"Step Back in Time" is a dance-pop

Dance-pop

Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...

, disco song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 written by Stock, Aitken & Waterman

Stock Aitken Waterman

Stock Aitken Waterman, sometimes known as SAW, were a UK songwriting and record producing trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. They had great success during the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s...

 for Australian pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 singer Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue

Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...

's third album, Rhythm of Love

Rhythm of Love (Kylie Minogue album)

Australian Tour Souvenir/The Gold Album# "Step Back in Time" – 7:55# "What Do I Have to Do" – 7:08# "Shocked" – 3:10Australian limited edition CD album repackaged with SHOCKED single...

(1990).

Background

"Step Back in Time" was released in October 1990 as a second single prior to the release of Minogue's third album Rhythm Of Love

Rhythm of Love (Kylie Minogue album)

Australian Tour Souvenir/The Gold Album# "Step Back in Time" – 7:55# "What Do I Have to Do" – 7:08# "Shocked" – 3:10Australian limited edition CD album repackaged with SHOCKED single...

. Originally, the song "What Do I Have to Do?

What Do I Have to Do? (Kylie Minogue song)

"What Do I Have to Do" is a dance-pop song written by Stock, Aitken & Waterman for Kylie Minogue's third studio album Rhythm of Love . It was produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman and received an overall positive reception from music critics...

" was going to be released as the second single but the decision was changed to "Step Back in Time". This song marks the first time Minogue took her music into the genre of disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

. In the song, Minogue gives her critique on modern music and wishes that life could be similar to the way it was in the 1970s ("Remembering the old days/"Remember the O'Jays").

Music video

The music video for "Step Back in Time", features Minogue in a number of campy 1970s-style costumes with similarly attired dancers. As she herlself describes "Step back in time was an important reference and homage to the 70's music". For Kylie and her team the whole "Rhythm of love" was inspired by the style of 1960s and 1970s, so they took inspiration from the "Studio 54" and the Hollywood actress from that period. Her hair, make up and costumes give her an inspiration and She wanted to paid tribute to these decades.
The video was filmed in Los Angeles - California and shows Minogue with a green feathery vest, black hot pants, and oversized sunglasses. In another scene Kylie is dressed in a Partridge family-esque outfit dancing. The video promotes the image of Minogue travelling around the city with her friends dressed in 1970s influenced attire and partying. It's one of favorites all time fan videos as Kylie looks georgous and sexy.

Continuing popularity

Kylie Minogue's initial successes in various worldwide markets, particularly in Europe were not sustained by 1990 but she remained consistently popular in her homeland of Australia and even more so in her production base, the UK.

In the UK "Step Back in Time", it is considered, marked the beginning of a popular backlash against her new "raunch" image amongst her initial demographic of young teenagers. In the annual Smash Hits

Smash Hits

Smash Hits was a pop music based magazine, aimed at teenagers and young adults and originally published in the United Kingdom by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006 and was issued fortnightly for most of that time...

Poll 1990, a popular teen music magazine which avidly supported the star, Minogue won several "worst" awards for such crimes ranging from her fashion sense to her recent musical output. Although her music, still produced by UK producers Stock, Aitken & Waterman, was not radically removed from her previous output, her recent change of image, for the time being it seemed, was to lose her more popular support than she was to gain, most notably with hindsight, an increasing gay following due to a more dance-pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 orientation.

Formats and track listings

7" single (PWL)

1. "Step Back in Time" (edit) – 3:03
2. "Step Back in Time" (Instrumental) – 3:30

12" single (PWL)

1. "Step Back in Time" (Walkin' Rhythm Mix) – 8:05
2. "Step Back in Time" (Extended Instrumental) – 4:59

Cassette single (PWL)

1. "Step Back in Time" (edit) – 3:03)
2. "Step Back in Time" (Instrumental) – 3:30

CD single (PWL)

1. "Step Back in Time" (edit) – 3:03
2. "Step Back in Time" (Walkin' Rhythm Mix) – 8:05
3. "Step Back in Time" (Instrumental) – 3:30

Australian CD single (MUSHROOM)

1. "Step Back in Time" (edit) – 3:03
2. "Step Back in Time" (Walkin' Rhythm Mix) – 8:05
3. "Step Back in Time" (Instrumental) – 3:30

Australian 7" (MUSHROOM)

1. "Step Back in Time" (edit) – 3:03
2. "Step Back in Time" (Instrumental) – 3:30

Australian 12" (MUSHROOM)

1. "Step Back in Time" (Walkin' Rhythm Mix) – 8:05
2. "Step Back in Time" (Edit) – 3:03
3. "Step Back in Time" (Extended Instrumental) – 4:59

Australian cassette 1 single (MUSHROOM)

1. "Step Back in Time" (edit) – 3:03
2. "Step Back in Time" (Instrumental) – 3:30

Australian cassette 2 single (MUSHROOM)

1. "Step Back in Time" (Walkin' Rhythm Mix) – 8:05
2. "Step Back in Time" (edit) – 3:03
3. "Step Back in Time" (Instrumental) – 3:30

Live performances

Kylie performed the song on the following concert tours:

• Rhythm of Love Tour
  Rhythm of Love Tour
  The Rhythm of Love Tour was the second world tour undertaken by Kylie Minogue, in support of her hit album Rhythm of Love. Beginning on 10 February 1991, the tour visited Australia and Southern Asia....
  
  
• Let's Get to It Tour
  Let's Get to It Tour
  The Let's Get to It Tour was a Kylie Minogue concert tour of the UK and Ireland in late 1991. The tour was a continuation of the previous Rhythm of Love Tour which had already visited Australia and Asia. Together with five dancers, Minogue staged the tour in support of the album Let's Get to It...
  
  
• Intimate and Live Tour
• On a Night Like This Tour
  On A Night Like This Tour
  On a Night Like This Tour is a Kylie Minogue concert tour in support of her seventh studio album Light Years that began in March 2001. Having hit the headlines around the globe for her hugely successful performance at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and having subsequently performed again at the...
  
   (as part of the Hits Medley)
• Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour (excerpts in the "Smiley Kylie Medley")
• Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour (excerpts in the "Everything Taboo Medley")
• KylieX2008
  KylieX2008
  KylieX2008 was the tenth concert tour by Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue, in support of her tenth studio album, X . Originally announced as just a European tour, rumors of Minogue taking the tour to Australia, Asia, and America had surfaced in the international media...
  
  

The song was also performed on:

• An Audience with Kylie
  An Audience with...
  An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by ITV Studios, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a light hearted revue/tribute style.The show began as An...
  
  2001 TV special

Chart performance

Minogue continued to performed consistently on both the UK and Australian charts hitting #4 in the UK and #5 in Australia. It also hit #21 in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, becoming her last charting single until "Confide in Me

Confide in Me

Confide in Me is a compilation album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, which was released in May, 2002. The album cosists both studio albums of her former record label Deconstruction Records, which are Kylie Minogue and Impossible Princess. However, her single Breathe was not featured...

" in 1994, and #36 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	5
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...	36
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,...	12
French SNEP Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...  Singles Chart	23
German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...	36
Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...	4
New Zealand RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...  Singles Chart	21
South African Singles Chart	6
Swedish Singles Chart	19
Swiss Singles Chart	29
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 ...	4

End of Year Charts

Year	Chart	Position
1990	Australian Singles Chart	91
	UK Singles Chart	86