The song, “When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going”, was originally recorded by Billy Ocean in 1985
Billy Ocean co-wrote the song “When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going” for his album, “Love Zone”, with Wayne Anton Brathwaite, Barry James Eastmond and Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange. It was released as the lead single from the album in November 1985 and topped the singles charts in ten countries and made the top ten in more than twenty worldwide throughout 1986. It became his first and only number one hit in the UK and went to No.2 in America.
Irish boy band Boyzone recorded the song for Comic Relief in 1999 and it was released as a single that March, once again topping the UK singles chart, this time for two weeks, becoming their fifth UK chart topper. Their version became the tenth biggest seller of the year whilst Billy’s original had been the seventh best of 1986. Boyzone included the song on their 1999 studio album, “By Request”.
But which version is the best? BILLY’s original or BOYZONE’s cover?
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