When We Were the New Boys

When We Were the New Boys
Studio album by Rod Stewart
Released	25 May 1998
Recorded	1997
Studio	Ollywood Studios (Hollywood) Royaltone Studios (Burbank, California) Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood) Le Mobile (Carlsbad, California) Beverly Park Studios (Los Angeles) Satinwood Studios and Record One (Sherman Oaks, California)
Genre	Rock pop rock
Length	41:51
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Rod Stewart Kevin Savigar
Rod Stewart chronology
If We Fall in Love Tonight (1996) When We Were the New Boys (1998) Human (2001)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	C [2]
The Hartford Courant	(mixed) [3]
People	(favourable) [4]
Rolling Stone	[5]

When We Were the New Boys is the eighteenth studio album by Rod Stewart, released on 25 May 1998. It was Stewart's last studio album to be released by Warner Bros. Records. It produced the singles "Ooh La La", "Rocks", and "When We Were the New Boys".

Background

When We Were the New Boys was the first album by Stewart to not be released on vinyl. The tracks are mostly covers, such as "Cigarettes & Alcohol" by Oasis, "Rocks" by Primal Scream, "Hotel Chambermaid" by Graham Parker, and "Superstar" by the band Superstar. Two ballads were included that were suggested by Elvis Costello: Ron Sexmith's "Secret Heart" and Nick Lowe's "Shelly My Love".

The album also includes "Ooh La La", a song recorded by Stewart's previous band the Faces. The Faces' version of the song was originally sung by the band's guitarist Ronnie Wood; Stewart recorded the song for When We Were the New Boys as a tribute to the song's co-author, Faces bassist Ronnie Lane, who had died in 1997 a year before the album's release.

Track listing

1. "Cigarettes and Alcohol" (Noel Gallagher) – 4:03
2. "Ooh La La" (Ronnie Wood, Ronnie Lane) – 4:15
3. "Rocks" (Bobby Gillespie, Andrew Innes, Robert Young) – 4:45
4. "Superstar" (Joseph McAlinden) – 4:21
5. "Secret Heart" (Ron Sexsmith) – 4:07
6. "Hotel Chambermaid" (Graham Parker) – 3:49
7. "Shelly My Love" (Nick Lowe) – 3:38
8. "When We Were the New Boys" (Rod Stewart, Kevin Savigar) – 4:39
9. "Weak" (Deborah Dyer, Martin Kent, Robbie France, Richard Lewis) – 4:38
10. "What Do You Want Me to Do?" (Mike Scott) – 3:36
11. "Careless With Our Love" (Rod Stewart) (bonus track on Japanese release) – 4:28

Personnel

• Rod Stewart – lead vocals
• Kevin Savigar – horn arrangements (1, 3), accordion (2), Hammond organ (2, 5), keyboards (4, 7–10), bass (4), drum programming (7, 8)
• Jeff Paris – acoustic piano (6), backing vocals (6)
• Oliver Leiber – guitars (1–3, 6, 9), lead guitar (4), backing vocals (6), acoustic guitar (10)
• John Shanks – guitars (1–3, 6, 8, 9), electric mandolin (2), horn arrangements (3), acoustic guitar (4, 5, 7, 10), electric guitar (4), slide guitar (5), backing vocals (6), harmonica (10)
• Michael Landau – electric guitar (4, 7)
• Jeff Baxter – acoustic guitar (4), pedal steel guitar (4, 6), electric guitars (7)
• Lance Morrison – bass (1–3, 5–10)
• David Palmer – drums (1–4, 6–10)
• Paulinho da Costa – maracas (1, 3), percussion (7)
• Caroline Corr – bodhrán (2)
• Jimmy Roberts – tenor saxophone (1, 3)
• Nick Lane – trombone (1, 3)
• Rick Braun – trumpet (1, 3)
• Andrea Corr – penny whistle (2)
• Eric Rigler – low whistle (8)
• Sharon Corr – fiddle (2)
• Richard Greene – fiddle (6)
• Suzie Katayama – cello (9)
• Steve Richards – cello (9)
• Daniel Smith – cello (9)
• Sue Ann Carwell – backing vocals (1, 3, 5, 7), tambourine (3)
• Jacki Simley – backing vocals (1, 3, 5, 7)
• Richard Page – backing vocals (2)
• Will Wheaton – backing vocals (4)
• Dee Harvey – backing vocals (5, 7, 8)
• Lamont Van Hook – backing vocals (5, 7, 8)
• Fred White – backing vocals (5, 7, 8)
• Jeff Pescetto – backing vocals (6)

Production

• Executive producer and liner notes – Rob Dickins
• Producer – Rod Stewart
• Co-producer – Kevin Savigar
• Additional production – Chris Lord-Alge
• Engineers – Barry Rudolph (1, 3–10); Steve Harrison (2, 9, 10); Charlie Bouis (4)
• Assistant engineers – Greg Collins, Jim Horetski, Allan Sanderson, Rafa Sardina and Jeff Thomas
• Mixed by Chris Lord-Alge at Image Recording Studios (Los Angeles, CA), assisted by Michael Dy
• Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA)
• Artwork – Ed Fotheringham
• Art direction and design – Lawrence Azerrad
• Photography – Ken Sharp
• Management – Annie Challis and Arnold Stiefel at Stiefel Entertainment

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [6]	102
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [7]	14
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [8]	25
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [9]	16
Scottish Albums (OCC) [10]	1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [11]	14
UK Albums (OCC) [12]	2
US Billboard 200 [13]	44

Year-end charts

Chart (1998)	Position
UK Albums (OCC) [14]	76

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for When We Were The New Boys

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [15]	Gold	100,000^
United States	—	285,000 [16]
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

1. When We Were the New Boys at AllMusic
2. Browne, David (5 June 1998). "When We Were the New Boys Review". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
3. Catlin, Roger (4 June 1998). "When We Were The New Boys -- Rod Stewart". The Hartford Courant . Retrieved 24 November 2012.
4. Dougherty, Steve; Novak, Ralph; Wolmuth, Roger (8 June 1998). "Picks and Pans Review: When We Were the New Boys". People . Retrieved 24 November 2012.
5. Wild, David (4 June 1998). "When We Were The New Boys". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 24 November 2012.
6. "Rod Stewart ARIA Chart history (albums) June 1988 to 2021". ARIA. Retrieved 17 June 2025– via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
7. "Austriancharts.at – Rod Stewart – When We Were the New Boys" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
8. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3598". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Rod Stewart – When We Were the New Boys" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
10. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
11. "Swedishcharts.com – Rod Stewart – When We Were the New Boys". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
12. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
13. "Rod Stewart Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
14. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1998". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
15. "British album certifications – Rod Stewart – When We Were". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 28 October 2019.
16. "On The Road In America" (PDF). Billboard. 9 September 2000. p. 100. Retrieved 28 October 2019.

References

• When We Were the New Boys album liner notes. Warner Bros. Records.
• "When We Were the New Boys album review". All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved 27 June 2007.

External links

• http://www.rodstewartfanclub.com/about_rod/disco/album_detail.php?album_id=21 Archived 30 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine