"Baby, Come Back" is a song written by Eddy Grant

Eddy Grant

Edmond Montague "Eddy" Grant is a musician, born in Plaisance, Guyana.- Life and career :When he was still a young boy, his parents emigrated to London, UK, where he settled. He lived in Kentish Town and went to school at the Acland Burghley Secondary Modern at Tufnell Park...

, and originally performed and recorded by him and the rest of his band The Equals

The Equals

The Equals were a pop/reggae/rock group that formed in North London, England in 1965. They are mainly remembered for its million-selling chart-topper, "Baby Come Back". Eddy Grant, then sporting dyed blonde hair, founded the group...

.

The Equals version

The Equals were a group from North London

North London

North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. "Baby Come Back" is a mixture of rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 and beat

Beat music

Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...

, very much reflecting the London sound of the 1960s. The song was first released in 1966, a year after the band formed, but did not chart. However after impressive sales in the rest of Europe (it reached the top 10 in Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 and The Netherlands) the song was re-issued in the UK on 1 May 1968 and reached #1 in 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 ...

 on 6 July 1968 spending three weeks there. In all the song stayed in the UK Top 75 for 18 weeks.

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

Chart performance

Chart (1968)	Peak position

The Pato Banton featuring Ali and Robin Campbell of UB40 version

The song was covered

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 by Pato Banton

Pato Banton

Pato Banton is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England. He received the nickname 'Pato' from his stepfather, and 'Banton' from the disc jockey slang for a "heavyweight DJ".-Biography:Born in Birmingham, Banton first came to public attention in the early 1980s when he worked with The...

 in 1994 who was joined by Robin and Ali Campbell

Ali Campbell

Ali Campbell, , is a British singer, solo artist and songwriter and was the lead singer and founding member of UB40. As part of UB40, Campbell sold over 70 million records world wide and toured the globe for 30 years. In 2008 Campbell left UB40 and embarked on a successful solo career.-Personal...

 of UB40

UB40

UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...

. This version was different from the original in that it was in a more conventional, commercial reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 style and Banton added his own verses between the Campbells singing the original hook

Hook (music)

A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...

 and chorus.

"Baby Come Back" by Pato Banton was a number one hit single in the UK. It was released on 19 September 1994 and entered the chart for the week ending 1 October 1994 at #16 and reached #1 in its 5th week on the chart, where it stayed for four weeks. It was the 4th biggest selling single of 1994 in the UK.

Track listing

UK CD Single [VSCDT1522]

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

Chart performance

Chart (1994)	Peak position

London Boys version

"Baby Come Back" is the first 1993 single from Europop

Europop

Europop refers to a style of pop music that first developed in today's form in Europe, throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and ’90s...

 duo London Boys

London Boys

London Boys were a British/German dance pop duo composed of Edem Ephraim and Dennis Fuller...

. The single was produced by Ralf René Maué. The single wasn't released in the UK but in Germany/Austria instead, 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

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

Chart performance

Chart (1993)	Peak position

Personnel

• Edem Ephraim: Vocals
• Dennis Fuller: Choreographer, backing vocals
• Ralf René Maué: Writer, producer
• The Rapino Brothers: Remixes

Other cover versions

"Baby Come Back" was covered by many artists, amongst others: Geno Washington

Geno Washington

Geno Washington is an American R&B singer who released five albums with The Ram Jam Band between 1966 and 1969, and eight solo albums beginning in 1976.-Early to late 1960s:...

 (single from That's Why Hollywood Loves Me, 1979), Tight Fit

Tight Fit

Tight Fit are a British pop group who had a number of hits in the early 1980s, including a UK No.1 with their cover version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1982...

 (Back To The 60's, 1981), Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...

 (Green Light, 1982), Elektric Music

Karl Bartos

Karl Bartos was, between 1975 and 1990, along with Wolfgang Flür, an electronic percussionist in the electronic-music group Kraftwerk. He was originally recruited to play on its US "Autobahn" tour...

 (B-side to the single "Crosstalk", 1992), Chyp-Notic

Chyp-Notic

Chyp-Notic were a German pop band, who, in 1991, scored a big hit with their single "I Can´t Get Enough", which reached the Top 20 in Germany, as well as in Spain. Around the time of its creation, the song received continuous airplay in Germany...

 (I Can't Get Enough, 1992), and Randy Bachman

Randy Bachman

Randolph Charles "Randy" Bachman, OC, OM is a Canadian musician best known as lead guitarist, songwriter and a founding member for both the 1960s–70s rock band The Guess Who, and the 1970s rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive...

 & Burton Cummings

Burton Cummings

Burton L. Cummings, OC, OM is a Canadian musician and songwriter.He was the lead singer and frequent keyboardist for the Canadian rock band The Guess Who...

 (Jukebox

Jukebox (Bachman Cummings album)

Jukebox is the first studio album from Canadian rock legends Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings under the Bachman & Cummings name. It was released on Sony BMG on June 12, 2007. The album features covers of songs from the 1960s that Bachman and Cummings believed inspired them while growing up in...

, 2007).

See also

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