Back to Life

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"Back To Life"
"Back To Life" cover
Single by Soul II Soul
from the album Club Classics Vol. I
Released 1989
Format 7" single
12" maxi single
Cassette
CD single
Genre R&B, Dance
Length 3:52
Label Virgin
Writer(s) Jazzie B
Caron Wheeler
Nellee Hooper
Law
Producer(s) Jazzie B
Nellee Hooper
Chart positions
  • #1 (UK, US R&B)
  • #4 (US)
Soul II Soul singles chronology
"Keep On Movin'"
(1989)
"Back To Life"
(1989)
"Jazzie's Groove"
(1989)

"Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" is a song by British R&B band Soul II Soul. It appeared on their debut album Club Classics Vol. I, (Keep On Movin' in the USA) and was released as its second single. "Back to Life" was one of two songs on the album featuring British R&B singer Caron Wheeler and gained success in both the UK and in the USA.

The album version of the song was an a cappella which was remixed and re-recorded before being released as a single. Two new versions were produced — the first taking the original recording with instrumentation added, and the second was a re-working of the song with new lyrics and chorus (also adding "However Do You Want Me" to the title). It was this second version that became most popular. "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of Soul II Soul's most successful singles in the U.S. (and the only one to enter in the top 10). In the UK it performed even better, reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in June 1989. For a time, the album was packaged together with a CD3 single including the new versions of the song.

The song was later sampled by rapper Tragedy Khadafi, then known as the Intelligent Hoodlum, on his song "Back to Reality". The song appeared on his debut album Intelligent Hoodlum.

[edit] Charts

Chart (1989) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 4
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1
U.S. Billboard Dance Club Play 1
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40 3
UK Singles Chart 1
Swiss Charts 2
Swedish Charts 3
Austrian Charts 13
Preceded by
"Sealed with a Kiss" by Jason Donovan
UK number-one single
June 18, 1989
Succeeded by
"You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" by Sonia
Preceded by
"Can't Get Over You" by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly
Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one single
October 7, 1989
Succeeded by
"Miss You Much" by Janet Jackson