"Back Here" is the debut single by English

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

band

BBMak BBMak are an English band consisting of Mark Barry, Christian Burns and Stephen McNally. Formed in Liverpool in 1996, they sold over three million albums worldwide between 1999 and 2003. The band first achieved success when their single " Back ...

. It was written by the three members of the group (

Christian Burns Christian Anthony Burns (born 18 January 1974) is an English singer. He is the son of Tony Burns of The Signs, a Liverpool-based rock band signed to Decca Records in the 1960s. Career Burns was a member of the popular British band BBMak, ...

, Mark Barry, and

Stephen McNally Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and oth ...

) along with songwriter

Phil Thornalley Philip Thornalley (born 5 January 1960) is an English songwriter-producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He is perhaps best known for co-writing (with Scott Cutler and Anne Preven) the song "Torn" (made famous by Natalie Imb ...

. It was originally released in August 1999 as the lead single from their debut studio album, '' Sooner or Later'' (2000), but did not experience commercial success until its American release the following year, when it became a top-20 hit in the United States. The song was then re-released in the United Kingdom and entered the top five of 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 ...

in February 2001. ''

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 co ...

'' ranked it as the 63rd greatest boy band song of all time.

Content

told ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' that the song was deceiving due to its uptempo guitar part and the song sounding happy. He went on to say that it was about a "guy and a girl getting together, then the girl leaves the guy and now he can't live without her." Of the song's background,

said "

Back Here' The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column run ...

came together really quickly. We were having coffee with Phil hornalleyat his flat, and we were just messing around with chords; we wrote the whole song in about 45 minutes'". Burns added, “I remember when we heard that guitar intro for the first time. We flew over to Hollywood to go and work on the record in the Hills with roducers

John Shanks John Matthew Shanks (born December 18, 1964) is an American songwriter, record producer and guitarist. Early life and education John Matthew Shanks was born in New York City. Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17 years old. He was in a ban ...

and Oliver Leiber, walked into the studio and the intro was on loop. We all looked at each other and knew something magical was cooking here".

Release

Originally released in the United Kingdom on 16 August 1999, it reached number 37 on the

that same month. Japanese radio stations eventually began playing the song which resulted in their overseas label

Telstar Telstar is the name of various communications satellites. The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962. It successfully relayed through space the f ...

scrambling to get the group to Asia for promotion. The song subsequently topped the charts of several Asian countries. In the United States, "Back Here" was released on 27 March 2000 and eventually reached number 13 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It became a mainstay on pop radio and on the MTV show ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

'' in the summer of 2000. The song also charted in Canada, peaking at number 11 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimension ...

'' Top Singles chart. On 12 February 2001, following the song's success in America, the single was re-released in the United Kingdom and made the top 10 this time around, debuting and peaking at number five.

Music videos

There are two versions of the video. The first, made for a UK release, was filmed in Los Angeles and directed by

Dani Jacobs Dani Jacobs (born April 16, 1963) is a British music video director and editor. Background Jacobs was born in London, United Kingdom. He went to University of Manchester to study physics but left to pursue his interests in film. He worked at ...

. The second version, intended for a US release, was again directed by Jacobs and was filmed in London in March 2000. It features the band performing on the platform of

Canary Wharf DLR station Canary Wharf is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in the Canary Wharf in East London. The station was built into the base of One Canada Square itself, between two parts of a shopping centre,

and in the

London Eye The London Eye, or the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the Unite ...

as they try to earn the attention of a girl who passes by and gives them a tip near the end of the video.

Track listings

UK CD1 (1999) # "Back Here" # "Back Here" (extended version) # "Back Here" (video) UK CD2 (1999) # "Back Here" # "Miss You More" # "

More Than Words "More Than Words" is a song by American rock band Extreme, released as the fifth track and third single from their second album, ''Pornograffitti'' (1990), in March 1991. It is a ballad built around acoustic guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt and ...

" US CD single (2000) # "Back Here" – 3:38 # "Miss You More" – 5:08 # "I'm Not in Love" / "Next Time" / "I Can Tell" – 2:46 US cassette single (2000) :A1. "Back Here" – 3:38 :A2. "I'm Not in Love" / "Next Time" / "I Can Tell" – 2:46 :B1. "Miss You More" – 5:06 European CD single (2001) # "Back Here 2001" – 3:41 # "Back Here" (acoustic version) – 3:39 UK enhanced CD single (2001) # "Back Here 2001" # "Back Here" (acoustic version) # "More Than Words" # Enhanced CD-ROM

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the UK CD1 liner notes. Locations * Recorded at Hollywood Studios (

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

) * Mixed at Royaltone Studios (California) * Artwork designed at Blade BBMak *

– writing * Mark Barry – writing * Steven McNally – writing Additional musicians *

– guitars, production * Mark Browne – bass *

Matt Laug Matt Laug (born March 17, 1968) is an American drummer who has played with many bands/artists such as Alanis Morissette, Alice Cooper, Slash's Snakepit and Vasco Rossi. Matt moved to Los Angeles after graduating from South Florence High School ...

– drums Other personnel *

– writing * Oliver Leiber – production *

Barry Rudolph Barry Rudolph is a recording engineer, mixing engineer, record producer and technical writer best known for his work with Rod Stewart, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hall & Oates. He has been a contributing editor for Music Connection Magazine since 1987 and ...

– engineering * Marc DeSisto – mixing * Mark Jolley – A&R direction * Norman Watson – photography * Nick Foss – styling * Rachel Howarth – make up

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

Single release info at discogs.com

Lyrics of this song
a
Lyrics.com
{{Authority control 1999 songs 1999 debut singles BBMak songs Hollywood Records singles Songs written by Christian Burns Songs written by Phil Thornalley Telstar Records singles Torch songs