Baby, Come Back (The Equals song)

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"Baby, Come Back"
The Equals Baby Come Back single cover.jpg
Single by The Equals
from the album Baby Come Back
B-side"Hold Me Closer"
Released1966 (1966)
GenreRock and roll, beat
Length2:37
LabelPresident PT 135[1]
Songwriter(s)Eddy Grant[1]
Producer(s)Ed Kassner[1]
Audio
"Baby, Come Back" on YouTube

"Baby, Come Back" is a song by the English band The Equals from their 1968 album Baby Come Back. Written by Eddy Grant, the song was originally released as a B-side in 1966 and was later released as a single in continental Europe before being released as a single in the UK in 1968. "Baby, Come Back" charted in multiple countries, including no. 1 in the Belgian, Rhodesian, and UK charts in 1967 and 1968.

The song has influences from Motown and ska. In the 1990s, Pato Banton and London Boys recorded cover versions of "Baby, Come Back" that were hits in their own right; Banton's version reached no. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in 1994.

The Equals version[]

Background and composition[]

The Equals were a group from North London, England formed in 1965 whose music was said to fuse pop, blues, ska, and beat.[2]

"Baby, Come Back" has a 4/4 time signature compared to Motown and a beat driven by three guitars. Towards the end of the song, the band beatboxes in the style of ska.[3]

Release[]

The song was first released in 1966 as a B-side to "Hold Me Closer".[4] However, after impressive sales in the rest of Europe (it reached the top 10 in Belgium and the Netherlands[5]) the song was re-issued in the UK on 1 May 1968 and was no.1 on the UK Singles Chart for three consecutive weeks beginning 9 July 1968.[6] In all the song stayed in the UK Top 75 for 18 weeks.[6] In the U.S., the song charted at no. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 28 September 1968 and was the Equals' only track to chart in the U.S. top 40.[7][8]

Eddy Grant himself released a new version of the song in 1984, 1985 and 1989,[9] without much impact on the charts.

Chart performance[]

Chart (1967–68) Peak
position
Australian Go-Set Top 40[10] 11
Belgium Singles Chart[11] 1
Canadian RPM Top Singles[12] 9
France (SNEP)[13] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 32
US Cashbox[15] 26
German Singles Chart[16] 11
Ireland Singles Chart[17] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] 6
Norway (VG-lista)[19] 4
Rhodesia (Lyons Maid Hits of the Week)[20] 1
South Africa (Springbok SA Top 20)[21] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[22] 1

Critical reception[]

For allmusic, Steve Leggett called the song "impossibly catchy."[23] In a 2006 review, Freaky Trigger called the song an "excellent pop track that happens to have been made by a mixed-race, mixed-birthplace British-Caribbean band."[3]

In his 2005 book Turn the Beat Around: The Rise and Fall of Disco, Peter Shapiro wrote that "Baby, Come Back" was "a big influence on disco."[24]

Pato Banton featuring Ali and Robin Campbell of UB40 version[]

"Baby Come Back"
Pato Banton Baby Come Back single cover.jpg
Single by Pato Banton featuring Ali and Robin Campbell
Released19 September 1994 (1994-09-19)[25]
Recorded1994
GenreReggae, ska
Length3:55
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Eddy Grant
Producer(s)Susan Stoker, Michael Railton
Pato Banton singles chronology
"Come Again"
(1988) 		"Baby Come Back"
(1994) 		"This Cowboy Song"
(1995)

The song was covered by Pato Banton in 1994 who was joined by Robin and Ali Campbell of UB40. This version was different from the original in that it was in a more conventional, commercial reggae style and Banton added his own verses between the Campbells singing the original hook and chorus. The song was a number-one hit single in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.[26][27] It was released on 19 September 1994 and entered the UK Singles Chart for the week ending 1 October 1994 at number 16 and reached number one on its fifth week on the chart, where it stayed for four weeks.[26] It was the fourth biggest selling single of 1994 in the UK.[28] In New Zealand, the song entered the chart on 30 October 1994 at number three, then rose to number two the following week, before beginning a four-week reign at number one from 13 November to 4 December 1994.[27] According to Virgin Records, about 750,000 copies were sold as of March 1995.[29]

Critical reception[]

Alan Jones from Music Week gave it three out of five. He wrote, "A remake of the old Equal' hit, updated and reggafied by Banton in a jittery ska style, with vocal support from UB40's Campbell brothers Ali and Robin. A happy sound, and a minor hit."[30]

Track listing[]

UK CD single

  1. "Baby Come Back" - 3:52
  2. "Baby Come Back" (Dub) - 6:03
  3. "Niceness" (Live) - 5:40
  4. "Gwarn!" (New Version) 4:21

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[51] Platinum 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[52] Platinum 600,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

London Boys version[]

"Baby Come Back"
London boys-baby come back single.jpg
Single by London Boys
from the album Love 4 Unity
B-side"Baby Come Back" (Instrumental)
Released1993 (1993)
Genre
Length3:24
LabelEastWest
Songwriter(s)Eddy Grant
Producer(s)Ralf René Maué
London Boys singles chronology
"Moonraker"
(1992) 		"Baby Come Back"
(1993) 		"Gospel Train to London"
(1995)

"Baby Come Back" is the first 1993 single from Europop duo London Boys. The single was produced by Ralf René Maué.[53] The single was released in Germany and Austria, peaking at #27 in Austria.

This was the last single under the London Boys name with the next and last two singles being under the name "The New London Boys".

Formats and track listings[]

7" single
  1. "Baby Come Back" - 3:24
  2. "Baby Come Back (Instrumental)" - 3:23
12" single #1
  1. "Baby Come Back (Please Come Home Extended Version)" - 6:05
  2. "Baby Come Back (Cavallino 12" Remix Rapino Brothers)" - 5:06
  3. "Baby Come Back (Affinity Tranceuro Remix)" - 5:38
12" single #2
  1. "Baby Come Back (Teryiaky with the Rapino Bros Club Mix)" - 6:25
  2. "Baby Come Back (Teryiaky Instrumental)" - 6:28
  3. "Baby Come Back (Rapino 12" Handbag Mix)" - 5:20
  4. "Baby Come Back (Affinity Tranceuro Mix)" - 5:40
CD single #1
  1. "Baby Come Back (Radio Edit)" - 3:24
  2. "Baby Come Back (Please Come Home Mix Extended Version)" - 5:29
  3. "Baby Come Back (Cavallino 12" Remix Rapino Brothers)" - 5:06
  4. "Baby Come Back (Affinity Tranceuro Remix)" - 5:38
  5. "Bob Marley (Reggae Reggae Rasta Rasta)" - 2:10
CD single #2
  1. "Baby Come Back (Original Version)" - 3:24
  2. "Baby Come Back (Rapino 7" Handbag Mix)" - 3:25
  3. "Baby Come Back (Teryiaky with the Rapino Bros Club Mix)" - 6:25
  4. "Baby Come Back (Rapino 12" Handbag Mix)" - 5:20
  5. "Baby Come Back (Affinity Tranceuro Mix)" - 5:40

Charts[]

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[54] 27

Personnel[]

  • Edem Ephraim - vocals
  • Dennis Fuller - choreographer, backing vocals
  • Ralf René Maué - writer, producer
  • The Rapino Brothers - remixes

Other cover versions[]

"Baby Come Back" has been covered by many artists, including:

See also[]

  • List of number-one singles from the 1960s (UK)
  • List of number-one singles from the 1990s (UK)

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 118. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  2. ^ Bush, John. "The Equals Artist Biography". allmusic. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
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  4. ^ Davis, Sharon (1997). Every Chart Topper Tells a Story: The Sixties. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1780574169 – via Google Books.
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External links[]

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