Break My Stride

"Break My Stride"
Single by Matthew Wilder
from the album I Don't Speak the Language
A-side	"Break My Stride"
B-side	Instrumental
Released	November 26, 1983
Format	7" vinyl; 12" vinyl
Genre	New Wave, Synthpop
Length	3:02
Label	Private-I
Writer(s)	Matthew Wilder, Greg Prestopino
Producer	Peter Bunetta, Rick Chudacoff, Bill Elliot
Certification	BPI Silver [1]
Matthew Wilder singles chronology
"Break My Stride" (1983) "The Kid's American" (1983)

"Break My Stride" was a major hit single for Matthew Wilder in 1983 and 1984. Wilder co-wrote the reggae/New Wave song, which was his biggest hit, becoming a multiformat success in the U.S., charting on the Pop, Black, Dance and Adult Contemporary charts.

The song has been covered by many artists throughout the years, including charting versions from Unique II in 1996 and Blue Lagoon in 2004, and, in interpolations, Puff Daddy in 1997 and Christina Aguilera with Lil Kim in 2001.

Contents 1 Matthew Wilder version 1.1 Track listings 1.2 Chart performance 1.3 Charts 1.4 Certifications 2 Unique II version 2.1 Track listings 2.2 Charts 2.3 Certifications 3 Blue Lagoon version 3.1 Track listings 3.2 Charts 3.3 Certifications for Blue Lagoon version 4 Other cover versions 5 References

Matthew Wilder version

Track listings

7" single

1. "Break My Stride" — 3:05
2. "Break My Stride" (instrumental) — 3:05

Chart performance

Included on his 1983 album I Don't Speak the Language, the single went to number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in December 1983, and went to number four in the UK in January 1984. On the U.S. Cash Box chart, Wilder's single reached the number two position, where it remained for two weeks in early February. A remix version reached the top 20 on the Dance charts, and the song even hit the Billboard Hot Black Singles charts for four weeks. Though "Break My Stride" was Matthew Wilder's only UK hit, he also reached the U.S. pop chart with his next two singles, "The Kid's American" (#33) and "Bouncing Off the Walls" (#52), before turning to behind-the-scenes work on other artists' recordings.

The Wilder/Prestopino composition has been covered numerous times in several languages, and the song has been the basis for several rap/hip-hop tracks. In 1997, the Wilder song reached a new audience when it was sampled for the hit Puff Daddy track "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down". This song was also translated to the Spanish language by Argentine dance-pop group El Símbolo as "No te Preocupes" (Don't Worry) in 1996. The Spanish lyrics respect the party-time spirit of the original, adding a funny ending.

The song was used in TV advertisements for National Car Rental in 1994,^[2] and in 2010 once for a JPMorgan Chase bank commercial, and again in a cover version for Telstra in their BigPond wireless internet advertisements. It has also been used in UK advertisements for the soya beverage Alpro, and as the closing end titles soundtrack to the movie Cedar Rapids.

Charts Chart (1983/84) Peak position Austrian Singles Chart[3] 8 Dutch Singles Chart[4] 5 New Zealand Singles Chart[5] 32 Norwegian Singles Chart[6] 1 South African Singles Chart 4 Swedish Singles Chart[7] 14 Swiss Singles Chart[8] 22 UK Singles Chart[9] 4 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[10] 5 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary[11] 4 U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles[12] 76 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance[13] 17 U.S. Cashbox Top 100[14] 2

Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified UK[1] Silver 1983 200,000

Preceded by "They Don't Know" by Tracey Ullman

Norwegian VG-Lista number-one single 6/1984 - 8/1984 (3 weeks)

Succeeded by "My Oh My" by Slade

Unique II version

"Break My Stride"
Single by Unique II
from the album Level II
B-side	Remix
Released	August 23, 1996
Format	CD maxi
Recorded	1995
Genre	Pop, Dance
Length	3:10
Label	Columbia, Dance Pool
Writer(s)	Matthew Wilder, Greg Prestopino
Producer	Unique II
Unique II singles chronology
"Do What You Please" (1996) "Break My Stride" (1996) "For Tonight" (1996)

In 1996, Austrian duo Unique II had its most successful hit by covering "Break My Stride". This dance version of the 1983 Matthew Wilder song was the first international success for the band, peaking in the Australian charts at number 2, and in New Zealand at number 1. The single also charted in Italy, Canada and Scandinavia.

Track listings

CD maxi

1. "Break My Stride" (FM track) — 3:16
2. "Break My Stride" (prolongation) — 4:57
3. "Break My Stride" (native track) — 5:14

CD maxi - 2002 remix

1. "Break My Stride" (re-work 2002 - panamericana radio edit) — 2:50
2. "Break My Stride" (re-work 2002 - extended version) — 4:57
3. "Break My Stride" (re-work 2002 - big club mix) — 4:20
4. "Break My Stride" (re-work 2002 - original) — 3:16

Charts

Chart (1996/97) Peak position Australian ARIA Singles Chart[15] 2 Austrian Singles Chart[16] 1 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[17] 1 Chart (2002) 1 Peak position Austrian Singles Chart[16] 55 1 2002 remix

End of year chart (1996) Position Australian Singles Chart[18] 10 Austrian Singles Chart[19] 5 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Australia[20] Platinum 1997 70,000 Austria[21] Platinum November 18, 1996 30,000

Preceded by "Killing Me Softly" by Fugees	Ö3 Austria Top 40 number-one single September 8, 1996 (1 week) September 22, 1996 - October 27, 1996 (6 weeks)	Succeeded by "Killing Me Softly" by Fugees "How Bizarre" by OMC
Preceded by "Lovefool" by The Cardigans "Cold Rock a Party" by MC Lyte	New Zealand RIANZ number-one single March 16, 1997 (1 week) March 30, 1997 (1 week)	Succeeded by "Cold Rock a Party" by MC Lyte

Blue Lagoon version

"Break My Stride"
Single by Blue Lagoon
from the album Club Lagoon
B-side	Remix + "Love Is the Key"
Released	2004
Format	CD single, CD maxi
Genre	Pop
Length	3:04
Label	SME, Universal Music
Writer(s)	Gregory Prestopino Matthew Wilder
Producer	Gregory Prestopino Matthew Wilder
Blue Lagoon singles chronology
"Break My Stride" (2004) "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (2005)

In later 2004, "Break My Stride" was covered by German band Blue Lagoon and became a hit in several European countries, including Austria, Germany, Sweden and Denmark where it reached the top ten.

Track listings

CD single

1. "Break My Stride" (radio edit) — 3:04
2. "Break My Stride" (extended version) — 5:10
3. "Love Is the Key" — 3:27

CD maxi

1. "Break My Stride" (radio edit) — 3:01
2. "Break My Stride" (extended version) — 5:08
3. "Love Is the Key" — 3:26
4. "Break My Stride" (a capella reprise) — 1:05
5. "Break My Stride" (video)

Charts

Chart (2004/05) Peak position Austrian Singles Chart[22] 6 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[23] 49 Belgian (Wallonia) Ultratip Chart[24] 1 Danish Singles Chart[25] 10 Dutch Mega Top 50[26] 45 French SNEP Singles Chart[27] 18 German Singles Chart[28] 2 Swedish Singles Chart[29] 4 Swiss Singles Chart[30] 15

End of year chart (2004) Position Austrian Singles Chart[31] 75 German Singles Chart [32] 16 Certifications for Blue Lagoon version Region Certification Sales/shipments Germany (BVMI)[33] Gold 250,000^ ^shipments figures based on certification alone

Other cover versions

• Herreys ("Det finns ingenting som hindrar mig")
• Natusha ("Moviendo la cintura")
• El Simbolo ("No te preocupes", 1996)
• The chorus was later interpolated for the Puff Daddy song "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" in 1997.
• Max-A-Million ("Break My Stride", 1998)
• AC Rock ("Break My Stride", 1999) a capella version
• Dispatch would sing the chorus, as well as the chorus from Madonna's Like a Prayer, during extended acoustic live renditions of their song "Elias"
• Mumsdollar ("Break My Stride", 2002)
• Legend Has It ("Break My Stride", (2003?))
• Lil' Kim used the last line of the chorus, "I got to keep on movin'", in her verse for the girl power anthem, "Can't Hold Us Down" by Christina Aguilera, which incorporates the main synth riff of "Break My Stride" as a guitar riff, and loosely takes its title from the lyric "nobody gonna slow me down".
• P-nuckle ("Stride") Voted best Reggae act in 2006 used the chorus lyrics of "Break My Stride" in the own version called "Stride".
• Dutch Maffia Hi Tack Club Mix 7:16
• Matisyahu used the chorus lyrics of Break My Stride as the bridge in his single "Jerusalem".
• Goldenchyld (*Got to keep on moviing*) 2007
• Pittsburgh Slim used the chorus in the beginning of the song (*Sunrays*) 2007
• Aaron Carter featuring No Secrets sampled the song in the year 2001, in the song "Jump on the Fizzy".
• Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song in an episode of their popular 1980s cartoon series.
• L.A. Guns took the song on their cover album Covered in Guns in 2010.

References