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When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going (song)

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"When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going"
Song

"When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" is a song co-written and originally recorded by English singer Billy Ocean in 1985.

Written by Wayne Brathwaite, Barry Eastmond, Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Billy Ocean, the song was used as the theme song for the Michael Douglas film, The Jewel of the Nile, the sequel to the hit blockbuster film, Romancing the Stone. The saxophone solo is by Vernon Jeffrey Smith.[1]

Aided by a video featuring Douglas and co-stars Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito as lip-synching backup singers, the song became a major international hit reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in February 1986,[2] and number two on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, stalling behind "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston.

12" track listing

A1 "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" (extended version) – 5:43
A2 "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" (7" version) – 4:08
B1 "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" (club mix) – 7:35
B2 "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" (instrumental) – 5:12[3]

Chart performance

Chart (1986) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 1
Austrian Singles Chart 8
Belgian Singles Chart 1
Canadian Singles Chart 1
Dutch Singles Chart 1
French Singles Chart 6
German Singles Chart 2
Irish Singles Chart 1
New Zealand Singles Chart 3
Norwegian Singles Chart 1
Spain (AFYVE)[5] 2
Swedish Singles Chart 2
Swiss Singles Chart 2
UK Singles Chart[6] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 2
U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles 6
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary 2
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 31

Boyzone version

"When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going"
Song

The Irish boyband Boyzone recorded a cover version for the 1999 Comic Relief telethon, shortening the title to "When The Going Gets Tough". Their version reached number #1 on the UK Singles Chart.[6] The song received a platinum certification in the UK.[7] The video included Graham Norton, Jo Brand, Phill Jupitus, Mel Smith, Davina McCall, Harry Hill, Steve Collins, John McCririck, Jimmy White, Mystic Meg, the cast of Emmerdale and Ulrika Jonsson and Saracen from Gladiators.

Track listing

CD1
  1. "When The Going Gets Tough" - 3:35
  2. "What A Wonderful World" (Featuring Alison Moyet) - 4:00
  3. "Love Can Build A Bridge" - 3:59
CD2 (Limited Edition Pop Up Red Nose Digipak)[8]
  1. "When The Going Gets Tough" - 3:35
  2. "I'll Never Not Need You" - 4:07

Charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[9] 7
French Singles Chart[10] 71
Irish Singles Chart[11] 2
Japanese Singles Chart[12] 91
Scottish Singles Chart[13] 1
UK Singles Chart[14] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1999) Position
UK Singles Chart[citation needed] 10

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[15] Platinum 600,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Usage in media

In 1994, the song was used for a clip of the 1986 edition of the BBC The Rock 'n' Roll Years featuring coverage of the People Power Revolution in the Philippines. Three years later, it was also used as a background song in the 1985-86 football season edition of Match of the 80s, during coverage of the challenge Kenny Dalglish faced on his appointment as player-manager of Liverpool F.C..

In the 2008 film Easy Virtue a cover version, in 1920's faux-jazz style, featured in the closing credits performed by Colin Firth, Ben Barnes, Jessica Biel, and Andy Caine.

The song was used in the film Keith Lemon: The Film (2012), as an ongoing theme, highlighting the claim that Billy Ocean was Lemon's father. Ocean himself appears in a cameo role.

References

  1. ^ "V. JEFFREY SMITH (TORS-Producer/Sound Engineer)... - The Outlet Radio Show". Theoutletradioshow.tumblr.com. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  2. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 458–9. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ^ "Billy Ocean - When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  4. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 221. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
  5. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  6. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 631. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  7. ^ "British certifications – When the Going Gets Tough". British Phonographic Industry. Type When the Going Gets Tough in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  8. ^ "Boyzone When The Going Gets Tough - Pop Up France CD single (CD5 / 5") (142509)". Eil.com. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
  9. ^ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (1999-03-20). "Billboard". {{cite journal}}: |author1= has generic name (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^ Steffen Hung. "Boyzone - When The Going Gets Tough". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
  11. ^ [1] [dead link‍]
  12. ^ "Boyzone ...By Request". Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  13. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100: 07 March 1999 - 13 March 1999". Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  14. ^ "ChartArchive - The Chart Archive". Chartstats.com. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  15. ^ id MUST BE PROVIDED for UK CERTIFICATION.
Preceded by UK number-one single (Billy Ocean version)
8 February 1986 - 8 March 1986 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Scottish Singles Chart (Boyzone version)
7 March 1999 - 28 March 1999 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UK number-one single (Boyzone version)
7 March 1999 - 14 March 1999 		Succeeded by
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