Better (Tom Baxter song)

Last updated

"Better"
Single by Tom Baxter
from the album Skybound
Released3 December 2007
Recorded2007
Genre Acoustic rock, pop
Length3:43
Label Charisma
Songwriter(s) Tom Baxter/Sam Semple
Tom Baxter singles chronology
"This Boy"
(2004)
"Better"
(2007)

"Better" is a 2007 single by British singer-songwriter, Tom Baxter, co-written with Sam Semple. It was released on 3 December 2007, reaching a peak of No. 10 in the Irish Singles Chart and No. 67 in the UK Singles Chart in 2008.

Contents

Track listing

  1. "Better"
  2. "Too Far Gone"
  3. Love Is Not Enough

Chart positions

Chart (2008)Peak
position
Irish Singles Chart 10
UK Singles Chart 67

Boyzone cover

"Better"
Boyzone - Better.jpg
Single by Boyzone
from the album Back Again... No Matter What
B-side "Coming Home Now"
Released8 December 2008
Recorded2008
Genre Pop
Length3:36
Label Polydor
Songwriter(s) Tom Baxter, Sam Semple
Producer(s) Stephen Lipson
Boyzone singles chronology
"Love You Anyway"
(2008)
"Better"
(2008)
"Gave It All Away"
(2010)

The first version of the song to chart was a cover by Boyzone, released in December 2008 as the second and final single from their second greatest hits compilation, Back Again... No Matter What . It became their final single released before the death of band member Stephen Gately in 2009.

Background

Boyzone's version of the song features both Ronan Keating and Stephen Gately on lead vocals. The single received less promotion than Love You Anyway, due to the band's tour commitments, and charted much lower, selling 30,000 copies and becoming Boyzone's first single to miss the top 3 in Ireland and the first to miss the top 5 in the UK.

Music video

The music video for "Better" premiered on 14 October 2008. The entire video was shot in black and white, with each member of the group singing to a woman he is holding – with the exception of Stephen Gately, who is shown singing to a man – the only time a Boyzone video has depicted a same-sex love interest. The video marks the last appearance for Gately in a Boyzone video, due to his death in October 2009.

Track listing

  1. "Better" – 3:36
  2. "Coming Home Now" – 3:46

Chart positions

Chart (2008)Peak
position
European Hot 100 Singles [2] 63
Irish Singles Chart [3] 26
Scottish Singles Chart [3] 21
UK Singles Chart [4] 22

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronan Keating</span> Irish singer-songwriter (born 1977)

Ronan Patrick John Keating is an Irish singer and songwriter. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career started in 1999 and he has recorded eleven albums. He gained worldwide attention when his single "When You Say Nothing at All" was featured in the film Notting Hill and reached number one in several countries. Keating currently hosts a breakfast show on Magic Radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boyzone</span> Irish boy band

Boyzone were an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's The Late Late Show. Their most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating, and Shane Lynch. As of 2018, Boyzone have released seven studio albums and nine compilation albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flying Without Wings</span> 1999 single by Westlife

"Flying Without Wings" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife, released on 18 October 1999 as the third single from their self-titled debut studio album (1999). It is the band's fourth-best-selling single on both paid-for and combined sales in the United Kingdom as of January 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Gately</span> Irish pop singer (1976–2009)

Stephen Patrick David Gately was an Irish singer, who, with Ronan Keating, was co-lead singer of the pop group Boyzone; all of Boyzone's studio albums during Gately's lifetime hit number one in the United Kingdom, their third being their most successful internationally. With Boyzone, Gately had a record-breaking sixteen consecutive singles enter the top five of the UK Singles Chart. He performed for millions of fans globally. He released a solo album in 2000, after the group's initial break-up, which charted in the UK top ten and yielded three UK hit singles, including the top three hit "New Beginning". Gately went on to appear variously in stage productions and on television programmes as well as contributing songs to various projects. In 2008, he rejoined his colleagues as Boyzone reformed for a series of concerts and recordings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Father and Son (song)</span> 1970 song by Cat Stevens

"Father and Son" is a popular song written and performed by English singer-songwriter Cat Stevens on his 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman. The song frames a heartbreaking exchange between a father not understanding a son's desire to break away and shape a new life, and the son who cannot really explain himself but knows that it is time for him to seek his own destiny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everything I Own</span> 1972 single by Bread

"Everything I Own" is a song written by American singer-songwriter David Gates. It was originally recorded by Gates's soft rock band Bread for their 1972 album Baby I'm-a Want You. The original reached No. 5 on the American Billboard Hot 100. Billboard ranked it as the No. 52 song for 1972. "Everything I Own" also reached No. 5 in Canada and No. 1 in the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Matter What (Boyzone song)</span> 1998 single by Boyzone

"No Matter What" is a song from the 1996 musical Whistle Down the Wind that was popularised by Irish boyband Boyzone in 1998 when they recorded it to tie in with the show's first UK production. The song was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman, while Lloyd Webber, Steinman and Nigel Wright produced the track, with additional production by Franglen & Lupino. The song was also featured on the US edition of the soundtrack to the 1999 film Notting Hill, and was released to American radio on 10 May 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Me for a Reason</span> 1974 single by The Osmonds

"Love Me for a Reason" is a song by Johnny Bristol. It was recorded most famously by The Osmonds, and released in 1974. Twenty years later, Boyzone covered the song. Both versions were successful, reaching the top ten of the charts in many countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Needed Me</span> 1978 single by Anne Murray

"You Needed Me" is a song written by Randy Goodrum, who describes it as being about "unconditional undeserved love". It was a number one hit single in the United States in 1978 for Canadian singer Anne Murray, for which she won a Grammy Award. In 1999, Irish pop band Boyzone recorded a hit cover of the song that hit number one on the UK Singles Chart.

"I Love the Way You Love Me" is a song recorded by American country music singer John Michael Montgomery from his debut album, Life's a Dance (1992). It was written by Victoria Shaw and Chuck Cannon, and released in March 1993 as the album's second single. The song reached the top of the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. It became Montgomery's first number-one single and was named Song of the Year by the Academy of Country Music.

<i>Back Again... No Matter What</i> 2008 compilation album by Boyzone

Back Again... No Matter What is the fourth compilation album released by Irish boy band Boyzone. The album was released on 13 October 2008. It became the band's sixth top-ten album in the United Kingdom, charting at No. 4 and staying in the top 100 for 43 non-consecutive weeks; it also peaked at No. 3 in Ireland. Three new recordings were made for the album: "Love You Anyway", "Better" and "Can't Stop Thinking About You", the former two of which were both released as singles in promotion of the album. The three new songs were the first new material recorded by the band in nine years, and the last to be recorded before the death of Stephen Gately. The band's tour in the summer of 2008 was the tenth highest grossing set of concerts for that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boyzone discography</span>

The discography of Irish boy band Boyzone contains seven studio albums, nine compilation albums, one singles box set, thirty singles and ten video albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love You Anyway (Boyzone song)</span> 2008 single by Boyzone

"Love You Anyway", or "I Love You Anyway", is a song by Irish boy band Boyzone, released as the lead single from their second compilation album, Back Again... No Matter What. It was their first single in over eight years, and their last hit single to be co-written by any members of the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isn't It a Wonder</span> 1997 single by Boyzone

"Isn't It a Wonder" is a song by Irish boy band Boyzone from their second studio album, A Different Beat (1996). The song was written by Ronan Keating, Ray Hedges, and Martin Brannigan, and it was produced by Hedges and remixed by Mark "Spike" Stent for its single release. It was released as the album's third single on 10 March 1997 by Polydor Records. The single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and number three on the Irish Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Different Beat (song)</span> 1996 single by Boyzone

"A Different Beat" is a song by Irish boy band Boyzone from their second studio album of the same name (1996). The song was written by Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy, Martin Brannigan, and Ray Hedges, and it was produced by Hedges with additional production by Trevor Horn on the radio edit. It was released as the album's second single on 2 December 1996 by Polydor Records, becoming their only UK number-one hit to be co-written by members of the group.

<i>Where We Belong</i> (album) 1998 studio album by Boyzone

Where We Belong is the third studio album by Irish boy band 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 and only album 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gave It All Away</span> 2010 single by Boyzone

"Gave It All Away" is a song performed by Irish boyband Boyzone, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Brother, on 1 March 2010. It was their first single released following the death of member Stephen Gately, whose vocals appear in the song. It has sold 150,000 copies worldwide.

<i>Brother</i> (Boyzone album) 2010 studio album by Boyzone

Brother is the fourth studio album by Irish boy band Boyzone, released on 5 March 2010 in Ireland. It is the band's first studio album in 12 years since Where We Belong (1998). The album is named in memory of member Stephen Gately, who died in 2009 five months before its release. However, Gately's vocals did appear on the band's songs "Gave It All Away" and "Stronger", making it the final album to feature Gately's vocals, until the release of Boyzone's final album in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Is a Hurricane</span> 2010 single by Boyzone

"Love is a Hurricane" is a song performed by Irish boyband Boyzone, released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Brother, on 17 May 2010.

<i>Thank You & Goodnight</i> 2018 studio album by Boyzone

Thank You & Goodnight is the seventh and final studio album by Irish boy band Boyzone, which was released on 16 November 2018. The album sold 100,000 copies in the UK.

References

  1. "ITunes - Music - Better - Single by Boyzone". iTunes . Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  2. "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  3. 1 2 "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie.
  4. "2008-10-11 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive". Official Charts Company. 11 October 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2012.