About a Boy (soundtrack)

About a Boy
Soundtrack album by Badly Drawn Boy
Released	8 April 2002
Genre	Folk rock, folk pop
Length	44:22
Label	Twisted Nerve XL ARTISTdirect
Producer	Badly Drawn Boy, Tom Rothrock, Steve McLaughlin
Badly Drawn Boy chronology
The Hour of Bewilderbeast (2000) About a Boy (2002) Have You Fed the Fish? (2002)
Singles from About a Boy
"Silent Sigh" Released: 25 March 2002 "Something to Talk About" Released: 10 June 2002

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100 [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Blender	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+ [4]
The Guardian	[5]
Los Angeles Times	[6]
NME	8/10 [7]
Pitchfork	4.9/10 [8]
Q	[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Uncut	[11]

About a Boy is the second album by English singer-songwriter Badly Drawn Boy (Damon Gough), released in 8 April 2002 under Twisted Nerve Records and XL Recordings, and in America under the short-lived ARTISTdirect Records, as the soundtrack to the film About a Boy . Gough was chosen to compose and perform the entire soundtrack.

In his book 31 Songs , About a Boy author Nick Hornby lists Gough's track "A Minor Incident" as one of the songs that has had an effect on his life.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Exit Stage Right"	0:21
2.	"A Peak You Reach"	4:33
3.	"Something to Talk About"	3:41
4.	"Dead Duck"	0:45
5.	"Above You, Below Me"	2:40
6.	"I Love NYE"	3:19
7.	"Silent Sigh"	4:44
8.	"Wet, Wet, Wet"	0:42
9.	"River, Sea, Ocean"	2:24
10.	"S.P.A.T."	3:24
11.	"Rachel's Flat"	0:34
12.	"Walking Out of Stride"	1:48
13.	"File Me Away"	3:23
14.	"A Minor Incident"	3:44
15.	"Delta (Little Boy Blues)"	4:00
16.	"Donna and Blitzen"	4:19

Personnel

• Damon Gough  – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, piano, synthesizer, keyboards, celeste, Fender Rhodes, xylophone, harmonica, backing vocals, horns, strings, flute, percussion, triangle, co-producer

Additional musicians

• Sasha Krivstsov – bass
• Joey Waronker  – drums
• Pete Thomas  – drums
• Tom Rothrock  – drum programming, synth sweeps, synth, bass, co-producer
• Jon Brion  – fuzz guitar, Chamberlin, bass, vibes, voices
• Mike Brenner  – lap steel, lap steel noises
• Steve McLaughlin  – keyboards, co-producer
• Patrick Seymour  – keyboards, conductor
• Jonathan Reese – orchestra leader
• Pete Beechill – trombone
• Jeff Turmes – saxophone
• Chuy Flores – backward noises
• Suzie Katayyama – orchestra arranger & conductor
• Sharon Celani – backing vocals
• Gia Ciambotti  – backing vocals
• Ashley Arrison – backing vocals
• London Metropolitan Orchestra  – strings

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2002) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [12] 42 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [13] 51 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [14] 100 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [15] 53 Irish Albums (IRMA) [16] 6 Scottish Albums (OCC) [17] 5 UK Albums (OCC) [18] 6 US Billboard 200 [19] 180 US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard) [20] 11

Year-end charts Chart (2002) Position UK Albums (OCC) [21] 74

References

1. "Reviews for About A Boy [Soundtrack] by Badly Drawn Boy". Metacritic . Retrieved 8 April 2018.
2. Bush, John. "About a Boy [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] – Badly Drawn Boy". AllMusic . Retrieved 19 June 2009.
3. Harris, John (June–July 2002). "Badly Drawn Boy: About a Boy". Blender (7): 103. Archived from the original on 13 August 2004. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
4. Hermes, Will (3 May 2002). "About a Boy / Chelsea Walls". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 8 April 2018.
5. Sullivan, Caroline (5 April 2002). "Badly Drawn Boy: About a Boy OST". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 April 2018.
6. Hilburn, Robert (21 April 2002). "Badly Drawn Boy 'About a Boy' ARTISTdirect Records/XL Recordings". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 8 April 2018.
7. Segal, Victoria (6 April 2002). "Badly Drawn Boy : About A Boy OST". NME . Archived from the original on 15 August 2004. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
8. Haywood, Brad (13 August 2002). "Badly Drawn Boy: About a Boy". Pitchfork . Retrieved 19 June 2009.
9. "Badly Drawn Boy: About a Boy". Q (189): 106. April 2002.
10. Wolk, Douglas (9 May 2002). "Badly Drawn Boy: About A Boy". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 19 March 2003. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
11. "Badly Drawn Boy: About a Boy". Uncut (60): 96. May 2002.
12. "Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack / Badly Drawn Boy – About a Boy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
13. "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack / Badly Drawn Boy – About a Boy" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / Badly Drawn Boy – About a Boy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack / Badly Drawn Boy – About a Boy" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
16. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Badly Drawn Boy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
17. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
19. "Badly Drawn Boy Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
20. "Badly Drawn Boy Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
21. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2002". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 August 2021.