Chart positions:
Denmark: 13
Finland: 7
Holland: 40
Switzerland: 6
United Kindom: 5
New Zealand: 28

Basic info

After almost 5 years after the Fat of the Land XL-Recordings planned the release a new song for the beginning of March, but it was delayed once more to no one's surprise. Finally the commercial release was available on July 1st in CD format, backed by dub and instrumental mixes, and 12" vinyl format, backed by dub, instrumental and acapella mixes, while the DVD edition includes the song's music video.

This new song was played live first time for North American audiences at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California in May 2002. The song was originally meant to be for Keith's solo project but after Liam heard it he wanted to work on it and later it became a Prodigy song. The original live version was slower and the lyrics were in different order than in the single version. There was a second live version which the band performed twice in April 2002 in US. This version was harder than the original and more like the single version.

The song is heavily censored or outright banned from more mainstream radio stations due to its recurring references to 'date rape' drug rohypnol. Here are the lyrics sang by singer Keith Flint: "We love rohypnol/She got rohypnol/We take rohypnol/Just forget it all. This baby's got a temper/You'll never tame her" and simply "Rohypnol! Rohypnol! Rohypnol!"

The studio version was first aired on Finnish Radio station Radio Mafia in April 2002. The song was little bit censored to the lyrical content. Some weeks later on May 16th the song was given its world premiere on BBC Radio One but it was edited to remove any reference to the drug. Radio Mafia played the original radio edit and it was nicely censored but the group had not provided a radio edit of the song for the Radio One and have no intention of doing so. The track was heavily edited by Radio One at their end so it would fit into their daytime schedules.

The song was written by Keith Flint when he was in Flint, a side project of The Prodigy who co-wrote the song. The band 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.

"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. Howlett later described the song as "too introverted", as it focuses on Flint's personal experiences with the drug.

This song was originally intended for the album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, but when the album was half ready for release in 2003, Liam cancelled it all because he felt the style was to close to the firestarter-style and he binned everything and went to NY to find inspiration again. 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. In many interviews Liam still states that this is the worst Prodigy song ever written although many fans would not agree that.

Many critics disliked "Baby's Got a Temper" when released. PopMatters commented 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." In addition, NME panned the song, and called The Prodigy "just total fucking idiots" while unfavorably comparing it to glue. 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".

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.

Rohypnol?

A pharmaceutical drug used by very sick individuals to perform date rape on unsuspecting female (and sometimes male) victims. There have been cases when it has been mixed with alcohol to incapacitate victims and prevent them from resisting sexual assault. Apparently it is nothing short of perfect for committing such a heinous crime. Rohypnol is sold in many parts of the world as a tranquilliser which causes muscle relaxation and amnesia.

It comes in pill form and is ten times more powerful than Valium. Rohypnol is a brand name for flunitrazepam. Common names include Roofies, Roche, Rib, Roachies and Stupefi. Rohypnol can be fatal, especially when combined with alcohol. It is illegal in the United States. Rohypnol is odorless, colorless, and tasteless and dissolves within seconds in any type of beverage. Within 15 to 30 minutes of taking the drug, a person can experience the following symptoms:
mental confusion/dizziness
hot and cold spells
nausea
inability to speak clearly
decreased blood pressure
drowsiness
amnesia which can last up to eight hours.

The effects of Rohypnol peak within two hours, can last 8-12 hours and may not fully wear off for several days.

Needless to say, this substance should be wiped off the face of the Earth as soon as possible. But the company manufacturing it is more interested in making profit than protecting human beings.

--Taken from Ivan 37 and break @ Everything---

Quotes

It's a reflection on what goes on in Keith's mad head and his mad world. The overall feel is like, Keith gets fucked up, goes out with these girls, comes back and writes a song reflecting on his nights out with these girls. he came to me with those lyrics and I'm like, 'Fucking cool'. I like it. Have I tried Rohypnol? Absolutely, yeah. It's like modern day Valium.

Flint told NME that 'Baby's Got A Temper' has nothing to do with the date rape drug, saying:

I don't know its true medical title. Have I tried it? Oh yeah, absolutely. That's what the song's about. It's a reflection on going out, maybe doing cocaine, then doing downers. Y'know, some people do all manner of downers, and rohypnol is one of them.

Comments/reviews

First impressions? Prodigy by numbers. I really can't see where the time's gone into this at all. It's like bottom-of-the-dat-drawer stuff, like you'd have over the background of a video like Electronic Punks, except We Eat Rhythm was better than this by miles. It doesn't even sound that much like Liam's work, it's like he's been teaching Keith on work experience, or like he was trying to do circa '98 Chemical Brothers.

Aggressiivisesti eteen päin jyräävä basso, irrationaalisia synakilkatuksia, matalalta muriseva kitara, pahaenteinen tunnelma... kyllä! Vanha kunnon Prodigy on täällä taas. Ja se tuntuu olevan kovin vihainen! Baby's got a temper on röyhkeä punk-hyökkäys ja raikastava tuulahdus kaiken tämänkin session kuluessa kuullun keskivertoskeidan seassa. Kuinka olenkaan kaivannut tuota vittumaista kähinää! Baby's got a temper saa odottamaan tulevaa Prodigy-albumia vähintään levottomana.

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