The Harder I Try

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This article is about the Brother Beyond song. For The Free Movement song, see The Harder I Try (The Bluer I Get).

"The Harder I Try"
Single by Brother Beyond
from the album Get Even
B-side
  • "Remember Me"
  • "Sunset Bars"
Released18 July 1988 (1988-07-18)[1]
StudioPWL (London, England)[2]
Length3:24
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)Stock Aitken Waterman
Producer(s)Stock Aitken Waterman
Brother Beyond singles chronology
"Can You Keep a Secret?"
(1987) 		"The Harder I Try"
(1988) 		"He Ain't No Competition"
(1988)

"The Harder I Try" is a song by British boyband Brother Beyond. Written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, it was released on 18 July 1988 by Parlophone as the fifth single from the band's debut album, Get Even (1988). The song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart the following month. It was a number-one hit in Ireland and entered the top 10 in Iceland while peaking within the top 20 in Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

Background and writing[edit]

In 1988, British production team Stock Aitken Waterman auctioned off their services for the Young Variety Club of Great Britain charity. Label EMI won the auction, and British boyband Brother Beyond was selected by Pete Waterman to be produced by the trio.[3] The group had met Waterman previously when they had worked at PWL Studios on a prior single, "Can You Keep A Secret", and the producer liked the band.[3] Brother Beyond was by then a struggling pop act, with their first four singles only making the lower reaches of the UK top 75 singles chart. EMI saw this as their much-needed breakthrough and agreed with Waterman on producing the group.

"The Harder I Try" was written in the morning, singer Nathan Moore was called in to record vocals, which were laid down over 3–4 hours, while the rest of the band were not present and did not play on the record.[3] The song samples the drum intro to the Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart of Mine", and was mainly produced with a Roland D-50 synth, which provided to the song "zingy new digital sounds, unimaginated bright metallics and super realistic horns and strings", according to Daniel Griffiths of musicradar.com.[4]

Critical reception[edit]

David Quantick from NME commented, "Oh aptest of titles! The Bruths return again with their most desp stab at the charts, a SAW-made-pseudo-Motown song. Nicely sung but dull."[5] James Hamilton from Record Mirror wrote in his dance column, "Stock Aitken Waterman-created 129+3⁄4bpm old Motown-style fingersnappin' pulser, full of swimming harmonies and bright tinkles, and a sampled drum roll from the Isley Brothers 'This Old Heart of Mine'".[6] Mike Soutar from Smash Hits named "The Harder I Try" Single of the Fortnight, adding, "It's quite obvious from the outset that Stock Aitken and Waterman are involved here, but happily they've not utterly swamped the song with their own inimitable "style". Instead it's very like old soul, very doo-wop, very "chicks" in the background warbling "ooooooooos", and very very catchy. Ah, the Yond' will make such good pop sensations..."[7] Retrospectively, in 2020, Daniel Griffiths of musicradar.com listed it as one of the five songs by SAW that producers need to hear, adding that it was a "razor-sharp Motown sound-alike".[4]

Chart performance[edit]

When released in July 1988, "The Harder I Try" became an instant success in the UK: it started at number 43 on 30 July 1988 on the UK Singles Chart, reached the top ten three weeks later, peaked at number two for two weeks, behing blocked first by Yazz's "The Only Way Is Up", then by Phil Collins'"Groovy Kind of Love", and remained on the chart for 14 weeks.[8] The song was the 22nd best-selling single of 1988 in the country and received a silver disc awarded by the British Phonographic Industry.[9][10] In Ireland, the single topped the chart for a sole week and ranked for five weeks.[11] In Continental Europe, the single was mildly successful, reaching the top ten in Iceland only where it culminated at number nine,[12] while it was a top-20 hit in Switzerland, the Netherlands and the Flanders region of Belgium.[13][14][15] It reached number 24 in Finland,[16] and missed the top 30 by two places in Germany, a position it held for non consecutive two weeks out of a 13-week chart run.[17] On the Pan-European Hot 100 Singles chart compiled by Music & Media, it debuted at number 98 on 13 August 1988, attained number nine in its fifth and sixth weeks,[18] and counted 16 weeks in the top 100. On the European Airplay Top 50, it had a 14-week chart run, with a peak at number 21 in its fourth week.[19] Regarding the Oceanian markets, "The Harder I Try" was a top 15 hit in New Zealand, with five weeks of charting,[20] while it just entered the top 80 in Australia.[21]

Track listings[edit]

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for "The Harder I Try"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[10] Silver 250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. 16 July 1988. p. 47.
  2. ^ a b The Harder I Try (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Brother Beyond. Parlophone. 1988. R 6184.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ a b c "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 35: The Harder I Try on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b Griffiths, Daniel (21 August 2020). "5 songs producers need to hear by... Stock Aitken Waterman". musicradar.com. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  5. ^ Quantick, David (23 July 1988). "Singles". NME. p. 12. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  6. ^ Hamilton, James (23 July 1988). "DJ Directory: Pop Dance". Record Mirror. p. 39. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  7. ^ Soutar, Mike (13 July 1988). "Singles: Single of the Fortnight". Smash Hits. p. 69. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Brother Beyond: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Top 100 Singles: Year-End Chart 1988". Music Week. 4 March 1989. p. 12.
  10. ^ a b "British single certifications – Brother Beyond – The Harder I Try". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  11. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Harder I Try". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Íslenski Listinn Topp 10 (4. nóvember 1988)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 4 November 1988. p. 44. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Brother Beyond – The Harder I Try". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Brother Beyond – The Harder I Try" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Brother Beyond – The Harder I Try" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  16. ^ a b Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  17. ^ a b "Offiziellecharts.de – Brother Beyond – The Harder I Try" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 37. 10 September 1988. p. 20.
  19. ^ a b "European Airplay Top 50" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 38. 17 September 1988. p. 29. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 14 August 2023 – via World Radio History.
  20. ^ a b "Brother Beyond – The Harder I Try". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  21. ^ a b "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 17 June 2014". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2017 – via Imgur.
  22. ^ The Harder I Try (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Brother Beyond. Parlophone. 1988. 12 R 6184.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ The Harder I Try (UK 12-inch remix single sleeve). Brother Beyond. Parlophone. 1988. 12RX 6184.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ^ The Harder I Try (UK CD single liner notes). Brother Beyond. Parlophone. 1988. CDR 6184, 20 2798 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ The Harder I Try (Japanese mini-CD single liner notes). Brother Beyond. EMI Music Japan. 1988. XP10-2048.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 44, 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  27. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 52/1. 1 January 1989. p. 30.
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