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Baby's Got a Temper

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"Baby's Got a Temper"
Single by the Prodigy
Released1 July 2002 (2002-07-01)
RecordedEssex, England
Length4:27
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Liam Howlett
The Prodigy singles chronology
"Smack My Bitch Up"
(1997) 		"Baby's Got a Temper"
(2002) 		"Girls"
(2004)

"Baby's Got a Temper" is a song by English electronica group the Prodigy, released as a non-album single on 1 July 2002 by record labels XL and Maverick. It was the band's first single in five years after 1997's "Smack My Bitch Up", and was also their first release after dancer Leeroy Thornhill left the band in 2000.

The single, as well as the accompanying music video, was controversial, and was met with a negative response from critics. The song's lyrics, written by Keith Flint, were criticised in particular for heavily playing upon the misuse of the "date rape" drug Rohypnol. Liam Howlett later disowned the single.[1][clarification needed] Despite this criticism, the song was a top-five hit on the Canadian and UK Singles Charts.

Recording and composition

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The song was written by Keith Flint when he was in Flint, a side project of the Prodigy. Flint performed several gigs, with their first being a brief set at the Download Festival on 1 June 2003. Having thought that the band were in the industrial metal genre, Flint decided that the song would largely contrast with the band's style, and invited Jim Davies to be featured in the song. Liam Howlett, the song's producer, would later argue he disowned the single.[1] The original demo, "NNNN (No Name No Number)", was released as a hidden track on Flint's promo album Device #1.

"Baby's Got a Temper" briefly samples the Prodigy's earlier hit "Firestarter", while its tempo is set in 100 BPM. The band generated controversy by including references to the so-called "date rape" drug Rohypnol in the lyrics; however, they explained that the song mentions only personal use and makes no statements on drugging others.[2] Howlett later described the song as "too introverted", as it focuses on Flint's personal experiences with the drug.[3]

Release and reception

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The single was initially intended to support their then-upcoming album, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. However, the album got reworked and the song was removed from its track listing. Because of the song's release as a non-album single, in 2008, the band's official website's discography classified it as an EP.[4]

Many critics disliked "Baby's Got a Temper" when released. PopMatters wrote that the song "doesn’t sound like a great leap forward from the last Flint-fronted tracks, and that's a big disappointment considering that we've been waiting five years for it."[5] In addition, NME panned the song, and called the Prodigy "just total fucking idiots" while unfavorably comparing it to glue.[6] The song was banned from radio stations in the UK due to "glamorising" Rohypnol. BBC Radio 1 thought that the record would be "too strong to stomach".[7]

Despite negative reviews, it was a commercial success, with the single being a top-five hit on the Canadian Singles Chart and the UK Singles Chart.[8][9]

Music video

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A Traktor-directed music video for the song was released as a DVD single that included a short "making of" film. It featured three ordinary men, dressed in suits, who walk into a disused funfair. They enter a makeup trailer, dress up and apply makeup, walk out to a stage where they turn out to be the band members, Howlett, Flint, and Maxim. The three perform before a crowd consisting of cattle, which are milked by women strippers. The milk is then passed to a booth and sold to the public waiting outside who is desperate to get some in an addict manner. The video was apparently based upon one of Howlett's dreams.[10]

The video was shot in June 2002 in Kladno, Czech Republic (around 50°09′04″N 14°07′26″E / 50.151°N 14.124°E / 50.151; 14.124). There are many Czechoslovak communist era properties—the car in the opening scene is the last model Škoda 120 L, the time clock is classical Elektročas model and the carousels include flying (hydraulic arm) swans made in Bílovice.

Track listings

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Charts

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Release history

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Release dates and formats for "Baby's Got a Temper"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States 3 June 2002
Maverick [49]
United Kingdom 1 July 2002
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 XL [50]
Australia 15 July 2002 CD [51]

References

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  1. ^ a b Nekozine online interview on 17 December 2003 by Andrea Schnepf with Liam Howlett, published 7 January 2004. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
  2. ^ James, Martin. "Liam Howlett: Punk and disorderly". The Independent. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  3. ^ Vaziri, Aidin (12 September 2004). "POP QUIZ: LIAM HOWLETT OF PRODIGY". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  4. ^ EPs Archived 26 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine on 11 March 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  5. ^ Robinson, Charlotte. "Review: "Baby's Got a Temper"". PopMatters. Retrieved 22 December 2010.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Kessler, Ted (25 June 2002). "Review: "Baby's Got a Temper"". NME. 46.
  7. ^ "Prodigy in date-rape lyric ban - Scottish Daily Record & Sunday 2002". The Free Library. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  8. ^ a b "The Prodigy Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  10. ^ Hodges, Jessica. "The Prodigy: Baby's Got a Temper - PopMatters Music Video Review". PopMatters. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  11. ^ Baby's Got a Temper (UK CD single liner notes). The Prodigy. XL Recordings. 2002. XLS 145CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ Baby's Got a Temper (UK 12-inch single sleeve). The Prodigy. XL Recordings. 2002. XLT 145.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ Baby's Got a Temper (Australian CD single liner notes). The Prodigy. XL Recordings. 2002. 672809 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ Baby's Got a Temper (UK DVD single liner notes). The Prodigy. XL Recordings. 2002. XLS 145DVD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ Baby's Got a Temper (US DVD single liner notes). The Prodigy. Maverick Records. 2002. 38573-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Baby's Got a Temper (European CD single liner notes). The Prodigy. XL Recordings. 2002. XLS 145 CDS.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Baby's Got a Temper (US CD single liner notes). The Prodigy. Maverick Records. 2002. 9 16698-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Baby's Got a Temper (US maxi-CD single liner notes). The Prodigy. Maverick Records. 2002. 9 42456-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ Baby's Got a Temper (US 12-inch single sleeve). The Prodigy. Maverick Records. 2002. 0-42456.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ Baby's Got a Temper (Australian DVD single liner notes). The Prodigy. XL Recordings. 2002. 672941.9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  22. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  23. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  24. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  25. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper". Tracklisten. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  26. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 30. 20 July 2002. p. 7. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  27. ^ "The Prodigy: Baby's Got a Temper" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  28. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  29. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  30. ^ "Top 50 Singles" (in Greek). IFPI. Archived from the original on 8 August 2002. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  31. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  32. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Baby's Got a Temper". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  33. ^ "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 4 July 2002". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved 5 June 2019.[permanent dead link]
  34. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  35. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 28, 2002" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  36. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  37. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  38. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper". VG-lista. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  39. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  40. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  41. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  42. ^ "The Prodigy – Baby's Got a Temper". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  43. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  44. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  45. ^ "The Prodigy Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  46. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2002". Jam!. 14 January 2003. Archived from the original on 6 September 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  47. ^ "Tabla 17 Lista de CD Singles/Maxi más vendidos en el año 2002" [Table 17 List of Best-Selling Singles / Maxi CDs in 2002] (in Spanish). AFYVE. p. 281. Retrieved 11 November 2021. Click on Música grabada.
  48. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2002" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  49. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1455. 31 May 2002. p. 26. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  50. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 1 July 2002: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 29 June 2002. p. 27. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  51. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 15th July 2002" (PDF). ARIA. 15 July 2002. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2002. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
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