| "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Standard picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by Billy Ocean | ||||
| from the album The Jewel of the Nile Soundtrack and Love Zone | ||||
| Released | 15 November 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 1985 | |||
| Genre | Dance-pop [1] | |||
| Length | 5:44 | |||
| Label | Jive | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Billy Ocean singles chronology | ||||
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"When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" is a 1985 song co-written and originally recorded by English singer Billy Ocean in 1985.
Written by Wayne Brathwaite, Barry Eastmond, Mutt Lange and Ocean, the song was used as the theme song for the Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner film The Jewel of the Nile (1985), a sequel to Romancing the Stone (1984). The saxophone solo is by Vernon Jeffrey Smith. [2]
The song became a major international success, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in February 1986, [3] and number two on the Billboard Hot 100, stalling behind "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston. It remains his only number-one single in the UK to date.
A music video was shot at Brixton Academy in London, [4] and features Douglas and his Jewel of the Nile co-stars Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito as lip-synching backing vocalists. It reportedly boosted the popularity of the venue.
The video was initially banned on Top of the Pops because the actors were not part of the Musicians' Union, meaning DeVito's miming of the saxophone solo went against the rules. [5]
Jerry Smith of the Music Week magazine gave a critical review of "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going", stating it was a "very slick US pop number" that "lacks substance and is barely saved by Ocean's strong vocal performance". [6]
Other versions
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium (BEA) [50] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Netherlands (NVPI) [51] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) [52] | Platinum | 20,000* |
| Sweden (GLF) [53] | Gold | 25,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) [54] | Gold | 500,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "When the Going Gets Tough" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Boyzone | ||||
| from the album By Request | ||||
| Released | 1 March 1999 | |||
| Length | 3:38 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Steve Mac | |||
| Boyzone singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Irish boy band Boyzone recorded a cover version for the 1999 Comic Relief telethon, shortening the title to "When the Going Gets Tough". Like the original, their version also reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks, becoming their fifth chart-topper and receiving a platinum certification in the UK. The video included Graham Norton, Jo Brand, Phill Jupitus, Mel Smith, Davina McCall, Harry Hill, Steve Collins, John McCririck, Jimmy White, Mystic Meg, Will Mellor, James Dreyfus, the cast of Emmerdale , Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish, and Ulrika Jonsson and Saracen from Gladiators .
UK CD single [55]
UK cassette single [56]
French CD single [57]
Personnel are lifted from the By Request album booklet. [58]
Main personnel
|
|
Orchestra
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) [66] | Platinum | 600,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1 March 1999 |
| Polydor | [67] |
| Japan | 19 May 1999 | CD | [68] |
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When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going"... [is] a big, bold silly dance-pop song.
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