"In the Back of My Mind" is a song by British-American band Fleetwood Mac from their 15th studio album, Behind the Mask (1990). The song was released as the album's second single for select European markets but only had a minor impact in the United Kingdom, peaking at 58. It was not made commercially available in North America, where "Hard Feelings" was released as a single instead. Both singles were co-written by Billy Burnette, who was one of the guitarists enlisted to replace Lindsey Buckingham in 1987. On the Behind the Mask Tour, "In the Back of My Mind" was played as the opening song of the set.
"In the Back of My Mind" was written with David Malloy, a songwriter and producer stationed in Nashville. Burnette presented the song to Mick Fleetwood, who agreed that it would be a good fit for Behind the Mask. During the song's intro, the band utilized a device created by Jimmy Hotz called the Hotz Midi Translator, a device with touch sensitive pads that can be attached to the body.
In a Q&A with The Penguin, Burnette noted that the band combined three 48-track machines to fit all of their overdubs on "In the Back of My Mind". At the time, that feat almost landed the band in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most individual tracks used on one song. Christine McVie, who provided additional vocals on "In the Back of My Mind", commented on the song in an interview with Mix magazine.
The B-side of "In the Back of My Mind", "Lizard People", was written by Mick Fleetwood and Peter Bardens, a former bandmate of Fleetwood. "Lizard People" is one of the few Fleetwood Mac songs to feature Fleetwood on lead vocals.
Billboard highlighted "In the Back of My Mind" for its "ominous, Pink Floydian intro and agile guitar work" in their review for Behind the Mask. David Giles from Music Week wrote that the song was "not their most inspired moment, but should have little problem in scoring a minor hit." Bruce C. Pilato of Mix magazine characterised "In the Back of My Mind" as a song that was "built on a pulsating rhythm and driven by a powerful wall of electric guitars."
7-inch single
12-inch single
Fleetwood Mac
Additional personnel