Where We Belong (album)

Where We Belong
Studio album by Boyzone
Released 25 May 1998
Genre Pop
Length 68:35
Label Polydor
Producer Absolute, Jon Douglas, Rude Boy, Andy Bradfield, Franglen & Lupino, Ray Hedges, John Holliday, David Kreuger, Stephen Lipson, Steve Mac, Per Magnusson, Rose & Foster, Evan Rogers, Jim Steinman, Trevor Steel, Carl Sturken, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Nigel Wright
Boyzone chronology

A Different Beat
(1996)		 Where We Belong
(1998)		 By Request
(1999)
Singles from Where We Belong
  1. "Picture of You"
    Released: 21 July 1997
  2. "Te Garder Près De Moi"
    Released: 21 October 1997 (France only)[1]
  3. "Baby Can I Hold You" / "Shooting Star"
    Released: 24 November 1997
  4. "All That I Need"
    Released: 20 April 1998
  5. "No Matter What"
    Released: 3 August 1998
  6. "All the Time in the World"
    Released: 5 October 1998 (US only)[2]
  7. "I Love the Way You Love Me"
    Released: 23 November 1998

Where We Belong is the third studio album by Irish boyband Boyzone. The album was released on 25 May 1998 by Polydor Records. Five singles were released from the album, including a cover version of "I Love the Way You Love Me". The album became a top 10 album in eleven countries. It was the group's first to be released in the United States, where it charted at number 167 on the Billboard 200. Where We Belong is also the third and final studio album Boyzone released before the death of Stephen Gately, 11 years later.

Background and release

Much of the material for the album was written or co-written by the band members themselves. In 1998, Ronan Keating was awarded the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for "Picture of You", which was featured as the main theme song from the film Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie.

Where We Belong album was released on 25 May 1998 in the United Kingdom by Polydor Records. It topped the UK Albums Chart on the week of 6 June 1998. Five singles were released from the album: "Picture of You", "Baby Can I Hold You", "All That I Need", "No Matter What" and "I Love the Way You Love Me", with the addition of the French-language single "Te Garder Pres De Moi", which was released and included on the album exclusively in France. The original British issue of the album did not contain "No Matter What" or "I Love the Way You Love Me" - these were included on a later pressing, issued on 10 November 1998. The following week, the album was released in the United States on 17 November 1998 by Ravenous Records, a label set up by Jim Steinman under Mercury Records. The US edition included three new songs; "I'll Never Not Need You", "Walk On (So They Told Me)", and "All the Time in the World". "All the Time in the World" was released as the album's first single in the US on 5 October 1998.[2] "No Matter What" was featured on the US edition of the soundtrack to the 1999 film Notting Hill, and was released to American radio on 10 May 1999.[3]

Although "Picture of You" is included on the album in both the United States and Australia, it was released as a single from A Different Beat in those regions, as the release of A Different Beat occurred there after the release of "Picture of You" in the United Kingdom. The American edition of the album includes three new tracks that were not released in Britain until the release of By Request in 1999. Although "Shooting Star" was released as a double A-side with "Baby Can I Hold You" in most territories, it only appeared as a bonus track on the album in Japan. The album is also the third and final studio album that the group released before the death of Stephen Gately eleven years later.

Commercial performance

The album topped the UK Albums Chart twice, on 6 June 1998 and 5 September 1998 respectively. The album was the third best selling album of 1998 in the United Kingdom. The album was certified as 5x Platinum in the UK.[4]

B-sides

Several B-sides were issued to the singles taken from the album. The original track "I've Got You", co-written by Graham, Hedges and Brannigan, was released alongside "Picture of You", which also included a Spanish-language version of "Words", an extended mix of its title track, and the band's Eurovision promotional single, "Let the Message Run Free", which was also released as a promotional single with cans of Pepsi. The Japanese-only bonus track "Shooting Star" was issued as the B-side to "Baby Can I Hold You", alongside the band's version of "Mystical Experience", formerly only released in America, as well as a remix of the said track, the Spanish-language version of "Words" and the classic B-side "From Here to Eternity". The Japanese-only bonus track "Never Easy" was issued as the B-side to "All That I Need, alongside A Different Beat opener "Paradise", a French-language version of "Working My Way Back to You" included as a bonus track from the album in France, and remixes of the title track by Piz Danuk and Trouser Enthusiasts. The brand new track "Where Have You Been", co-written by Keating, Hedges and Brannigan, was released alongside "No Matter What", accompanied by a remix of "All That I Need" by Phil Da Costa, the Japanese-only bonus track "She's the One" co-written by Keating, an interview with the band, and the band's former hit singles "Father and Son" and "Words". Finally, the brand new track "Waiting for You", co-written by Gately, was issued as the B-side to "I Love the Way You Love Me", alongside "Let the Message Run Free", a live version of "No Matter What" from Wembley, and a medley of songs from the musical Grease.

Track listing

Standard edition
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Picture of You"  Andy Watkins, Paul Wilson, Eliot Kennedy, Ronan KeatingAbsolute 3:30
2. "Baby Can I Hold You" (7'' edit)Tracy ChapmanStephen Lipson 3:15
3. "All That I Need" (7'' edit)Evan Rogers, Carl SturkenSturken, Rogers, Rude Boy[a], Andy Bradfield[a], Trevor Steel[b], John Holliday[b] 3:42
4. "Must Have Been High"  Eric Foster WhiteLipson 3:27
5. "And I"  Steve Mac, Wayne Hector, Ali TennantMac 4:03
6. "That's How Love Goes"  Keating, Julian Gallagher, Steve BookerLipson 3:58
7. "Where Did You Go"  Stephen Gately, Mac, Hector, TennantMac 4:42
8. "I'm Learning (Part One)"  Keating, Ray Hedges, Martin BranniganHedges 3:43
9. "One Kiss at a Time"  Keating, Rogers, SturkenSturken, Rogers 4:06
10. "While the World Is Going Crazy"  Keating, Rogers, SturkenSturken, Rogers 5:10
11. "This Is Where I Belong"  Keating, Rogers, SturkenSturken, Rogers 5:29
12. "Will Be Yours"  David Kreuger, Per Magnusson, Jorgen Elofsson, Pete JamesKreuger, Magnusson 3:39
13. "Good Conversation"  Mikey Graham, Mac, HectorMac 3:56
14. "You Flew Away"  GatelyJon Douglas 4:25
15. "I'm Learning (Part Two)"  Keating, Hedges, BranniganHedges 5:34
Re-issue bonus tracks
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
16. "No Matter What"  Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jim Steinman, Nigel WrightSteinman, Webber, Wright, Franglen & Lupino[b] 4:32
17. "I Love the Way You Love Me"  Victoria Shaw, Chuck CannonRose & Foster 4:06
Notes

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1998-99) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[5] 31
Austrian Albums Chart[5] 40
Belgian (Flanders) Albums Chart[5] 7
Belgian (Wallonia) Albums Chart[5] 39
Danish Albums Chart[6] 2
Dutch Albums Chart[5] 1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[7] 5
Finnish Albums Chart[5] 13
French Albums Chart[5] 35
German Albums Chart[8] 14
Irish Albums Chart[9] 1
Italian Albums Chart[10] 21
Japanese Albums Chart[11] 90
Malaysian Albums Chart[12] 3
New Zealand Albums Chart[5] 1
Norwegian Albums Chart[5] 1
Swedish Albums Chart[5] 8
Swiss Albums Chart[5] 8
Taiwanese Albums Chart[13] 1
UK Albums Chart[14] 1
US Billboard 200 Albums Chart[15] 167

Year-end charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) 18
Dutch Albums Chart[16] 14
UK Albums Chart 3
Chart (1999) Peak
position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) 88
Dutch Albums Chart[17] 40
UK Albums Chart 46

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999) Position
UK Albums Chart[18] 35

Certifications

[22][27]
Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[19] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[20] Gold 25,000x
Belgium (BEA)[21] Platinum 50,000*
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[23] N/A 19,486[23]
Germany (BVMI)[24] Gold 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[25] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[26] Platinum 15,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[28] 2× Platinum 100,000*
Sweden (GLF)[29] Platinum 80,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[30] Gold 25,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] 5× Platinum 1,500,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[32] 2× Platinum 2,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Album credits

  • Boyzone - Vocals, main performer
  • Robbie McIntosh - Guitar
  • Mike Mangini - Guitar, drum programming, producer
  • James McMillan - Guitar, programming, keyboards
  • Dominic Miller - Guitar
  • Heff Moraes - Engineer, mixing
  • Richard Niles - Arranger
  • Denniz Pop - Executive Producer
  • Andy Richards - Keyboards, programming
  • Steve Rinkoff - Mixing
  • Rudeboy - Remixing
  • Robin Sellars - Mixing
  • Trevor Steel - Programming, producer
  • Carl Sturken - Arranger, producer
  • Ren Swan - Engineer
  • Jon Themis - Guitar
  • Warren Wiebe - Vocals (background)
  • Nigel Wright - Keyboards, producer
  • Paul Wright - Engineer
  • DJ Nastee - Guitar
  • Nick Foster - Producer
  • Ben Foster - Arranger
  • Jeremy Wheatley - Mixing
  • David Kreuger - Producer
  • Eric Liljestrand - Digital editing
  • Mauricio Iragorri - Mixing
  • Jack Hersca - Assistant Engineer
  • Fred Carlson - Guitar
  • Andy Gallimore - Engineer
  • Sharon Kearney - Assistant Engineer
  • Jon Douglas - Producer
  • Steve Mac - Piano, mixing, arranger
  • Per Magnusson - Vocals (background), producer
  • Alan Chez - Trumpet
  • Al Hemberger - Engineer
  • Baron Raymonde - Saxophone
  • Tim Willis - Assistant Engineer
  • Ben Allen - Guitar, Assistant Engineer
  • John R. Angier - Keyboards
  • Dan Vickers - Assistant Engineer
  • Andrea Derby - Production Assistant
  • Chris Laws - Drums, engineer, programming
  • Angela Lupino - Bass, arranger
  • Mark Antony - Vocals (background)
  • Jamie Hart - Assistant Engineer
  • Skoti-Alain Elliot - Bass, Engineer
  • Keith LeBlanc - Drums
  • Jim Steinman - Producer, Executive Producer
  • Michael Thompson - Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric)
  • Evan Rogers - Arranger, producer, vocals (background)
  • Tom Lord-Alge - Mixing
  • Chris Blair - Mastering
  • Steve Booker - Keyboards
  • Andy Bradfield - Remixing
  • Danny G. - Keyboards
  • Andy Duncan - Drums
  • Rick Essig - Mastering
  • Simon Franglen - Arranger, mixing, keyboards
  • Paul Gendler - Guitar (acoustic)
  • Scott Gordon - Engineer
  • Mike Rose - Keyboards
  • Mick Guzauski - Arranger
  • John Holliday - Producer, Spanish guitar
  • Mark Hudson - Arranger, producer
  • Nick Ingman - Orchestration
  • Luís Jardim - Percussion
  • Steve Lipson - Guitar, producer, mandolin
  • Andrew Lloyd Webber - Producer, Executive Producer

References

  1. ↑ "Te garder près de moi: Alliage, Boyzone: Amazon.fr: Musique". Amazon.fr. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sexton, Paul (17 October 1998). "Ravenous' Boyzone Hungry For U.S. Success". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 110 (42): 16,19. ISSN 0006-2510.
  3. ↑ Olson, Catherine Applefeld (8 May 1999). "Soundtracks And Film Score News". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 111 (19): 14. ISSN 0006-2510.
  4. ↑ "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. 25 October 2002. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 "dutchcharts.nl - Boyzone - Where We Belong". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  6. ↑ "Billboard - Google Books". Books.google.ca. 1998-12-12. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  7. ↑ "Billboard - Google Books". Books.google.ca. 1999-01-30. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  8. ↑ "Chartverfolgung / Boyzone / Longplay". musicline.de. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  9. ↑ "Billboard - Google Books". Books.google.ca. 1998-06-20. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  10. ↑ http://www.fimi.it/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ "ボーイゾーンのCDアルバムランキング │オリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  12. ↑ "Billboard - Google Books". Books.google.ca. 1998-07-11. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  13. ↑ "IFPI Taiwan - International Top 10 (1998/21)". Web.archive.org. 1999-05-03. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  14. ↑ "1998-06-06 Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK Archive". Official Charts. 1998-06-06. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  15. ↑ "Where We Belong - Boyzone | Billboard.com". billboard.com. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  16. ↑ http://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1998&cat=a
  17. ↑ http://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1999&cat=a
  18. ↑ "The Official Charts Company | The UK Charts | Top 40". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  19. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  20. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Boyzone – Where We Belong" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Boyzone in the field Interpret. Enter Where We Belong in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  21. ↑ NO certyear WAS PROVIDED for BELGIAN CERTIFICATION.
  22. ↑ url=http://www.ultratop.be/xls/Awards%201999.htm
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 The first web page presents the sales figures, the second presents the certification limits:
  24. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Boyzone; 'Where We Belong')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  25. ↑ "Dutch album certifications – Boyzone – Where We Belong" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers.
  26. ↑ THE FIELD id (chart number) MUST BE PROVIDED for NEW ZEALAND CERTIFICATION.
  27. ↑ "RIANZ". RIANZ. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  28. ↑ "Norwegian album certifications – Boyzone – Where We Belong" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
  29. ↑ NO certyear WAS PROVIDED for SWEDISH CERTIFICATION.
  30. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Boyzone; 'Where We Belong')". Hung Medien.
  31. ↑ "British album certifications – Boyzone – Where We Belong". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Where We Belong in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  32. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1998". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
Preceded by
Blue by Simply Red
Talk on Corners by The Corrs		 UK number one album
6 June 1998 – 12 June 1998
5 September 1998 – 18 September 1998 		Succeeded by
Blue by Simply Red
Talk on Corners by The Corrs