Take Me Back to London

"Take Me Back to London" is a song by British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran featuring British rapper Stormzy. It was released through Asylum and Atlantic Records as the final single from the former's compilation album No.6 Collaborations Project (2019).

"Take Me Back to London"
Single by Ed Sheeran featuring Stormzy
from the album No.6 Collaborations Project
Released9 August 2019 (2019-08-09)[1]
GenreGrime
Length3:09
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Ed Sheeran singles chronology
"Antisocial / South of the Border"
(2019)		 "Take Me Back to London"
(2019)		 "Own It"
(2019)
Stormzy singles chronology
"Crown"
(2019)		 "Take Me Back to London"
(2019)		 "Sounds of the Skeng"
(2019)
Lyric video
"Take Me Back to London" on YouTube

The song was written by Sheeran, Shellback, Karl Sandberg, Frederik Gibson and Michael Omari Jr., with production from Skrillex, Kenny Beats and Fred. The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart following the release of its remix.

Background and composition

Sheeran and Stormzy previously performed together at the 2017 Brit Awards. "Take Me Back to London" was announced as part of the tracklist for No.6 Collaborations Project (2019).[2]

"Take Me Back to London" is a grime song. According to HotNewHipHop's Aron A., Sheeran "shows off his bars on the record while swapping verses with Stormzy".[3] The song sees Sheeran "brag" about the gross of his ÷ Tour.[4]

Critical reception

Time's Raisa Bruner wrote that the trap beat on "Take Me Back to London" gets "Sheeran’s melodic touch, with Stormzy jumping in from the start to boost the energy with his signature vibrancy".[5] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times wrote that Stormzy "does an admirable job of rapping ferociously but politely enough to not upstage the host", criticising the line "It’s that time, big Mike and Teddy are on grime".[6]

Commercial performance

"Take Me Back to London" achieved success in the United Kingdom, where it debuted at number three and later reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the third single from No.6 Collaborations Project to reach the summit of the chart. It was Sheeran's eighth and Stormzy's second number one in the UK.[7][8]

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[29] Platinum 80,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[30] Gold 45,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[31] Gold 25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] 2× Platinum 1,200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Format Label Ref.
United Kingdom August 9, 2019 Contemporary hit radio
  • Atlantic
  • Asylum
 [1]

Remix
"Take Me Back to London (Sir Spyro Remix)"
Remix by Ed Sheeran featuring Stormzy, Jaykae and Aitch
from the album No.6 Collaborations Project
Released23 August 2019
Length3:51
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Jaykae singles chronology
"Chat"
(2019)		 "Take Me Back to London (Sir Spyro Remix)"
(2019)		 Faded
(2019)
Aitch singles chronology
"AitcH20 Freestyle"
(2019)		 "Take Me Back to London (Sir Spyro Remix)"
(2019)		 "Kilos"
(2019)
Music video
"Take Me Back to London (Sir Spyro Remix)" on YouTube

"Take Me Back to London (Sir Spyro Remix)", featuring English rappers Stormzy, Jaykae and Aitch was released as a single on 23 August 2019.[33]

Music video

A music video for the Sir Spyro remix was shot between Manchester, Birmingham and London by director KC Locke. It opens with images of Sheeran and Stormzy ripping up the countryside in a Rolls-Royce Cullinan while wearing matching tracksuits and getting measured for bespoke suits. They're soon joined by Jaykae and Aitch to watch some motorcycle burnouts and along the way there is plenty of quintessentially British activity, including a spot of tea, late night post-pub grubbing and copious pints chugged.[34]

Track listing
Digital download[35] and streaming[36]
No.TitleLength
1."Take Me Back to London" (Remix) (featuring Stormzy, Jaykae and Aitch)3:52
2."Take Me Back to London" (Sir Spyro Remix) (featuring Stormzy, Jaykae and Aitch)3:51

Release history
Region Date Format Version Label Ref.
Various August 23, 2019
Original + Sir Spyro remix
  • Atlantic
  • Asylum
 [35][36]
United Kingdom September 13, 2019 Contemporary hit radio Sir Spyro remix [37]

References
  1. "BBC - Radio 1 Playlist". BBC. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  2. Stolworthy, Jacob (12 July 2019). "Ed Sheeran praised for Stormzy track on new album No 6 Collaborations Project". The Independent. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  3. A., Aron (13 July 2019). "Ed Sheeran Heads Back To The Trap With Stormzy On 'Take Me Back To London'". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  4. Stolworthy, Jacob (12 July 2019). "Ed Sheeran crowbars huge humblebrag into new collaboration with Stormzy". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-26. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  5. Bruner, Raisa (26 July 2019). "From Banks' Cathartic 'Godless' to Ed Sheeran and Stormzy's Collaboration, These Are the 5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Weekend". Time. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  6. Caramanica, Jon (17 July 2019). "Ed Sheeran's 'Collaborations': So Many Guests, So Many Questions". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  7. Savage, Mark (19 July 2019). "Ed Sheeran goes to numbers one, three and four". BBC News. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  8. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  9. "Ed Sheeran feat. Stormzy – Take Me Back to London". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  10. "Ed Sheeran feat. Stormzy – Take Me Back to London" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  11. "Ed Sheeran feat. Stormzy – Take Me Back to London" (in Dutch). Ultratop Urban. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  12. "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  13. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201929 into search. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  14. "Ed Sheeran feat. Stormzy – Take Me Back to London". Tracklisten. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  15. "Ed Sheeran featuring Stormzy – Take Me Back to London" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  16. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  17. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Ed Sheeran". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  18. "Mūzikas Patēriņa Tops/ 29. nedēļa" (in Latvian). LAIPA. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  19. "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  20. "Ed Sheeran feat. Stormzy – Take Me Back to London" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  21. "Ed Sheeran feat. Stormzy – Take Me Back to London". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  22. "Airplay 100 – 17 noiembrie 2019" (in Romanian). Kiss FM. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  23. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  24. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201929 into search. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  25. "Ed Sheeran feat. Stormzy – Take Me Back to London". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  26. "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  27. "Top 100 Songs". Rolling Stone. 12 July 2019. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  28. Copsey, Rob (1 January 2020). "The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  29. "Canadian single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Take Me Back to London (ft. Stormzy)". Music Canada. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  30. "Danish single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Take Me Back to London". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  31. "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2021 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  32. "British single certifications – Ed Sheeran Ft Stormzy – Take Me Back To London". British Phonographic Industry. 23 August 2020.
  33. Renshaw, David (23 August 2019). "Ed Sheeran and Stormzy's 'Take Me Back To London' video is a whistle-stop tour of England". The Fader. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  34. Kaufman, Gil (23 August 2019). "Listen to Ed Sheeran's Remixes of 'Take Me Back to London' Featuring Stormzy, Jaykae & Aitch". Billboard. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  35. "Take Me Back to London (Remix) [feat. Stormzy, Jaykae & Aitch] - Single". iTunes. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  36. "Take Me Back to London (Remix) [feat. Stormzy, Jaykae & Aitch] - Single". Spotify. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  37. "Radio 1 Playlist". BBC. Archived from the original on September 19, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
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