Compulsory Hero

Last updated
"Compulsory Hero"
Compulsory Hero by 1927.jpg
Single by 1927
from the album ...ish
A-side "Compulsory Hero"
B-side "Propaganda Machine"
Released17 April 1989 (1989-04-17) [1]
Recorded1987–88
Genre Rock, pop
Length4:34
Label WEA
Songwriter(s) Garry Frost
Producer(s) Charles Fisher
1927 singles chronology
"You'll Never Know"
(1988)
"Compulsory Hero"
(1989)
"To Love Me"
(1989)

"Compulsory Hero" is the fourth single by Australian rock-pop band 1927. The track was released on 17 April 1989 [1] and peaked at number 14 in May on the ARIA singles chart. The song is taken from their debut album ...ish which peaked at number 1 on the ARIA Charts in April 1989. [2] [3]

Contents

At the ARIA Music Awards of 1990, Geoff Barter won the ARIA Award for Best Video. The song was further nominated for ARIA Award for Best Group but lost to The Black Sorrows. [4] [5]

The song talks about a father's experience in the Vietnam War.

Track listing

7" / CD single
No.TitleLength
1."Compulsory Hero"4:34
2."Propaganda Machine"3:25

Charts

Weekly chart

Chart (1989)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [6] 14

Related Research Articles

Alexander Lloyd is an Australian singer-songwriter. Four of his albums, Black the Sun, Watching Angels Mend, Distant Light and Alex Lloyd, released between 1999 and 2005, made the top ten on the ARIA charts. Lloyd has also won the ARIA Award for Best Male Artist on three occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Clouds (Australian band)</span>

The Clouds are an indie rock band from Sydney, Australia formed in December 1989. The core of the group consisted of frontwomen Jodi Phillis and Patricia "Trish" Young. The line-up of The Clouds has changed several times with different drummers and lead guitarists. The Clouds' music is distinguished by rapid and unusual chord changes, creative bass guitar, and Phillis and Young's vocal harmonies. They released 4 albums and numerous EPs and singles before breaking up in 1997. They reformed in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U2 discography</span>

The discography of the Irish rock band U2 consists of 15 studio albums, one live album, three compilation albums, 84 singles, and nine extended plays (EPs). The band formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976 as teenagers. In 1979, the group issued their first release, the EP U2-3, which sold well in Ireland. The following year, the group signed to Island Records and released their debut album, Boy. It reached number 52 in the UK and number 63 in the US. They followed it up with the release of October (1981) and War (1983). War was a commercial success, becoming the band's first number-one album in the UK while reaching number 12 in the US. The album yielded the singles "Two Hearts Beat As One", "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day", the latter two have since become among the band's most popular songs. On the subsequent War Tour, the group recorded the live album Under a Blood Red Sky and concert film U2 Live at Red Rocks, both of which sold well and helped establish them globally as a live act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angel Eyes (The Jeff Healey Band song)</span> 1989 single by the Jeff Healey Band

"Angel Eyes" is a song written by John Hiatt and Fred Koller and produced by Greg Ladanyi for the Jeff Healey Band's first album, See the Light (1988). It was first released in the United Kingdom as the album's second single in April 1989 and was issued in the United States several weeks later. The song peaked at No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 24 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart. In 2004, "Angel Eyes" was covered by Australian Idol series one contestant Paulini and became her first No. 1 single in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O Yeah (End of Fashion song)</span> 2005 single by End of Fashion

"O Yeah" is the debut single of Australian pop rock band End of Fashion, taken from their self-titled debut album (2005). The song reuses the riff from the song "Where Is My Mind?" by American alternative rock band Pixies. Released in Australia on 18 July 2005, it peaked at number 21 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was also a top-20 hit in New Zealand, where it reached number 14 in September 2005.

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

English singer-songwriter George Michael's releases consist of five studio albums, two compilation albums, one extended play, 44 singles, six promotional singles, 36 music videos, and five video albums. In his career, Michael sold an estimated 100 million to 125 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling artists of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1927 (band)</span> Australian pop-rock band

1927 are an Australian pop rock band formed in 1987 with James Barton on drums, Bill Frost on bass guitar, his brother Garry Frost on guitar and keyboards, and Eric Weideman on vocals, guitar and keyboards. They were popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s with major hit songs. Their multi-platinum number-one album, ...ish (1988) was followed by The Other Side (1990). At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989 they won two categories: Breakthrough Artist – Album for ...ish and Breakthrough Artist – Single for "That's When I Think of You". At the 1990 ceremony they won Best Video for "Compulsory Hero", which was directed by Geoff Barter. In 1992 the group released a third studio album, 1927, which reached the top 40; but they disbanded the following year. Weideman reformed 1927 in 2009 with a new lineup.

<i>...Ish</i> (album) 1988 studio album by 1927

...ish is the debut album by Australian pop rock band 1927, released on 14 November 1988, which peaked at number one for four weeks in early 1989 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album remained in the top 50 for 46 weeks and reached No. 2 on the 1989 ARIA Year End Albums Chart. The album was awarded 5× platinum certification – for shipment of more than 350,000 copies. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989, 1927 won 'Breakthrough Artist – Single' for "That's When I Think of You" and 'Breakthrough Artist – Album' for ...ish. At the 1990 ceremony the group won 'Best Video' for "Compulsory Hero", which was directed by Geoff Barter. In 1999 rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, described the album as "brimful of stirring, stately pop rock anthems". As of 2002, it was in the top 10 of the most successful debut albums by Australian artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celine Dion singles discography</span>

Canadian singer Celine Dion has released 137 singles in both English and French discography as a lead artist. According to Billboard magazine, Dion is the world's best-selling contemporary female artist of all time. As of 2021, she has reportedly sold around 200 to 250 million records worldwide. Referred to as the "Queen of Power Ballads", Dion has released a string of worldwide hits, with "My Heart Will Go On" being her career's biggest hit, with estimated physical sales of over 18 million worldwide, making it the 2nd best-selling physical single by a woman in history. It reached over 117 million radio impressions during its peak, becoming the most-played radio hit in history and became the best-selling single of 1998 worldwide. "Because You Loved Me" is her biggest hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, spending six weeks atop the chart and selling six million copies in its first six months of availability worldwide. "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" was the 4th biggest hit of the 1990s in France and has sold over four million copies worldwide.

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

The discography of Foo Fighters, an American rock band formed in 1995 by Dave Grohl, consists of eleven studio albums, ten extended plays (EPs), six video albums, and 57 singles. The current Foo Fighters line-up consists of Grohl, Rami Jaffee (keyboard), Nate Mendel (bass), Chris Shiflett (guitar), Pat Smear (guitar) and Josh Freese (drums).

<i>Matchbook</i> (Ian Moss album) 1989 studio album by Ian Moss

Matchbook is the debut solo studio album by Australian singer-guitarist, Ian Moss, a member of pub rockers, Cold Chisel. Six of its ten tracks were written by fellow Cold Chisel bandmate, Don Walker, and three were co-written by Moss and Walker. The album was released in August 1989 and peaked at number 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart; it remained in the Top 10 for 14 weeks and shipped more than 200,000 copies. It also reached the Top 20 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart.

Rockmelons, often referred to as the Rockies, were an Australian pop/dance/R&B group formed in 1983 in Sydney. Primary members are Bryon Jones, his brother Jonathon Jones and Raymond Medhurst. They had two Australian top five hit singles in the early 1990s with "Ain't No Sunshine" and "That Word (L.O.V.E.)", both sung by Deni Hines. The associated album, Form 1 Planet, peaked at number 3 on the ARIA albums chart in 1992, and was certified platinum in Australia.

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

The discography of Swedish pop duo Roxette consists of ten studio albums, one live album, thirteen compilation albums, one remix album, eleven video albums, three box sets, fifty-six singles and twenty promotional singles, as well as fifty-two music videos. The duo, which consisted of Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson, are the second most commercially successful Swedish act of all time, after ABBA. They sold over 75 million records worldwide, although a report by the Los Angeles Times put the figure as high as 80 million. The RIAA awarded them certifications of 3.5 million units in the US, where the duo have sold over two million albums since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data in May 1991. The BPI in the UK certified Roxette for shipments of at least 3 million. They were particularly successful in Germany, where they are recognised as one of the highest-certified acts of all time, with shipments of 5.725 million units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">If I Could (1927 song)</span> 1988 single by 1927

"If I Could" was the second single by Australian rock-pop band 1927 from their debut album ...ish. The song was written by Garry Frost and released in October 1988. It peaked at number four on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified gold.

The Badloves are an Australian R&B, soul band that formed as DC3 in 1990 by founding mainstay member Michael Spiby on guitar and lead vocals. They changed their name after a year. Their debut studio album, Get on Board, was issued in July 1993, which peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1994 they won Best New Talent and Breakthrough Artist – Album for Get on Board and Breakthrough Artist – Single for its first single, "Lost" (1993). The Badloves' second album, Holy Roadside, reached the top 20. Their highest-charting single, "The Weight" (1993), is a cover version of the Band's 1968 single and features Jimmy Barnes on co-lead vocals. It reached the ARIA singles chart top 10.

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

The discography of Australian rock group Midnight Oil consists of thirteen studio albums, forty-three singles, two EPs, five video albums, seven live albums, and six compilation albums. The band have sold over 20 million albums.

<i>Tales of the City</i> (album) 1988 studio album by Rockmelons

Tales of the City is the debut studio album by Australian rock band Rockmelons. It was released in May 1988 on True Tone Records and peaked at number six on the Australian album charts. The band shared the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Award for 'Best Debut Album' in 1988 with 1927's album ...ish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kylie Minogue singles discography</span>

The singles discography of Australian singer Kylie Minogue consists of ninety-six singles and twenty-four promotional recordings. Referred as the “Princess of Pop” by various media outlets, she has sold more than 80 million records worldwide. In Australia, she has a total of ten number-one singles, twenty-three top-ten hits and forty-seven top-forty entries. In the United Kingdom, with seven number-one singles, eleven singles that peaked at number two, thirty-five top-ten hits and fifty-two top-forty entries, she is the twelfth-best-selling singles artist and the third-best-selling female artist of all time to date, selling over 10.1 million singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">That's When I Think of You</span> 1988 single by 1927

"That's When I Think of You" is the debut single of Australian pop rock band 1927. The song was released on 4 July 1988 and peaked at number six on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. In May 1989, the song reached number 46 on the UK Singles Chart. The single also charted at number 100 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 55 on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles chart in August 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You'll Never Know (1927 song)</span> 1989 single by 1927

"You'll Never Know" is the third single by Australian rock-pop band 1927. The track was released in January 1989 and peaked at number 15 in March on the ARIA singles chart. The song is taken from their debut album...ish which peaked at number 1 on the ARIA Charts in April 1989.

References

  1. 1 2 "Australian Music Report No 768 – 17 April 1989 > Singles: New Releases". Imgur.com (original document published by Australian Music Report). Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  2. "...ish by 1927". www.australian-charts.com. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  3. "You'll Never Know by 1927". discogs.com. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  4. "Winners by Year 1990". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  5. "Australia 1990 ARIA Awards". ALLdownunder.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  6. "1927 – Compulsory Hero". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 10 January 2016.