Right Back Where We Started From

"Right Back Where We Started From"
Song
A-side	"Right Back Where We Started From"
B-side	"Believe in What You Do"

"Right Back Where We Started From" is a song written by Pierre Tubbs and J. Vincent Edwards which was first recorded in the summer of 1975 by Maxine Nightingale for whom it was an international hit. In 1989 a remake by Sinitta reached #4 UK.

Maxine Nightingale version

In the UK

In a 3 May 2008 interview with Michael Shelley of WFMU Edwards recalled that after hearing Maxine Nightingale sing on the session for Al Matthews' "Fool" that track's producer Pierre Tubbs had come up with "Right Back Where We Started From" as a good title for a song for Nightingale herself to record and had invited Edwards to co-write the song.

Tubbs and Edwards wrote "Right Back Where We Started From" in about seven minutes while driving to the hospital where Tubbs' wife was set to give birth: the song heavily reflects Edwards' admiration for the Motown songwriting team of Holland–Dozier–Holland. A rough demo featuring Edwards' vocal was cut the next day and it was Edwards - who had performed with Nightingale in the West End production of Hair - who approached Nightingale with an offer for her to record the song.

Nightingale initially refused but was eventually persuaded by Edwards to record the song on the understanding it be released under a pseudonym; Edwards also had to convince her to accept a royalty payment rather than a one-time session fee. "Right Back Where We Started From" would ultimately be released in Nightingale's real name; she'd also be awarded a more substantial royalty than she'd agreed to.

According to Edwards consideration was given to "Right Back Where We Started From" being recorded as a duet featuring Nightingale and himself but this possibility ended when Private Stock Records recruited Edwards to cut a remake of "The Worst That Could Happen". Nightingale herself had opined to Rolling Stone that Edwards' vocal on the demo was "pretty horrendous".

The session for "Right Back Where We Started From" included two former members of the Electric Light Orchestra: Mike de Albuquerque (bass guitar) and violinist Wilfred Gibson who did the strings arrangement. [1] In the WFMU interview Edwards identified other players on the session as drummer Pete Kircher and keyboardist Dave Rowberry: also Tubbs played guitar and Edwards provided percussion. Nightingale would advise Rolling Stone that she had disliked Tubbs' utilization of both a crashing keyboard arrangement and heavy handclaps: she was also discomfited by being required to sing in a higher key than she was accustomed to.

Mike de Albuquerque recalled: "We were doing a demo session in a little studio in Denmark Street...one of those demo sessions where everybody goes and sits down with music in front of you and you try and get through as many tunes as possible....I remember [Pierre Tubbs]...saying, listen guys, I want to record in entirety four pieces in this three hour session...and we recorded two pieces with Maxine and two with somebody else....[Let] me stress, it was a demo session that this multi million selling thing came out of, it wasn't let's go and remake it... it was the original demo session....[That] multi million selling recording, I would think, cost [Tubbs] less than a £100 if you put the other tracks into the pudding". [2]

Released within two weeks of its recording by United Artists - who employed Tubbs in its art department - "Right Back Where We Started From" broke in the London discos and reached #8 on the UK chart dated 29 November 1975 .

In the US

United Artists issued "Right Back Where We Started From" in the US in January 1976 and the single entered the charts in February to rise as high as #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1976. Although "Right Back Where We Started From" was held off from the top of the Hot 100 for four weeks the single - which received Gold certification for sales of a million on 27 April - did reach #1 on the charts for the two other major US music industry journals Cash Box and Record World.

"Right Back Where We Started From' also appeared on Billboard's Adult Contemporary and Black Singles charts at respectively #5 and #46.

Following the single's US success Nightingale completed a Right Back Where We Started From album with Tubbs producing: Billboard ranked the album at #65.

International chart peaks

AUSTRALIA	BRAZIL	CANADA	FRANCE	GERMANY	IRELAND	MEXICO	THE NETH- ERLANDS	NEW ZEALAND	SWEDEN
#4 1976	Top Ten 1976	#5 1976	#10 1976	#38 1976	#14 1975	Top Ten 1976	#3 1976	#6 1976	#9 1978

Soundtrack appearances

"Right Back Where We Started From" was prominently featured in the Paul Newman film Slap Shot and is also a soundtrack item in the films The World Is Full of Married Men, Slums of Beverly Hills, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?, Starsky and Hutch, the 2005 remake of Yours, Mine and Ours and The Family Stone.

Sinitta version

"Right Back Where We Started From"
Song
B-side	"I Just Can't Help It"

A 1989 remake of "Right Back Where We Started From" was included on the 1988 Sinitta album Wicked and was released as the album's second single in June 1989 reaching #2 in New Zealand, #4 UK, #5 in Ireland, #6 in Australia, #16 in Denmark, and #17 in Spain. Sinitta's "Right Back Where We Started From" also reached #48 in the Netherlands and became the singer's only chart item in her native US reaching #84 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #48 on the magazine's Hot Dance Chart (Maxi-single sales).

Formats and track listings

7" Single

1. "Right Back Where We Started From" - 3:16
2. "I Just Can't Help It" - 3:43

12" Single

1. "Right Back Where We Started From" (Left Back On The Side Mix) - 7:12
2. "I Just Can't Help It" - 3:43
3. "Right Back Where We Started From" - 3:16

Right Back Where We Started From served as the title cut for a Sinitta retrospective released in 2009.

Other versions

• Marcia Hines' 1996 album Discotheque - composed of covers of classic dance hits - included a remake of "Right Back Where We Started From".
• The 2000 direct-to-video animated Walt Disney Pictures film An Extremely Goofy Movie featured a remake of "Right Back Where We Started From" by Cleopatra. The Cleopatra cover was also later included on the soundtrack for the 2008 Disney film College Road Trip.
• Alternative rock band Lazlo Bane covered the song for their Guilty Pleasures album. However the title was changed to "Get Right Back"
• The 2008 self-titled debut album of indie rock band Army Navy includes a cover of the song as a bonus track. It was recently used in the Shrek Forever After Teaser Trailer
• The Jonas Brothers sampled the main riff of the song for their track "Keep It Real" on their 2009 album Lines, Vines and Trying Times.
• Dutch singer Johnny Valentino has a 20 February 2010 single release with a translation of "Right Back Where We Started From", entitled "Het Gaat Gebeuren" ("it will happen").