (74321 27146 2)
UK CD Single #2 (74321 27147 2)
EU CD Single #1 (74321 27963 2)
EU CD Single #2 (74321 27964 2)
Japanese CD Single (BVCP-9852)
US CD Single #1 (07822-12880-5)
US CD Single #2 (07822-12880-2)
US Cassette Single (07822-12880-7)
US 7" Vinyl (07822-12880-5)
US 12" Viynl – Jukebox Release Only (TAKEBFG1)
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop group Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
. It was released in 1995 as the second single from the band's third studio album, Nobody Else
Nobody Else
- Peak positions :- US Import Version :- Year-end charts :- Personnel :* Gary Barlow – vocals, songwriter, producer, programmer* Robbie Williams – vocals, songwriter* Jason Orange – vocals* Mark Owen – vocals, songwriter...
and achieved great success in many countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Spain and the UK where it topped the charts. The song went on to reach number one in over 30 nations, making it the most successful song ever recorded by a boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
.
Song information
Written by Gary BarlowGary Barlow
Gary Barlow is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is frontman and lead vocalist of pop group Take That and is currently the head judge on the eighth series of The X Factor. Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters...
, who also sang the lead vocal on the track, it was their sixth UK chart-topper, and their only US top ten hit. It was initially unveiled at the 1995 BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
, and such was the demand for the single that the release date was brought forward and the song made available to the media an unprecedented six weeks before release.
It was released on 27 March 1995 and entered the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at number one, selling nearly 350,000 copies in its first week. This was one of the fastest selling singles of the year, selling almost as many as the rest of the top 10 that week added together. It remained at number one for four weeks. It is their biggest selling single in the UK, with sales of 1,055,000 up to 30 May 2010. The song won Best British Single at the 1996 Brit Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
.
The song would later reach number seven on the American Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart, Take That's only charting US single. The song was a big hit in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, during the years of 1995 and 1996, due to soap-opera "Explode Coração" on which the song appeared as one of the main songs on the TV show's soundtrack. Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
recorded a live version, which was a b-side to his 1998 single Angels. The song was featured on the final episode of the second series of "Spaced
Spaced
Spaced is a British television sitcom written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright. It is noted for its rapid-fire editing, frequent pop culture references and jokes, eclectic music, and occasional displays of surrealism and non-sequitur humour...
", in which Tim, Brian, and Mike, along with Mike's Territorial Army buddies, attempt to play the song for Marsha, ala boombox scene from "Say Anything..." It also featured in the final episode of Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
and Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
's The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
as a love theme for characters Tim (Martin Freeman
Martin Freeman
Martin John C. Freeman is an English actor. He is known for his roles as John in Love Actually, Tim Canterbury in the BBC's Golden Globe-winning comedy The Office, Arthur Dent in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dr. John Watson in Sherlock and Mr. Madden...
) and Dawn (Lucy Davis
Lucy Davis
Lucy Clare Davis is an English actress. She is best known for playing the character Dawn Tinsley in the BBC comedy The Office and as Dianne in the horror-comedy movie Shaun of the Dead.-Career:...
). Gary Barlow stated on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
's An Audience With Take That Live broadcast on 2 December 2006 that there were 89 recorded versions of the song by other artists.
The song has received a Platinum sales status certification in the UK. "Back for Good" was covered by Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men is an American R&B vocal group best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are the most successful R&B group of all time, having sold more than albums worldwide. In the 1990s, Boyz II Men found fame on Motown Records as a quartet, but original member Michael McCary...
for their Love album, by The Wedding Present
The Wedding Present
The Wedding Present are a British indie rock group based in Leeds, England, formed in 1985 from the ashes of the Lost Pandas. The band's music has evolved from fast-paced indie rock in the vein of their most obvious influences The Fall, Buzzcocks and Gang of Four to more varied forms...
for their How The West Was Won album, and by The Concretes
The Concretes
The Concretes are a popular Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm, currently composed of eight members.-History:The Concretes began with Victoria Bergsman, Maria Eriksson, and Lisa Milberg. Since their formation in 1995, they have gradually acquired new members, growing into an eight piece band...
on the Guilt by Association Vol. 1 compilation. Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
performed this song with Gary Barlow at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London in aid of War Child
War Child (charity)
War Child is a non-governmental organisation founded in the UK 1993, which focuses on providing assistance to children in areas of conflict and post-conflict. They use their film and entertainment background to raise money for aid agencies operating in former Yugoslavia...
in 2009.
The song appeared on most releases in a slightly remixed form, which added some extra instrumentation including additional drum beats. Some releases featured both radio and album versions.
Music video
The music video to the song was relatively simple but iconic. It is shot in black and white and shows the band walking and dancing in the rain as well as the band performing the song in a shelter. The music video has often been an influence in the band performing the song live as they often make use of artificial rain when performing it.The music video appears on the DVD release: Never Forget: The Ultimate Collection. A 1958 Chevrolet Impala
Chevrolet Impala
The Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors introduced for the 1958 model year. Deriving its name from the southern African antelope, Chevrolet's most expensive passenger model through 1965 had become the best-selling automobile in the United...
and a 1951 Mercury, both customised in the styles of the 1950s/early 60's feature in the video.
Track listings
UK 7" Vinyl (74321 27146 7)- "Back For Good" (Radio Mix) – 3:59
- "Sure" (Live) – 3:16
- "Back For Good" (TV Mix) – 4:03
UK Cassette Single (74321 27148 2)
- "Back For Good" (Radio Mix) – 3:59
- "Sure" (Live) – 3:16
- "Back For Good" (TV Mix) – 4:03
UK CD Single #1 (74321 27146 2)
- "Back For Good" (Radio Mix) – 3:59
- "Sure" (Live) – 3:16
- "Beatles Tribute" (Live at Wembley Arena) – 11:40
UK CD Single #2 (74321 27147 2)
- "Back For Good" (Radio Mix) – 3:59
- "Pray" (Radio Edit) – 3:43
- "Why Can't I Wake Up With You" (Radio Edit) – 3:37
- "A Million Love Songs" (7" Edit) – 3:53
EU CD Single #1 (74321 27963 2)
- "Back For Good" (Radio Mix) – 3:59
- "Sure" (Live) – 3:16
EU CD Single #2 (74321 27964 2)
- "Back For Good" (Radio Mix) – 3:59
- "Sure" (Live) – 3:16
- "Beatles Tribute" (Live at Wembley Arena) – 11:40
Japanese CD Single (BVCP-9852)
- "Back For Good" (Radio Mix) – 3:59
- "Sure" (Live) – 3:16
- "Pray" (Radio Edit) – 3:43
- "Why Can't I Wake Up With You" (Radio Edit) – 3:37
- "A Million Love Songs" (7" Edit) – 3:53
US CD Single #1 (07822-12880-5)
- "Back For Good" – 4:03
- "Love Ain't Here Anymore" – 3:57
- "Back For Good" (Live From MTV's "Most Wanted") – 4:10
US CD Single #2 (07822-12880-2)
- "Back For Good" – 4:03
- "Love Ain't Here Anymore" – 3:57
- "Back For Good" (Radio Mix) – 3:59
- "Back For Good" (Urban Mix) – 4:02
- "Back For Good" (Live From MTV's "Most Wanted") – 4:10
US Cassette Single (07822-12880-7)
- "Back For Good" – 4:03
- "Love Ain't Here Anymore" – 3:57
US 7" Vinyl (07822-12880-5)
- "Back For Good" – 4:03
- "Love Ain't Here Anymore" – 3:57
US 12" Viynl – Jukebox Release Only (TAKEBFG1)
- "Back For Good" – 4:03
- "Back For Good" (Radio Mix) – 3:59
- "Back For Good" (Radio Instrumental) – 3:59
- "Back For Good" (Urban Mix) – 4:02
- "Back For Good" (Urban Instrumental) – 4:02
Official versions
- Album Version (4:03)
- Album Instrumental (4:03)
- Radio Mix (3:59)
- Radio Instrumental (3:59)
- Urban Mix (4:00)
- Urban Instrumental (4:00)
- TV Mix (4:03)
- Live From MTV's Most Wanted (4:10)
- BBC Radio 2 'Live & Exclusive' (4:11)
- Live From the Manchester Nynex (6:35)
- Live at Wembley (4:01)
Peak positions
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart | 2 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart | 4 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Danish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
2 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 | 1 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart | 7 |
| German Singles Chart | 1 |
| Irish IRMA Singles Chart | 1 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 2 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 6 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart | 7 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Adult Recurrents | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 9 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1995) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 9 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 16 |
| Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart | 17 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart | 14 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 25 |
| French Singles Chart | 36 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 28 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 8 |
| UK Singles Chart | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 62 |
| Chart (1996) | Position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 95 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Gold | 1 December 1995 | 15,000 |
| Germany | Gold | 1995 | 250,000 |
| UK | Platinum | 1 April 1995 | 600,000 |
| USA | Gold | 1996 | 500,000 |