Little Baby Nothing

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"Little Baby Nothing"
Single by Manic Street Preachers
from the album Generation Terrorists
Released 16 November 1992
Format CD, vinyl record (7"), cassette
Recorded Mid 1992
Genre Alternative rock, glam rock, hard rock
Length 4:58 (album version)
4:12 (edit)
Label Columbia
Producer(s) Steve Brown
Manic Street Preachers singles chronology
"Suicide Is Painless"
"Little Baby Nothing"
"From Despair to Where"

"Little Baby Nothing" was the sixth single taken from the debut full-length albumGeneration Terrorists — by the Welsh group the Manic Street Preachers. It features vocals by former porn star 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 that "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 track "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.

The promotional video for the song was directed by music journalist Steven Wells and featured the first appearance on screen by pop duo Shampoo.

Track listing[edit]


  1. "Little Baby Nothing" (7" version)
  2. "Dead Yankee Drawl"
  3. "Suicide Alley"
  4. "Never Want Again"


  1. "Little Baby Nothing" (7" version)
  2. "R.P. Mcmurphy" (live at Club Citta, Kawasaki, 13 May 1992)
  3. "Tennessee" (live at Club Citta, Kawasaki, 13 May 1992)
  4. "You Love Us" (live at Club Citta, Kawasaki, 13 May 1992)

7" / MC[edit]

  1. "Little Baby Nothing" (7" version)
  2. "Never Want Again"
  3. "Suicide Alley"


Chart (1992) Peak
UK Singles Chart[1] 29

UK Chart Performance[edit]

UK Top 40
Week 01


External links[edit]