Little Baby Nothing

"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 9 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.

"Little Baby Nothing"
Single by Manic Street Preachers
from the album Generation Terrorists
B-side	"Dead Yankee Drawl" "Suicide Alley" "Never Want Again"
Released	9 November 1992 (1992-11-09)^[1]
Studio	Black Barn (London, England)
Genre	Glam metal^[2] soft rock^[3]^[4]
Length	5:00
Label	Columbia
Composer(s)	James Dean Bradfield Sean Moore
Lyricist(s)	Nicky Wire Richey Edwards
Producer(s)	Steve Brown
Manic Street Preachers singles chronology
"Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)" (1992) "Little Baby Nothing" (1992) "From Despair to Where" (1993)

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."^[5] 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."^[6] In an interview some years later, she said that she was distressed at the news of the disappearance and presumed suicide of the band's guitarist-lyricist Richey Edwards.^[5]

Originally, the band wanted the duet to feature vocals by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, but she could not be released from her PWL contracts.^[6] She later performed the song live with the group. 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-inch release were already fetching £250–300 at auction.^[7] 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.^[7]

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.^[8]

Track listings

All music was composed by James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore. All lyrics were written by Nicky Wire and Richey Edwards.

CD1^[9]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Little Baby Nothing" (7-inch version)	4:13
2.	"Never Want Again"	3:37
3.	"Dead Yankee Drawl"	3:45
4.	"Suicide Alley"	2:27

• CD1 was rereleased in 1997 with an altered running order.

CD2^[10]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Little Baby Nothing" (7-inch version)	4:13
2.	"R.P. McMurphy" (live at Club Citta, Kawasaki, 13 May 1992)	4:44
3.	"Tennessee" (live at Club Citta, Kawasaki, 13 May 1992)	2:29
4.	"You Love Us" (live at Club Citta, Kawasaki, 13 May 1992)	4:30

7-inch^[11]

Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Little Baby Nothing" (7-inch version)	4:13

Side B

No.	Title	Length
2.	"Never Want Again"	3:37
3.	"Suicide Alley"	2:27

Cassette

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Little Baby Nothing" (7-inch version)	4:13
2.	"Never Want Again"	3:37
3.	"Suicide Alley"	2:27

Charts

Chart (1992)	Peak position
UK Singles (OCC)^[12]	29

References

1. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 7 November 1992. p. 19.
2. Shepard, Sam (29 October 2011). "Manic Street Preachers – National Treasures". musicOMH. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
3. Pike, Daniel. "Manic Street Preachers - Forever Delayed Review". BBC. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
4. Burrows, Marc (25 October 2012). "Old music: Manic Street Preachers – Theme from M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless)". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
5. Price 1999.
6. Power, Martin (17 October 2010). Manic Street Preachers. Omnibus Press.
7. "Little Baby Nothing". Select. IPC Media. January 1993.
8. Wells, Stephen (13 November 1992). "Pop Will Shoot Itself". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
9. Little Baby Nothing (UK CD1 liner notes). Manic Street Preachers. Columbia Records. 1992. 658796 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. Little Baby Nothing (UK CD2 liner notes). Manic Street Preachers. Columbia Records. 1992. 658796 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. Little Baby Nothing (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Manic Street Preachers. Columbia Records. 1992. 658796 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. "Manic Street Preachers: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 24, 2016.

Sources

• Price, Simon (1999). Everything (A Book About Manic Street Preachers). London: Virgin Books. ISBN 0-7535-0139-2.

External links

• "Little Baby Nothing" at Discogs (list of releases)
• Music video for "Little Baby Nothing" on YouTube
• Director Steven Wells on the story behind the video for "Little Baby Nothing"