"Back for Good" is a song by British band

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

from their third studio album, ''

Nobody Else ''Nobody Else'' is the third studio album by British boy band Take That. It would become Take That's last studio album to be recorded before they disbanded in 1996. The album includes the singles "Sure", " Back for Good" (which remains the gr ...

'' (1995). It was written by lead singer

Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, havi ...

, who also co-produced it with Chris Porter. The song topped 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 ...

whilst also charting at number one in 31 countries, as well as reaching the top 10 in many others (including the United States, making it their only hit in that country). At the

1996 Brit Awards Brit Awards 1996 was the 16th edition of the Brit Awards, an annual pop music awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. It was organised by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 19 February 1996 at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in Lon ...

, "Back for Good" won the

Brit Award for British Single of the Year The Brit Award for Song of the Year is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebra ...

. In 2003, ''

Q Magazine ''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series '' The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ...

'' ranked the song at number 910 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever" and in a UK poll in 2012, it was voted number 11 on the ITV special '' The Nation's Favourite Number One Single''.

Background and later versions

Written by

, who also sang lead vocals and engineered by Phil Coxon (keyboard player with OMD), it was Take That's sixth chart topper in the United Kingdom and only top ten hit in the United States. Barlow claims he wrote the song in fifteen minutes. It was unveiled at the 1995

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, and such was the demand that its release date was brought forward. The song made available to the media an unprecedented six weeks before release. The song appeared on most releases in a slightly remixed form, which added extra instrumentation including additional drum beats. Some releases featured both radio and album versions. The song was a big hit in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

during 1995 and 1996, thanks to

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

Explode Coração ''Explode Coração'' is a Brazilian telenovela produced by TV Globo. The series aired between 6 November 1995 and 4 May 1996, with a total of 155 episodes. It was written entirely by Glória Perez and directed by Ary Coslov, Gracie, and Carlos ...

'': the song was one of the main songs on the television show's soundtrack. In an effort to mock his boy band roots, group member turned solo artist

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

performed a 'hard rock' live version in the style of the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

, which was a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to his single "

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

" (1998). Williams performed this arrangement of the song with

Mark Owen Mark Owen (born 27 January 1972) is an English singer and songwriter best known for being a member of pop group and band Take That; as of 2019, the group have sold 14 million albums and 11.4 million singles in the UK. In Owen's solo career, he ...

, as the encore at his record-breaking Knebworth Park concerts and eventually performed this version with Take That, upon receiving his Brit Icon Award in 2016. The song was featured on the final episode of the second series of ''

Spaced ''Spaced'' is a British television sitcom created, written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright, about the (comedic and sometimes farcical and action-packed) misadventures of Daisy Steiner and Tim ...

'', in which Tim, Brian, and Mike, along with Mike's Territorial Army buddies, attempt to play the song for Marsha, a la the boombox scene from '' Say Anything...'' It also featured in the final episode of

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and ''An Idiot Abroad'' ...

and

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

's ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original ser ...

'' as a love theme for characters Tim (

Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most not ...

) and Dawn (

Lucy Davis Lucy Clare Davis (born 17 February 1973) is an English actress best known for playing Dawn Tinsley in the BBC comedy ''The Office'' (2001–2003). She is also known for her roles as Hilda Spellman in the Netflix series '' The Chilling Adven ...

). Gary Barlow stated on

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

's ''An Audience with Take That Live'' broadcast on 2 December 2006 that there were 89 versions recorded by other artists. The song was covered in a hip hop/

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The R ...

style by

Born Jamericans Born Jamericans are a reggae/ hip hop duo formed in Washington, D.C., in the 1990s. The group consisted of Norman "Notch" Howell and Horace "Edley Shine" Payne.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 34-3 ...

on their 1997 album, ''

Yardcore ''Yardcore'' is the second and final studio album by Born Jamericans. The title track was released as single on CD and 12" vinyl, with several remixes. "Yardcore" reached #8 on the U.S. Hot Rap Singles chart. The album ranked #14 on ''Billboard ...

''. "Back for Good" was covered by

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan ...

for their ''

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

'' album, by The Wedding Present for their ''How the West Was Won'' album, by McAlmont & Butler in 2002 for the " NME in Association with War Child Presents 1 Love" charity album, and by The Concretes on the '' Guilt by Association Vol. 1'' compilation.

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

performed the song with Gary Barlow at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London in aid of War Child in 2009. Barlow also performed the song with JLS at the O2 Apollo Manchester date of his 2012 concert tour. Just prior to this single release, the group had done a photo shoot for ''

Vogue Italia ''Vogue Italia'' is the Italian edition of ''Vogue'' magazine. Owned by Condé Nast International, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world. It's been in publication since 1964. Name ''Vogue Italia'' was first published as ''No ...

'' with designer

Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-u ...

. The clothing range given to the band by Versace is featured on the single cover.

Release and chart performance

The song was released on 27 March 1995 and entered the

at number one, selling nearly 350,000 copies in its first week. This made it 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 in the United Kingdom for four weeks. The song has received a double Platinum sales status certification in the United Kingdom, and is also still regularly ranked high in United Kingdom based favourite ever songs polls. It is their biggest selling single and the biggest selling boyband single ever in the United Kingdom, with sales of 1.2 million as of September 2017. The song won

British Single of the Year The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

at the

. "Back for Good" would later reach number seven on the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100, spending a total of thirty weeks on the chart, sixty six weeks on the US Adult Contemporary chart and 30 weeks on the Top 40 US Airplay chart.

Critical reception

Steve Baltin from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' stated that the British pop quartet "has a massive hit on its hands with this very straight-ahead blue-eyed

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

." He described it as a "nice, soothing track", adding that "Back for Good" "won’t revolutionize music, but it shows a young band very good at what it does."

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air ...

wrote in his weekly UK chart commentary, that the song is "one of the most breathtakingly brilliant pop singles that had been heard in a long long time." He also said that it "is arguably the band's masterpiece and whilst they may have further smash hits after this it is unlikely they will ever measure up to the scale of this one." "If it touches people, it's a good song," remarked

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

in an interview with ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

''. "You know, people go on about Take That – but 'Back for Good' ''said'' something to me. And if it touches me…"' Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' commented, "With a romantic "film ballad" like this, Take That trespasses

Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits in the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit " Love Is All Around", which ...

's territory, which opens the possibility to crossover to an older audience–the female 25+ demo?–for the first time." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated the song five out of five, picking it as Single of the Week and writing, "Take That play it safe opting for a nice-not naughty MOR pop number which will pick up sales outside their usual fanbase. With more than a month of radio support behind it, an instant, and long lasting, number one seems certain." The magazine later added, "Expect to hear this beautifully-arranged, classic

pop ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. Cu ...

on the radio and jukeboxes for many years to come." Gerald Martinez from ''

New Sunday Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as '' The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ...

'' said it "is indeed a beautifully produced love ballad." In 2015, '' Idolator'' called the song a "pop masterpiece". In 2018, the song was ranked eleventh by ''Billboard'' critics in their compilation of the ''100 Greatest Boyband Songs of All Time''. And in 2020, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' ranked the song number 15 in their list of ''75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time''.

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

to the song was shot in black and white on 27 February 1995 and directed by Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton. It shows the band walking and dancing in the rain as well as the band performing the song in a shelter. Most of the external footage was shot at the backlot of

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

. It was also the last music video to feature

in the present day until he rejoined the band in 2010. A 1958

Chevrolet Impala The Chevrolet Impala () is a full-size car built by Chevrolet for model years 1958 to 1985, 1994 to 1996, and 2000 to 2020. The Impala was Chevrolet's popular flagship passenger car and was among the better-selling American-made automobiles ...

and a 1951

Mercury Custom The Mercury Custom is an automobile which was produced by Mercury for the 1952 through 1956 model years.John Gunnell, Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975, Revised 4th Edition, pages 513 and 516 The Custom was introduced as the base model ...

, both customised in the styles of the 1950s/early 1960s feature in the video. Due to spending so long in cold and wet conditions, several of the band became ill afterwards with flu. The video has often been an influence in the band performing the song live as they often make use of artificial rain when performing it. It also appears on the DVD release, '' Never Forget: The Ultimate Collection'' and was published on Take That's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel in October 2009. The video has amassed more than 73 million views as of September 2021. The music video was also paid homage to by

The Wanted The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band consisting of group members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes and, until his death in 2022, Tom Parker. The group was formed in 2009 and signed a worldwide contract to ...

in the music video to "

Walks Like Rihanna "Walks Like Rihanna" is a song by the British-Irish boy band The Wanted. It was released in Australia on 10 May 2013, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 23 June 2013, as the third single from their third studio album ''Word of Mouth'' (201 ...

". The video was based on three classic boy band singles and their videos, with "Back for Good" being one of them.

New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...

also paid homage to both Take That and this music video in their video to single, ''Boys in the Band (Boy Band Anthem)''.

Track listings

* UK 7-inch 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 Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500- ...

) – 11:40 * UK CD single 2 (74321 27147 2) # "Back for Good" (Radio Mix) – 3:59 # "

Pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

" (Radio Edit) – 3:43 # " Why Can't I Wake Up with You" (Radio Edit) – 3:37 # "

A Million Love Songs "A Million Love Songs" is a song by English boy band Take That that featured in their debut studio album, '' Take That & Party'' (1992). It was written by lead vocalist Gary Barlow. It was released in the United Kingdom on 28 September 1992 an ...

" (7" Edit) – 3:53 * European CD single 1 (74321 27963 2) # "Back for Good" (Radio Mix) – 3:59 # "Sure" (Live) – 3:16 * European 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 "Love Ain't Here Anymore" is a song by English boy band Take That. Released on 27 June 1994, it was the sixth and final single taken from the band's second studio album, '' Everything Changes'' (1993). It peaked at number three in the UK Singles ...

" – 3:57 # "Back for Good" (Live From

MTV's Most Wanted ''MTV's Most Wanted'' is a television series on MTV Europe which was broadcast from 1992 to 1995, based in London, England. It was presented by Ray Cokes. The series was broadcast live from MTV Studios in Camden and featured blends of viewer in ...

) – 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-inch vinyl (07822-12880-5) # "Back for Good" – 4:03 # "Love Ain't Here Anymore" – 3:57 * US 12-inch vinyl – 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

Personnel

– lead vocals *

Howard Donald Howard Paul Donald (born 28 April 1968) is an English singer, songwriter, drummer, pianist, dancer and record producer. He is a member of English pop-group Take That. Donald was also judge on the German reality talent show ''Got to Dance'' fro ...

– backing vocals * Jason Orange – backing vocals *

– backing vocals *

– backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Back For Good 1995 singles Brit Award for British Single Number-one singles in Australia RPM Top Singles number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Germany Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Scotland Number-one singles in Spain UK Singles Chart number-one singles Take That songs 1990s ballads Pop ballads Songs written by Gary Barlow Torch songs Black-and-white music videos Music videos directed by Vaughan Arnell