Format CD single
7"
cassette Length 5:00 | Recorded December 1991 | |
Released 16 November 1992 (1992-11-16) Studio Black Barn Studios in London, England Genre Alternative rock, glam rock, soft rock | ||
"Little Baby Nothing" is a song recorded by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers for their debut studio album Generation Terrorists (1992). It was released on 16 November 1992 by Columbia Records as the sixth and final single from the album. The song features guest vocals by American actress and singer Traci Lords.
Contents
Content
"Little Baby Nothing" features vocals by former pornographic actress Traci Lords. The song is about the sexual exploitation of a woman, and Lords agreed to a duet with the band's singer-lead guitarist James Dean Bradfield. Bradfield said: "we needed somebody, a symbol, a person that could actually symbolize the lyrics and justify them to a certain degree. Traci was more than happy to do it. She saw the lyrics, and she had an immediate affinity with them. It was definitely easy to incorporate her personality into the lyrics. We just wanted a symbol for it, and I think she was a great symbol. She sounds like a female Joey Ramone to me." Lords said that "I listened to the tape and really identified with the character in the song... this young girl who's been exploited and abused by men all her life." In an interview some years later, she admitted to being distressed at the news of the disappearance and presumed suicide of Manics' guitarist-lyricist Richey Edwards.
Originally, the band wanted the duet to feature vocals by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, but she couldn't be released from her PWL contracts. She later performed the song live with the group (the live bootleg recording of this is a highly sought after track amongst fans) She also collaborated with them on her 1997 album Impossible Princess.
The B-side "Suicide Alley" had previously been released as the Manics' debut single. It was included on all formats (except CD2) as copies of the original 7" release were already fetching £250–300 at auction.
The inclusion of the song on CD also upset Glen Powell's plans to reissue the single. Powell had produced the original version and still owned the master tapes.
Music video
The promotional video for the song was directed by music journalist Steven Wells and featured the first appearance on screen by pop duo Shampoo.