Story of the song: …Baby One More Time by Britney Spears

From The Independent archive: Robert Webb on ‘…Baby One More Time’ by Britney Spears

Where it all began: Spears daydreams in the video for her debut single, ‘…Baby One More Time’ (Jive Records)

Britney Spears’ debut courted controversy in much the same way as the 1963 Goffin and King number, “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)”. Max Martin, the Swedish pop Svengali and Grammy-winning writer for acts such as the Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync, had worked up something for the girl group TLC. It was called “Hit Me Baby One More Time”, but Martin felt the title would be misunderstood as endorsing masochistic violence. “I changed the ‘Hit Me’ for an ellipsis because to me it was obvious it meant ‘so let’s do it again’,” he said.

Martin sketched it out on a Dictaphone and played it back to his producer, Rami Yacoub, who immediately heard the potential. A demo was submitted to Jive Records, but when a new 17-year-old signing to the label listened to the tape, it was clear the song was destined for her. “I knew it was a hit and I wanted to record it,” Spears said.