Released 29 May 1989 Genre R&BNew jack swing | Recorded May 1989 Length 3:52 | |
Format 7" single12" maxi singleCassetteCD single | ||
"Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" is a song by British R&B band Soul II Soul. It appeared on a second version of their debut album Club Classics Vol. One (US title Keep on Movin') and was released as its second single on 29 May 1989. "Back to Life" was one of two songs on the album featuring British R&B singer Caron Wheeler and gained success in both the United Kingdom and in the United States.
Contents
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 the 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 United States (and the only one to enter in the top 10). In the United Kingdom 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. In 2006, Slant Magazine ranked the song at number 57 in their list of the "100 Greatest Dance Songs". In 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 18th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.