He Ain't No Competition

"He Ain't No Competition" is a 1988 single released by British boyband Brother Beyond. It reached No.6 in the UK charts in September 1988. The song was written by its three producers, the Stock Aitken Waterman trio.[1] The song is considered the follow-up to the highly commercially successful "The Harder I Try".

"He Ain't No Competition"
Single by Brother Beyond
from the album Get Even
B-side"Call Me Lonely"
Released31 October 1988 (1988-10-31)
Genre
Length3:19
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Stock Aitken Waterman
Brother Beyond singles chronology
"The Harder I Try"
(1988)		 "He Ain't No Competition"
(1988)		 "Be My Twin"
(1989)

Background

Record label EMI decided the band should work again with Stock Aitken Waterman following the major success of "The Harder I Try".[2] The strategy was aimed at making the band's album marketable ahead of the Christmas period, but singer Nathan Moore felt the track fell short of its predecessor, believing it to be more "bubblegum" pop than its Motown-inspired counterpart.[2]

The band had felt they wanted to move away from the poppy sound of "The Harder I Try", so they adopted novel techniques to develop this new sound blending elements of jazz fusion and hip hop, overdubbed with synthesized pop focus. Brother Beyond's album Get Even (from which the track is taken) had by the time of the release of the single already been released in Japan. It was repackaged for its release in the rest of the world, including the two SAW-produced tracks, and omitting two of the band's self-penned songs from the original release. This version was released in November 1988, and the album was also a top 10 hit.

Critical reception

Jerry Smith of Music Week considered "He Ain't No Competition" like "The Harder I Try", as "another vacuous Stock, Aitken and Waterman track".[3]

Charts
1988-1989 chart performance for "He Ain't No Competition"
Chart (1988-1989) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 53
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 32
Europe (European Hot 100)[6] 20
Europe (European Airplay Top 50)[7] 26
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] 24
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] 19
UK Singles (OCC)[11] 6
West Germany (Official German Charts)[12] 39

References
  1. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Swedish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  2. "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 38: Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi to Nathan Jones on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  3. Smith, Jerry (29 October 1988). "Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 27. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  4. "Brother Beyond – He Ain't No Competition". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  5. "Brother Beyond – He Ain't No Competition" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  6. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 48. 26 November 1988. p. 22-23. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 15 August 2023 – via World Radio History.
  7. "European Airplay Top 50" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 50. 10 December 1988. p. 25. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 15 August 2023 – via World Radio History.
  8. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Brother Beyond". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 38. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – He Ain't No Competition". Irish Singles Chart.
  10. "Brother Beyond – He Ain't No Competition". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  11. "Brother Beyond: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Brother Beyond – He Ain't No Competition" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.



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