''Get Even'' is the debut album by British

boy band A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...

Brother Beyond Brother Beyond were a British pop band who had success in the pop rock genre in the late 1980s. Biography Early singles and first album The group's first four singles, "I Should Have Lied", "How Many Times", "Chain-Gang Smile" (produced by Don ...

, released on the

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

label in two different editions, both in 1988, generally referred to as ''Get Even I'' and ''Get Even II''. The second edition of the album included two songs by

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW and also known as the Hit Factory) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s throug ...

, " The Harder I Try" and " He Ain't No Competition", which replaced two songs written by the band.

Background

The album's songs were composed between 1986, when Brother Beyond's first single "I Should Have Lied"—the only single by the band not to make the UK Top 75—was issued, and 1988. The two Stock Aitken Waterman tracks, " The Harder I Try" and " He Ain't No Competition", were added to the album after EMI won the production team's services at a charity auction and became the band's only UK Top 10 hits. Like many British bands at the time (such as

Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Francis Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Birds Eye frozen peas. She went on to appear in films ...

's Eighth Wonder during their earlier period), Brother Beyond enjoyed more success in continental

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

than at home, especially in Italy where their second single "How Many Times" (which only made it to Number 62 in the UK) was a big hit in 1987. In their native Great Britain it would take until the summer of the following year and the release of the

Mike Stock Michael Stock (born 3 December 1951) is an English songwriter, record producer, musician, and member of the songwriting and production trio Stock Aitken Waterman. He has been responsible for over a hundred top-40 hits in the UK, including 16 n ...

Matt Aitken Matthew James Aitken (born 25 August 1956) is an English songwriter and record producer, brought up in Astley, Greater Manchester, best known as part of the 1980s/early-1990s songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman. Biography He beg ...

and

Pete Waterman Peter Alan Waterman (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, and television personality. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman production and songwriting team, he co-wrote and co-produced many UK hit singles. An av ...

produced track "The Harder I Try" for the band to score a hit. The song reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. "The Harder I Try" samples the drum intro from

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

' "

This Old Heart of Mine "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" is a Holland–Dozier–Holland song that was a hit for American musical group the Isley Brothers in January 1966 during their brief tenure on Motown's Tamla label. Featuring Ronald Isley on lead voca ...

"; its successor "He Ain't No Competition" reached number 6 in November 1988. The 12" version of the song had already topped the

Hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by its fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-flo ...

charts in October. Brother Beyond's final significant hits were two remixed versions of self-penned ''Get Even II'' album tracks "

Be My Twin "Be My Twin" is a song by British boyband Brother Beyond, written by band members Carl Fysh and David White. Released on 9 January 1989, the single reached 14 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 13 on the Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Ch ...

", which got to number 14 in January 1989, and "Can You Keep a Secret?", which got to number 22 in April (the first version of the song had been released as the band's fourth single, reaching number 56 in 1987). The latter would be the last significantly successful single for the group in the UK ("Drive On", the first single from their second and final studio album ''

Trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust (law), a legal relationship in which one person holds property for another's benefit * Trust (bu ...

'' would only reach number 39 and the title-track "

" number 53). ''Get Even'' also spawned a 57-minute live concert video, entitled ''Brother Beyond – The Get Even Tour – Live 1989'', issued on the

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

format in 1991, the same year of release as the band's final single, "The Girl I Used to Know", which found little success in the UK (number 48), but was a minor hit in the United States. The group broke up shortly after its release.

Track listing

Personnel

''Get Even I''

Line up

* Nathan Moore – lead vocals * David White – guitar * Carl Fysh – keyboards *

Eg White Francis Anthony "Eg" White (born 22 November 1966) is a British musician, songwriter and producer. He started his career in the cowpunk band Yip Yip Coyote in the 1980s and then formed Brother Beyond with his brother, David White, in the late ...

– drums / percussion

Musicians

* Steve Alexander – drums, percussion *Belva Haney, Dee Lewis, Eric Robinson, Flakey C, Frankie Madrid, Leroy Osbourne, Mae McKenna, Vicki St. James,

Tessa Niles Tessa Margaret Niles ( ''née'' Webb; born 27 January 1961) is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of contemporary artists. She began her professional singing career in 1979. Early life and career Niles began h ...

– background vocals *Eg White – bass guitar, keyboards *

Dave Mattacks David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer, best known for his work with British folk rock band Fairport Convention. Fairport Convention He replaced Martin Lamble, who had died on 12 May 1969 in a road ac ...

Steve Ferrone Stephen A. Ferrone (born 25 April 1950) is an English drummer. He is known as a member of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 to 2017, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch, and as part of the "classic lineup" of the Aver ...

– drums *

Peter-John Vettese Peter-John Vettese (born 15 August 1956), also known as Peter Vettese, is a Scottish keyboardist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. Vettese was the keyboardist for progressive rock band Jethro Tull for most of the 1980s. Early life Pet ...

, Richard Cottle, Rob Fisher, Ian Curnow, Steve Pigott – keyboards *

Luís Jardim Luís Alberto Figueira Gonçalves Jardim (born 4 July 1950) is a Portuguese percussionist born on the island of Madeira. He is best known for his work with producer Trevor Horn. Family Jardim is a cousin of Alberto João Jardim (former presiden ...

– percussion *

Martin Ditcham Martin Ditcham is an English drummer/percussionist and songwriter. Ditcham is a prolific session musician, working with artists such as Henry Cow, Status Quo, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Roger Daltrey, Sade, Mary Black, Nik Kershaw, Chris ...

– drums, percussion *Bimbo Acock, Phil Todd – saxophone

Production

Same as ''Get Even II'', plus: *

–

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

(tracks 5, 9) *Michael H. Brauer per MHB Productions –

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

and additional production *Mike Pela per Power Plant London –

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a sound recording, recording or a Concert, live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization (audio), equalization, Dynamic range ...

*Carl Beatty – sound engineer (track 9) *Rafe McKenna – remix and additional production (track 9)

Recording studios

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

Advision Studios Advision Studios was a recording studio in Fitzrovia, central London, England. Origins Founded in the 1960s by Guy Whetstone and Stephen Appleby, Advision originally provided voiceovers and jingles for television advertisements. The studio wa ...

*Battery Studios *The Chocolate Factory * Eden Studios *

Mayfair Studios Mayfair Recording Studios was a recording studio in London, England, which was in operation from the 1960s until 2008. Background The studio, located at 64 South Molton Street in the Mayfair area of the West End of London, was originally establi ...

*The Music Works *Power Plant Studios *PWL Studios *

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Recording studios Rockfield is a two-stu ...

*Swanyard Studios * Trident II Studios

Staff

*Three Associates – design *Sheila Rock – photography *Simon Carter for Management One – management

''Get Even II''

Line up

* Nathan Moore – lead vocals * David White – guitar * Carl Fysh – keyboards * Steve Alexander – drums / percussion

Musicians

– drums, percussion *Belva Haney, Dee Lewis, Eric Robinson, Flakey C, Frankie Madrid, Leroy Osbourne, Mae McKenna, Vicki St James – background vocals *Dave Mattacks, Steve Ferrone – drums * Peter Vetesse, Richard Cottle, Rob Fisher – keyboards *Ian Curnow – keyboards *Steve Pigott – keyboards *Luis Jardim – percussion *Martin Ditcham – drums, percussion *Bimbo Acock, Phil Todd – saxophone

Production

– production (tracks 1, 7) *

– production (tracks 6, 11, 12) *

Richard James Burgess Richard James Burgess (born 29 June 1949) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, author, manager, marketer and inventor. Burgess's music career spans more than 50 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s a ...

– production (track 3) *

Don Was Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was (), is an American musician, record producer, music director, film composer, documentary filmmaker and radio host. Since 2011, he has also served as president of the ...

– production (tracks 4, 8) *Michael H. Brauer – production (track 5); remix (tracks 8, 9) *Mike Pela – production (track 8); sound engineer (tracks 4, 8, 11) *

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine, in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session ...

– remix (track 4) *Ian Curnow – production (track 2);

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

*Steve Pigott – programming *Chris Blair – mastering @ Abbey Road Studios *Mike Duffy – sound engineer (track 2) *Phil Harding – sound engineer, mix, production (track 2) *Frank Roszak – sound engineer (track 3) *Phil Brown – additional sound engineer (track 4) *Phil Legg – sound engineer (tracks 5, 9, 10) *Mike Ging – additional sound engineer (track 5) *

Mark Stent Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a curren ...

– sound engineer (track 6) *Rafe McKenna – sound engineer, mix (track 12) *Karen Hewitt – sound engineer (track 1) *Yoyo – sound engineer (track 1) *Mark McGuire – sound engineer (track 7) *Pete Hammond – mix (tracks 1, 7)

Recording studios

Same as ''Get Even I'', plus: *Olympic Studios (II) *The Manor (II)

Staff

*The Artful Dodgers Ltd – design *Cindy Palmano – front cover photography *

Simon Fowler Simon Geoffrey Fowler (born 25 May 1965) is an English singer, best known as the frontman of Ocean Colour Scene. The Fanatics Simon Fowler commenced his music career as the lead singer and songwriter for Birmingham band The Fanatics, which cons ...

– other photography *Simon Carter for Management One – management

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

Release details

Get Even I

Get Even II

References

External links

Discogs
cover art, product details, track listing and credits to ''Get Even II'', with direct links to updated biographies, detailed discographies and recent photos of all related performers participating in the album.
EveryHit.com
UK Top 40 Hit Database.
Nathan Moore Official
Nathan Moore's Official Website, including a detailed history and discography of Brother Beyond. *

Paul Gambaccini Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born 2 April 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author. He is a dual citizen of the United States and United Kingdom, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Great Gambo" and ...

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...

, Jonathan Rice (1993), ''British Hit Singles'', Guinness Publishing Ltd. {{Authority control 1988 debut albums Brother Beyond albums Albums produced by Stock Aitken Waterman Albums produced by Don Was