"O Baby" is a song written and recorded by English rock band

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

. It was produced by

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

and released as the first single from the band's 11th studio album, '' The Rapture''. ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' wrote : "O Baby is the wonderful prelude to ''Rapture''" and it is "deliciously pop".

Background, music and video

The song is much different musically and lyrically than almost all of Siouxsie and the Banshees' previous releases. It is an up-tempo love song with a skipping rhythm, light guitar work and straightforward, cheerful lyrics by

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...

''("...the cracks in the ground grin up at me / Even the creases in my shoes smile up at me...")''. The promotional video was shot in Flagstaff,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

at a beauty pageant with young girls: director

John Hillcoat John Hillcoat (born 1960) is an Australian-Canadian film director, screenwriter, and music video director. Early life Hillcoat was born in Queensland, Australia, and was raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. As a child, his paintings were featur ...

filmed it as a documentary. The B-side, "B Side Ourselves", was performed by the band during all the shows of their 1995 tour. The extra tracks were live acoustic versions of " Swimming Horses" and "

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

" (composed by

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

), both recorded in December 1991 at a concert organized by radio station

KROQ KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The stat ...

. "O Baby" was the last Siouxsie and the Banshees single to hit the top 40, peaking at number 34 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It was also their last entry on the U.S.

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart, where it reached number 21. Crossing over from the alternative camp to daytime radio airplay, the song became a surprise hit on European radio, and topped the Polish Music chart adio airplayfor three weeks - it was the most broadcast track on radio in Poland in February 1995.

Track listing

UK 7" single # "O Baby" # "B Side Ourselves" * also released on cassette UK CD single 1 # "O Baby" # "B Side Ourselves" # "O Baby (Manhattan Mix)" UK CD single 2 # "O Baby" # "Swimming Horses (Live)" (acoustic live version recorded at KROQ Radio on 21 December 1991) # "All Tomorrow's Parties (Live)" (acoustic live version recorded at KROQ Radio on 21 December 1991)

Charts

References

{{Siouxsie and the Banshees 1995 singles Siouxsie and the Banshees songs Song recordings produced by John Cale 1995 songs Polydor Records singles