Push (Bros album)

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Push
Studio album by
Bros
Released28 March 1988
Recorded1987
StudioHot Nights Studio, Fulham, London
GenreTeen pop, dance-pop
Length42:13
LabelCBS
ProducerNicky Graham
Bros chronology
Push
(1988) 		The Time
(1989)
Singles from Push
  1. "I Owe You Nothing"
    Released: 31 August 1987
  2. "When Will I Be Famous?"
    Released: 16 November 1987
  3. "Drop the Boy"
    Released: 7 March 1988
  4. "I Owe You Nothing (reissue)"
    Released: 6 June 1988
  5. "I Quit"
    Released: 5 September 1988
  6. "Cat Among the Pigeons"/"Silent Night"
    Released: 21 November 1988

Push is the debut album by British pop band Bros and was released on 28 March 1988 on CBS. The album peaked at number two in the UK Albums Chart and was certified quadruple platinum in the UK. It was also a worldwide success, reaching number one in New Zealand, and the top ten in Australia and several countries in Europe.

In late 2013, a 25th anniversary 3-CD remastered and expanded edition of Push was released on the Cherry Pop record label, a subsidiary of Cherry Red Records. The song "Silent Night", originally released as a double A-side single with "Cat Among the Pigeons", was included on the expanded edition, as well as B-sides and remixes from the five singles that were released from the album.

Following the Record Store Day release of When Will I Be Famous and I Owe You Nothing remixes on Green Vinyl, Music on Vinyl are set to release a 35th anniversary edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on translucent blue coloured vinyl.

Writing and composition[edit]

All the songs were written by Nicky Graham and Bros' manager Tom Watkins, with Graham composing the music and Watkins writing the lyrics. The pair used the pseudonym "The Brothers" in order to imply that the songs had been written by the Goss twins, and that the group was not simply a manufactured pop outfit. In his autobiography Watkins described how he had deliberately come up with song titles and lyrics that the teen market could identify with, such as "Drop the Boy" being about a youth asking to be treated as an adult. Other themes included childhood poverty ("Ten Out of Ten"), the then-current AIDS epidemic ("Shocked"), and past relationships ("I Owe You Nothing"). One of the album's more serious lyrical subjects was the closing ballad "Cat Among the Pigeons", which Watkins stated was about a friend who had struggled to cope with the early death of their father, and as a result had embarked on tempestuous and doomed relationships. Watkins also admitted that his original, more explicit lyric for "When Will I Be Famous?", a song that had been created for his own short-lived band the Hudsons, had been written as a conversation between two gay men: a young man desperate for fame and attention, and an older, more experienced man giving his advice. When he and Graham decided to give the song to Bros to record, Watkins toned down the lyrics and removed the references to homosexuality.[1]

Graham composed the music using some basic equipment at his home in Wimbledon in south-west London, before taking the songs to his Hot Nights studio a short distance away in Fulham. There he played all the instruments and programmed all the keyboards, before inviting the group to the studio to learn their parts and record Matt Goss' vocals.[2]

Talking to Smash Hits in April 1988, Matt Goss explained why the album was titled Push: "Well, when we were in the studio recording it, if one of us was really, like, going for it we'd say, 'Right man, that's really pushing it.' It's a word we all latched on to, and Nicky latched on to it too. We'd all be going, 'Is that pushing it? Yeah, that's push.' So the album couldn't really be called anything else."[3]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Number One[6]
Record Mirror[7]

Reviews of Push in the UK music press were mixed. In Melody Maker Jonh Wilde described the album as "ten songs that are entirely modern in an entirely charmless way", and called it "sad and useless" and "mediocrity's snowy mountain-top".[8] However, Tim Nicholson of Record Mirror stated that "Push is perfectly crafted pop oozing pre-sex appeal".[7]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Brendan Swift highlighted "When Will I Be Famous?" and "I Owe You Nothing" as good examples of 1980s pop music, and that while the album contained few low points it also lacked depth, commenting that "Push makes for far better dancing than listening".[4]

Chart performance[edit]

In the UK Albums Chart, Push was kept off the number one spot by the compilation album Now 11 for two weeks, and then by Tracy Chapman's self-titled album for a week, although Push went on to sell more copies than both albums in 1988 and ranked as the fourth best-selling album for that year in the UK.[9]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks written by The Brothers (a pseudonym for Nicky Graham and Tom Watkins).

Side one ("Push Side")
No.TitleLength
1."When Will I Be Famous?"5:02
2."Drop the Boy"4:08
3."Ten Out of Ten"4:06
4."Liar"3:42
5."Love to Hate You"5:17
Side two ("Pull Side")
No.TitleLength
1."I Owe You Nothing"3:40
2."I Quit"3:32
3."It's a Jungle Out There"4:14
4."Shocked"4:19
5."Cat Among the Pigeons"4:05
2013 deluxe edition (Disc 1 continued)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."I Owe You Nothing" (7" mix) 3:35
12."I Quit" (single mix) 3:32
13."Drop the Boy" (single edit) 3:49
14."When Will I Be Famous?" (single edit)Nicky Graham, Tom Watkins4:00
2013 deluxe edition bonus tracks (Disc 2)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Boy Is Dropped"Nicky Graham, Tom Watkins3:54
2."Silent Night"Traditional3:53
3."Shocked" (live)Nicky Graham, Tom Watkins6:07
4."The Big Push Overture"Nicky Graham, Tom Watkins5:50
5."I Owe You Nothing" (The Pettibone Remix) 6:38
6."I Owe You Nothing" (Pettibeats) 3:41
7."I Owe You Nothing" (The Voice) 3:18
8."I Owe You Nothing" (Club Mix)Nicky Graham, Tom Watkins7:42
9."I Owe You Nothing" (The Beats)Nicky Graham, Tom Watkins3:42
10."I Owe You Nothing" (Over 18 Mix) 18:01
2013 deluxe edition bonus tracks (Disc 3)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."When Will I Be Famous?" (Contender Dub Mix) 8:21
2."When Will I Be Famous?" (Infamous Mix) 5:44
3."When Will I Be Famous?" (Club Mix)The Brothers8:11
4."When Will I Be Famous?" (Acapella Mix) 4:05
5."When Will I Be Famous?" (Bonus Beats) 2:56
6."Drop the Boy" (Art Mix) 5:56
7."Drop the Boy" (Shep Pettibone Dub Mix) 7:04
8."Drop the Boy" (Shep Pettibone Mix) 6:47
9."I Quit" (Acid Drops) 4:01
10."I Quit" (The "Turn-On" Mix) 6:55
11."I Quit" (The Acidic Mix) 8:07

Personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for Push
Region Certification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[30] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[31] Gold 250,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[32] Platinum 15,000^
Portugal (AFP)[33] Gold 20,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[34] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[35] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] 4× Platinum 1,200,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history[edit]

Release history and formats for Push
Region Date Label Format Catalog
United Kingdom & Europe
Australia 		28 March 1988 CBS LP 460629 1
LP picture disc 460629 0
cassette 460629 4
CD 460629 2
limited edition picture CD 460629 9
Japan 22 June 1988 Epic cassette 25 6P-5022
CD 25 8P-5022
United States July 1988[37] LP E 44285
cassette ET 44285
CD EK 44285
Canada LP BFE 44285
cassette BFET 44285
CD BFEK 44285
United Kingdom & Europe 24 July 2004 Columbia remastered CD 460629 2/4606292004
United Kingdom 4 November 2013 Cherry Pop 3-CD deluxe version CRPOPT137
United Kingdom 23 June 2023 Music on vinyl Records 1000 Limited press blue vinyl MOVLP3341


References[edit]

  1. ^ Watkins, Tom; Lindsay, Matthew (2016). Let's Make Lots of Money: Secrets of a Rich, Fat, Gay, Lucky Bastard. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-75354-196-8.
  2. ^ Graham, Nicky (September 2017). "I Wrote That: Bros – When Will I Be Famous". M. No. M65. Performing Rights Society. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  3. ^ Shaw, William (6–19 April 1988). "'We're the Only Group Who Write About Our Generation'". Smash Hits. pp. 14–15.
  4. ^ a b Swift, Brendan. "Bros Push". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  5. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Bros". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  6. ^ "Review: Bros — Push (CBS)". Number One. No. 287. London: IPC Magazines Ltd. 14 December 1988. p. 36.
  7. ^ a b Nicholson, Tim (2 April 1988). "Bros – Push". Record Mirror. p. 30.
  8. ^ Wilde, Jonh (16 April 1988). "Bros – Push". Melody Maker. p. 35.
  9. ^ a b Scaping, Peter, ed. (1991). "Top 100 Albums: 1988". BPI YearBook 1989/90. London, England: British Phonographic Industry. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-0-9061-5410-6.
  10. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Bros – Push". Hung Medien.
  11. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Bros – Push" (in German). Hung Medien.
  12. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bros – Push" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  13. ^ "Hits of the World – Pan-European Charts". Billboard. 7 May 1988. p. 71.
  14. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  15. ^ "InfoDisc : Tout les Titres par Artiste". Archived from the original on 15 July 2015.
  16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bros – Push" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  17. ^ "Tonlist Top 40". DV. Retrieved 9 February 2017.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ "BROSのアルバム売上ランキング". ORICON NEWS.
  19. ^ "Charts.nz – Bros – Push". Hung Medien.
  20. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bros – Push". Hung Medien.
  21. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  22. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Bros – Push". Hung Medien.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Bros – Push". Hung Medien.
  24. ^ "Bros | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  25. ^ "Bros Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  26. ^ * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  27. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 440. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  28. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 1988". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  29. ^ "Top 100 Album – Jahrescharts: 1988". Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  30. ^ "French album certifications – Bros – Push" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 10 August 2022. Select BROS and click OK. 
  31. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Bros; 'Push')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  32. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Bros – Push". Recorded Music NZ.
  33. ^ Tenente, Fernando (14 April 1990). "INTERNATIONAL: Floyd, Kaoma Top Sellers In Portugal Certs" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 15. p. 69. Retrieved 28 November 2020 – via World Radio History.
  34. ^ Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. ISBN 8480486392.
  35. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Push')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  36. ^ "Award". BPI.
  37. ^ "Album Releases". Billboard. 16 July 1988. p. 36.
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