"Don't Look Back" is a song by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

- rock band

Fine Young Cannibals Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) was a British pop rock band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1984, by bassist David Steele (musician), David Steele, guitarist Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat (British band), The Beat), and singer Roland Gift (fo ...

. It was released as the third single from the band's 1988 album '' The Raw & the Cooked''. The song reached the top 40 charts in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Music and lyrics

Written by lead vocalist

Roland Gift Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as th ...

and

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

David Steele, the lyrics of "Don't Look Back" are mostly pessimistic, and depict someone who tries desperately to leave their difficult past behind them without looking back. While the band's previous two hits, the US number ones "

She Drives Me Crazy "She Drives Me Crazy" is a song by English group Fine Young Cannibals, released in 1988 as the first single from their second and final album, '' The Raw & the Cooked'' (1989). Peaking at No. 5 on the British singles chart in January 1989, it ...

" and " Good Thing", were influenced by American

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed p ...

, "Don't Look Back" features

guitar riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

s that are more reminiscent of

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole con ...

and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

Release and reception

Released in August 1989, "Don't Look Back" hit number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, number eight on the Singles Sales chart, number 18 on the

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acro ...

chart ,number nine on the

Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

chart and number 10 on the Cash Box Top 100 chart. The song peaked at number 10 on the

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by ''Jam!''/Canoe. It ...

in October. It also reached number 34 in the UK, number 23 in New Zealand, and number 38 in Australia.

Track listing

;7" vinyl (Europe, Australasia) #"Don't Look Back" - 3:43 #"You Never Know" - 4:27 ;7" vinyl (US, Canada) #"Don't Look Back" - 3:36 #"As Hard As It Is" - 3:10 ;12" vinyl, CD maxi-single #"Don't Look Back" (12" mix) - 5:50 #"You Never Know" - 4:27 #"Don't Look Back" (7" mix) - 3:43

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1989 songs 1989 singles Fine Young Cannibals songs Songs written by David Steele (musician) Songs written by Roland Gift I.R.S. Records singles