Where We Belong is the third studio album by Irish boy band Boyzone. The album was released on 25 May 1998 by Polydor Records. Five singles were released from the album, including a cover version of "I Love the Way You Love Me". The album became a top 10 album in eleven countries. It was the group's second album to be released in the United States, where it charted at number 167 on the Billboard 200. Where We Belong is also the third and final studio album Boyzone released before the death of Stephen Gately, 11 years later.
Background and release Like their first two albums, much of the original material for the album was written or co-written by the band members themselves. In 1998, Ronan Keating was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for "Picture of You", which was featured as the main theme song from the film Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie (1997).
Where We Belong album was released on 25 May 1998 in the United Kingdom by Polydor Records. It topped the UK Albums Chart on the week of 6 June 1998. Five singles were released from the album: "Picture of You", "Baby Can I Hold You", "All That I Need", "No Matter What" and "I Love the Way You Love Me", with the addition of the French-language single "Te Garder Pres De Moi", which was released and included on the album exclusively in France. The original British issue of the album did not contain "No Matter What" or "I Love the Way You Love Me" - these were included on a later pressing, issued on 10 November 1998. The following week, the album was released in the United States on 17 November 1998 by Ravenous Records, a label set up by Jim Steinman under Mercury Records. The US edition included three new songs; "I'll Never Not Need You", "Walk On (So They Told Me)", and "All the Time in the World". "All the Time in the World" was released as the album's first single in the US on 5 October 1998. "No Matter What" was featured on the US edition of the soundtrack to the 1999 film Notting Hill, and was released to American radio on 10 May 1999.
Although "Picture of You" is included on the album in both the United States and Australia, it was released as a single from A Different Beat in those regions, as the release of A Different Beat occurred there after the release of "Picture of You" in the United Kingdom. The American edition of the album includes three new tracks that were not released in Britain until the release of By Request in 1999. Although "Shooting Star" was released as a double A-side with "Baby Can I Hold You" in most territories, it only appeared as a bonus track on the album in Japan. The album is also the third and final studio album that the group released before the death of Stephen Gately eleven years later.
B-sides Several B-sides were issued to the singles taken from the album. The original track "I've Got You", co-written by Graham, Hedges and Brannigan, was released alongside "Picture of You", which also included a Spanish-language version of "Words", an extended mix of its title track, and the band's Eurovision promotional single, "Let the Message Run Free", which was also released as a promotional single with cans of Pepsi. The Japanese-only bonus track "Shooting Star" was issued as the B-side to "Baby Can I Hold You", alongside the band's version of "Mystical Experience", formerly only released in America, as well as a remix of the said track, the Spanish-language version of "Words" and the classic B-side "From Here to Eternity". The Japanese-only bonus track "Never Easy" was issued as the B-side to "All That I Need, alongside A Different Beat opener "Paradise", a French-language version of "Working My Way Back to You" included as a bonus track from the album in France, and remixes of the title track by Piz Danuk and Trouser Enthusiasts. The brand new track "Where Have You Been", co-written by Duffy, Hedges and Brannigan, was released alongside "No Matter What", accompanied by a remix of "All That I Need" by Phil Da Costa, the Japanese-only bonus track "She's the One" co-written by Keating, an interview with the band, and the band's former hit singles "Father and Son" and "Words". Finally, the brand new track "Waiting for You", co-written by Gately, was issued as the B-side to "I Love the Way You Love Me", alongside "Let the Message Run Free", a live version of "No Matter What" from Wembley, and a medley of songs from the musical Grease.
Commercial performance The album topped the UK Albums Chart for three weeks in 1998, on 6 June, 5 September and 12 September respectively, making it their first album to spend more than a week at number one. The album was the third best selling album of 1998 in the United Kingdom. The album was certified as 5× Platinum in the UK and sold 3 million copies worldwide.
Track listing
Notes signifies a remixer signifies an additional producer signifies a vocal producer
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1998–99)PeakpositionDanish Albums (Tracklisten)2Estonian Albums (Eesti Top 10)2European Albums Chart5Greek Albums (IFPI Greece) 9Icelandic Albums (Tónlist)4Irish Albums (IRMA)1Japanese Albums (Oricon)90Malaysian Albums (IFPI)3Singapore Albums (SPVA)1Taiwanese Albums (IFPI)1Zimbabwean Albums (ZIMA)* Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 20001
Year-end charts Chart (1998)PeakpositionBelgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)18Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)Dutchcharts.nl14European Albums (Eurochart Hot 100)25New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)12Norwegian Albums (VG Lista)1Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)43UK Albums (OCC)3Chart (1999)PeakpositionBelgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)88Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)40 European Albums (Eurochart Hot 100)42German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)87New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)17UK Albums (OCC)46
End of decade charts Chart (1990–1999)Position UK Albums Chart35
Certifications and sales
Album credits
Boyzone - Vocals, main performer Robbie McIntosh - Guitar Mike Mangini - Guitar, drum programming, producer James McMillan - Guitar, programming, keyboards Dominic Miller - Guitar Heff Moraes - Engineer, mixing Richard Niles - Arranger Denniz Pop - Executive Producer Andy Richards - Keyboards, programming Steve Rinkoff - Mixing Rudeboy - Remixing Robin Sellars - Mixing Trevor Steel - Programming, producer Carl Sturken - Arranger, producer Ren Swan - Engineer John Themis - Guitar Warren Wiebe - Vocals (background) Nigel Wright - Keyboards, producer Paul Wright - Engineer DJ Nastee - Guitar Nick Foster - Producer Ben Foster - Arranger Jeremy Wheatley - Mixing David Kreuger - Producer Eric Liljestrand - Digital editing Mauricio Iragorri - Mixing Jack Hersca - Assistant Engineer Fred Carlson - Guitar Andy Gallimore - Engineer Sharon Kearney - Assistant Engineer Jon Douglas - Producer Steve Mac - Piano, mixing, arranger Per Magnusson - Vocals (background), producer Alan Chez - Trumpet
Al Hemberger - Engineer Baron Raymonde - Saxophone Tim Willis - Assistant Engineer Ben Allen - Guitar, Assistant Engineer John R. Angier - Keyboards Dan Vickers - Assistant Engineer Andrea Derby - Production Assistant Chris Laws - Drums, engineer, programming Angela Lupino - Bass, arranger Mark Antony - Vocals (background) Jamie Hart - Assistant Engineer Skoti-Alain Elliot - Bass, Engineer Keith LeBlanc - Drums Jim Steinman - Producer, Executive Producer Michael Thompson - Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric) Evan Rogers - Arranger, producer, vocals (background) Tom Lord-Alge - Mixing Chris Blair - Mastering Steve Booker - Keyboards Andy Bradfield - Remixing Danny G. - Keyboards Andy Duncan - Drums Rick Essig - Mastering Simon Franglen - Arranger, mixing, keyboards Paul Gendler - Guitar (acoustic) Scott Gordon - Engineer Mike Rose - Keyboards Mick Guzauski - Arranger John Holliday - Producer, Spanish guitar Mark Hudson - Arranger, producer Nick Ingman - Orchestration Luís Jardim - Percussion Stephen Lipson - Guitar, producer, mandolin Andrew Lloyd Webber - Producer, Executive Producer
References