When Will I Be Famous?


"When Will I Be Famous?" is a song by British boy band Bros. Written by Nicky Graham and Tom Watkins, "When Will I Be Famous?" was released as a single on 16 November 1987, and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and at number one on the Irish Single Chart, as well as reaching the top five in several other countries. "When Will I Be Famous?" would later appearing on their 1988 album Push. In 1988-1989 it was used in an advert for The Sunday Mirror. The song was later used in a Hyundai commercial in Japan which helped the track reach the top five of the Japanese Music Charts.
In 2017, ShortLists Dave Fawbert listed this song at number one on his list of the "greatest key changes in music history".

Chart performance

"When Will I Be Famous?" was a number-one single in Ireland, as well as reaching number two in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland.
It entered the UK Singles Chart on 28 November 1987 at number 81, in an initial five-week chart run until the end of December. It re-entered the top 100 at number 51 on the week ending 31 January 1988, reaching number two five weeks later.

Track listings

7" and Japan CD single
  1. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 3:59
  2. "Love to Hate You" – 4:40
12" and CD single
  1. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 5:40
  2. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 8:16
  3. "Love to Hate You" – 4:40
US 12" single
  1. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 8:02
  2. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 4:06
  3. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 3:59
  4. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 7:35
  5. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 2:53
US CD single
  1. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 3:59
  2. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 8:03
  3. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 7:34
Japan CD mini-album
  1. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 5:48
  2. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 5:41
  3. "When Will I Be Famous?" – 8:19

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts