"What About Me" | ||||
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Australian vinyl release (January 1982)
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Single by Moving Pictures | ||||
from the album Days of Innocence | ||||
B-side | "Round Again" | |||
Released | January 1982 (AUS) 18 September 1982 (US) August 1989 (US) |
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Format | 7" vinyl, CD single | |||
Recorded | 1981 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 3:38 | |||
Label | Wheatley (AUS) Network (US) Geffen (US) |
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Songwriter(s) | Garry Frost, Frances Swan | |||
Moving Pictures singles chronology | ||||
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"What About Me" | ||||
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Single by Shannon Noll | ||||
from the album That's What I'm Talking About | ||||
B-side | "The Way That I Feel" | |||
Released | 26 January 2004 | |||
Recorded | 2003/2004 | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 3:21 | |||
Label | Sony BMG | |||
Songwriter(s) | Garry Frost, Frances Swan | |||
Producer(s) | Bryon Jones, Craig Porells, Adam Reilly, Frances Swan, Gary Frost | |||
Shannon Noll singles chronology | ||||
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"What About Me" is a song written by Garry Frost and Frances Swan, first recorded by Australian rock band Moving Pictures from their album Days of Innocence. It was the band's first number-one single in Australia spending six consecutive weeks on the top; there, it was the second-highest selling single of 1982.
The success of the song led them to America where it became a hit, reaching number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song stayed in the US charts for such a long time that it managed to make Billboard's top 100 Pop Singles of 1983, at #88, a rare feat for a single with such a low peak position. The song made an unusual comeback in 1989, peaking at number 46.
Frost wrote the song when he was working with autistic children in his day job. He had gone out to get lunch at his local shop in the Sydney suburb of Asquith and saw a small boy not being noticed waiting at the counter. He was sufficiently moved by the vision to write the song. The song was rarely played live by the band; when it was, it was played in a modern country style. It would never have been recorded but their debut album's producer Charles Fisher heard Frost and Smith tinkering with the tune on the studio piano during a break in recording. Fisher suggested that Moving Pictures record the song. It was initially released as a single in January 1982.
The song debuted on the charts during February and five weeks later reached #1, where it remained for six weeks, going on to become the second biggest selling single in Australia for 1982 (behind Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger") and went on to win the "Best Single" award at the 1982 Countdown Music Awards. "What About Me?" was released in the United States later in September 1982, reaching number 29 and spending 26 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. Because of its longevity on the Hot 100, the song was able to end up on the year-end chart at number 88 in the US. It was re-released in the US market in 1989 by Geffen Records, climbing to #46 at its second attempt.