"Don't Look Back" is a song by British

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

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Fine Young Cannibals Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham, West Midlands, in 1984 by former The Beat band bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox with singer Roland Gift (formerly of the Akrylykz). Their self-titled ...

. It was released as the third single from the band's second studio album, '' The Raw & the Cooked''. The song reached the top 10 on the charts of Canada and Ireland and peaked at number 11 in the United States.

Music and lyrics

Written by

lead vocalist The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

Roland Gift Roland Lee Gift (born 28 May 1961) is a British singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the former lead vocalist of the pop rock band Fine Young Cannibals. Early life Gift was born on 28 May 1961 in the Sparkhill district of Birmingham, to an En ...

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), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

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 British group Fine Young Cannibals, released in 1988 by London Records as the first single from their second and final album, '' The Raw & the Cooked'' (1989). The song was written by the group's frontman Ro ...

" and " Good Thing", were influenced by American

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

, "Don't Look Back" features

guitar riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based on ...

s that are more reminiscent of

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, 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) being the so ...

and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Release and reception

Released on 7 August 1989, "Don't Look Back" reached number 11 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, number nine on the ''

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 ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart, and number 10 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 online ...

'' Top 100 chart. In Canada, the song peaked at number 10 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' 100 Singles chart in October. It also reached number 34 on the UK Singles Chart, number 23 in New Zealand, and number 38 in Australia.

Track listings

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

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

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