"For Your Babies"
Single by Simply Red
from the album Stars
B-side
  • "Freedom" (How Long? mix)
  • "Me & the Devil Blues"
Released27 January 1992 (1992-01-27)[1]
StudioCondulmer (Venice, Italy)
Genre
Length4:18
LabelEastWest
Songwriter(s)Mick Hucknall
Producer(s)Stewart Levine
Simply Red singles chronology
"Stars"
(1991)		 "For Your Babies"
(1992)		 "Thrill Me"
(1992)
Music video
"For Your Babies" on YouTube

"For Your Babies" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red. Written by Mick Hucknall, it was released in January 1992 as the third single from the band's forth album, Stars (1991). The song reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart in February same year. It also reached the top 20 in Ireland and the top 30 in Austria and Belgium. The track was included on the band's compilation albums, Greatest Hits in 1996, Simply Red 25: The Greatest Hits in 2008 and Songs of Love in 2010. It was also featured on the band's acoustic album Simplified in a new version.[4]

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard felt that here, Mick Hucknall "offers an unusually restrained and completely effective performance on this delicately arranged R&B gem."[3] Clark and DeVaney from Cashbox noted that the song "is set at a mellow, easy-listening pace. Following in the footsteps of their previous material, they have perfectly matched the above-average production with the soft-tone vocals."[5] Rufer and Fell from the Gavin Report called it "the ultimate Mother's Day record delivered with loving sentimentality by Mr. Hucknall."[6] Adam Sweeting from The Guardian named it the singer's "exquisite tear-jerking showpiece".[7] Pan-European magazine Music & Media described it as a "very gentle, vulnerable pop ballad, thoughtfully arranged and featuring some fine Spanish acoustic guitar licks."[2]

A reviewer from Music Week stated that "an uncluttered and pretty ballad with no hiding place, it certainly draws a fine performance from Hucknall, full of nuances and pure, clear phrasing. A smash."[8] Newcastle Journal deemed it as a "honest ballad".[9] People Magazine remarked that Hucknall's singing "is still the hook in Simply Red's music, sliding gently in a pillow-soft upper register."[10] Karla Peterson from The Press-Courier viewed it as "a tender tribute to parenthood in times of trouble".[11] Johnny Dee from Smash Hits called it a "soulful, smoochy track", giving it four out of five.[12]

Retrospective response

Writing for CultureSonar in 2018, Ellen Fagan felt that Hucknall "was never more appealing than in this ballad of a proud dad serenading his little child with loving hopes for his future during the sleepless days of early parenthood. Hucknall had his first baby decades after this was written, so his ability to conjure up such a scenario is deliciously prescient."[13] musicOMH declared it as a "perfect romantic ballad".[14] In an 2015 retrospective review, Pop Rescue complimented it as "a wonderfully gentle track, laden with piano, bass, and acoustic guitar", where the singer "takes a leisurely stroll through the lyrics."[15]

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by British commercial, film and music video director Andrew Morahan.[16]

Track listings

7-inch, cassette, and mini-CD single[17][18][19]
No.TitleLength
1."For Your Babies"4:16
2."For Your Babies" (edition francais)4:06
US cassette single[20]
No.TitleLength
1."For Your Babies" 
2."Freedom" (How Long? mix) 
12-inch single[21]
No.TitleLength
1."For Your Babies"4:15
2."For Your Babies" (edition francais)4:06
3."Freedom" (Perfecto mix)6:25
CD single[22]
No.TitleLength
1."For Your Babies"4:15
2."For Your Babies" (edition francais)4:06
3."Me & the Devil Blues"1:59
4."Freedom" (How Long? mix)4:09

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the Stars album booklet.[23]

Studios

Charts

References

  1. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 25 January 1992. p. 23. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  2. 1 2 "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 8 February 1992. p. 12. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  3. 1 2 Flick, Larry (4 April 1992). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 67. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  4. ↑ "For Your Babies".
  5. ↑ Clark, Randy; DeVaney, Bryan (25 April 1992). "Music Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Cashbox. p. 5. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  6. ↑ Rufer, Diane; Fell, Ron (24 April 1992). "A/C: Reviews" (PDF). Gavin Report. p. 20. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  7. ↑ Sweeting, Adam (10 October 1991). "Music: The Red Flag Keeps Flying". The Guardian.
  8. ↑ "Mainstream: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 1 February 1992. p. 8. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  9. ↑ "Simply a sell-out show for summer". Newcastle Journal. 24 July 1992. page 42.
  10. ↑ "Picks and Pans Review: Stars". People. 14 October 1991. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  11. ↑ Peterson, Karla (10 June 1992). "Simply Red embraces soul, R 'n' B, reggae". The Press-Courier. p. 13. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  12. ↑ Dee, Johnny (22 January 1992). "New Singles". Smash Hits. No. 343. p. 55. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  13. ↑ Fagan, Ellen (20 December 2018). "Holding Back Nothing: Simply Red's Top 10 Songs". CultureSonar. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  14. ↑ "Simply Red - Simplified". musicOMH. 17 October 2005. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  15. ↑ "Review: "Stars" by Simply Red (CD, 1991)". Pop Rescue. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  16. ↑ "Simply Red: For Your Babies". IMDb. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  17. ↑ For Your Babies (UK 7-inch single vinyl disc). Simply Red. EastWest Records. 1992. YZ642, 9031-76339-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ↑ For Your Babies (UK cassette single sleeve). Simply Red. EastWest Records. 1992. YZ642C, 9031-76339-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ↑ For Your Babies (Japanese mini-CD single liner notes). Simply Red. EastWest Records. 1992. wmd5 4095.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ↑ For Your Babies (US cassette single sleeve). Simply Red. EastWest Records. 1992. 4-98570.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ↑ For Your Babies (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). Simply Red. EastWest Records. 1992. YZ642T.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ↑ For Your Babies (UK CD single disc notes). Simply Red. EastWest Records. 1992. YZ 642 CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ↑ Stars (UK CD album booklet). Simply Red. EastWest Records. 1991. 9031-75284-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 253.
  25. ↑ "Simply Red – For Your Babies" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  26. ↑ "Simply Red – For Your Babies" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  27. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2172." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  28. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 10. 7 March 1992. p. 17. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  29. ↑ "Simply Red – For Your Babies" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  30. ↑ "Simply Red – For Your Babies" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  31. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – For Your Babies". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  32. ↑ "Simply Red — For Your Babies". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  33. ↑ "Simply Red – For Your Babies" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  34. ↑ "Simply Red – For Your Babies". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  35. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  36. ↑ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. 11 July 1992. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  37. ↑ "Year End Charts: Top Singles". Music Week. 16 January 1993. p. 8.
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