Don't Look Back (The Korgis Song)
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"Don't Look Back" is a song by British pop band
the Korgis The Korgis are an English pop band known mainly for their hit single " Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" in 1980. The band was originally composed of singer/guitarist/keyboardist Andy Davis (born Andrew Cresswell-Davis 10 August 1949) and sin ...
, released by
London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
as a non-album single on 6 August 1982. The song was written by James Warren and was produced by
Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an ...
.


Background

Warren originally wrote and demoed "Don't Look Back" without any definite plans on its future use. The demo ended up being passed by Warren's publishers,
Warner Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalog consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 150,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...
, to producer
Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an ...
, who expressed interest in producing the song. Warner Chappell set up a meeting and a deal was agreed. In a 2015 interview with ''The Strange Brew'', Warren recalled, "Trevor was the most inventive producer of that period and arner Chappellthought he might be able to come up with something magical." Warren was later critical of himself when reflecting on the recording session, which he described in 2015 as "rather tense" with the "final result not very satisfactory". He told ''The Strange Brew'', "I blame myself! I like the song but I sort of got in the way of the recording by constantly trying to recreate my original demo. I should have just let Trevor and Anne udleydo their own thing with it. A pity. Not my finest moment." It was intended for Warren to work with Horn again on a follow-up single, "Endangered Species", but the plans never came to fruition.


Release

"Don't Look Back" was released in the UK by
London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
on 6 August 1982. With the production agreement with Horn in place, a deal for the song's release as a single was secured with London on the strength of the producer's involvement. The single failed to enter the UK Singles Chart, but did reach the unnumbered 'bubbling under' section for two consecutive weeks in September 1982, which would have been equivalent to a position between 76 and 100 at a time when the main charts covered the top 75. Both "Don't Look Back" and its B-side, "Xenophobia", received their first CD release on the Korgis' 2003 compilation album '' Don't Look Back – The Very Best of The Korgis''. Despite its poor reception in the UK, the song was one of the most played on Brazilian radio stations in 1983, a commercial success driven mainly by the song's inclusion on the soundtrack of the
telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...
'' Sol de Verão''.


Critical reception

Upon its release as a single,
Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
DJ Rob Jones, writing for the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'', stated, "I always hoped that the Korgis wouldn't be a one-hit wonder. Trevor Horn brings out the best in them with a beautiful production job." Simon Tebbutt of ''
Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...
'' stated, "Smooth, subtle, sensitive and airey, it has the same effect on the senses as an overdose of horse tranquilliser." Paul Screeton of '' Hartlepool Mail'' called it "rather wimpish and bland" and "for incurable romantics only". Larry Juviski of ''
The Northern Echo ''The Northern Echo'' is a regional daily morning newspaper based in the town of Darlington in North East England, serving mainly southern County Durham and northern Yorkshire. The paper covers national as well as regional news. In 2007, its the ...
'' wrote, "Ruff stuff from group who haven't snapped since '
Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" is a 1980 single written by James Warren and first performed by British pop band the Korgis, with Warren as the lead singer. It has subsequently been covered by numerous other artists. Background "Everybody' ...
'. If you think those puns are bad, you want to hear the words to this mushy ballad."


Track listing

7–inch single #"Don't Look Back" – 4:13 #"Xenophobia" – 2:28


Personnel

Production *
Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an ...
– production ("Don't Look Back") * James Warren – production ("Xenophobia") Other * Jamie Long – photography


References

{{authority control 1982 songs 1982 singles The Korgis songs Song recordings produced by Trevor Horn