"Bop Bop Baby" is a song by Irish boy bandWestlife and it was released on 20 May 2002 as the third single from their third studio albumWorld of Our Own. The single peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart. However, during an interview, the band claimed this was due to the obscure choice of single, as they would have much preferred to release "Why Do I Love You" - and had even recorded a video for it. It is the band's eighteenth best selling single in paid-for sales category and in best selling single combined sales category in the United Kingdom as of January 2019. It sold over 120,000 copies in the UK. The song also appears on the compilation album, Booom 2002: The Third.
Background
The song was written by band members Shane Filan and Brian McFadden, alongside producers and writers Chris O'Brien and Graham Murphy. McFadden said that he got inspired to wrote the lyrics after watching The Beach Boys documentary. It was composed in the traditional verse–chorus form in D major, with McFadden, Filan and Feehily's vocal ranging from the chords of G3 to A5.
Music video
The video for "Bop Bop Baby" was initially to be directed by Vaughn Arnell and was to feature the band in front of the Irish skyline. But instead, the video was directed by Max & Dania. The video was supposed to have Naomi Campbell as the leading lady but she cancelled her participation at the last minute and Leah Wood took over. It takes place during the Medieval times where Harry Potter took place also. The video took 32 hours to make and was supposed to look like medieval France, but it was actually recorded at an old University of Hertfordshire. There were 25 extras on set, seven stuntmen, two horses, and Janty Yates. At the start of the video it is said that a beautiful maiden wished to marry for love, but her father wanted her to marry Duke Vincent, the vilest man in the kingdom for money. The band members serve as Musketeers who are imprisoned in a dungeon by the Duke. Brian McFadden attempts to approach a nearby prisoner but was scared off. The five members then break free, riding on horses and they arrive at the wedding and battle the Duke's men. At one point, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily nearly slash each other, screaming in the process before they got attacked by the Duke. The band members then attacked the Duke before fleeing the church with the maiden with the Duke in pursuit. As of 2019, the video has reached 12 million views on YouTube.
