"Hey Boy" is a song by British pop group

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singe ...

. It was released through

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

on 16 October 2015 as the fourth single from the seventh studio album, ''

III III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * Ins ...

,'' originally released in 2014, although this song only appears on the 2015 Edition. The song was written by

and produced by

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs t ...

and features

Mark Owen Mark Owen (born 27 January 1972) is an English singer and songwriter best known for being a member of pop group and band Take That; as of 2019, the group have sold 14 million albums and 11.4 million singles in the UK. In Owen's solo career, he ...

Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, havi ...

and

Howard Donald Howard Paul Donald (born 28 April 1968) is an English singer, songwriter, drummer, pianist, dancer and record producer. He is a member of English pop-group Take That. Donald was also judge on the German reality talent show ''Got to Dance'' from ...

on lead vocals.

Background

On completion of Take That's sell out European tour,

Take That Live 2015 Take That Live (also known as the III Tour) was the ninth concert tour by British band Take That, in support of their seventh studio album ''III (Take That album), III''. The shows were announced on 8 November 2014. The demand for the tour led ...

, the band announced they would be re-releasing their number one-album, ''

'', with 4 new songs. "Hey Boy", one of these new songs, was announced as the third single from the album in advance of the record. The single follows an electro-pop style that the band adopt in ''III'' with Howard Donald describing the single as the "most excited" he has been about a release in a "long time".

Live performances

Take That performed the single live for the first time on the day it was released to radio on 16 October 2015. The band performed the single on

TFI Friday ''TFI Friday'' is an entertainment show that was broadcast on Channel 4 television in the United Kingdom. It was produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker, and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first five series. The sixth series ...

, the first time the band had played on the show.

Music video

The music video for "Hey Boy" was filmed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and features the band dressed up as 70s pop stars walking through the streets and into a

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

while performing the song.

Critical reception

The single received positive reviews upon its release, with Entertainment Focus calling it "an 80s influenced track featuring chunky synths and a big chorus." The ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...

'' called it "uptempo and catchy" continuing by saying that "'Hey Boy' is in the same vein as the winning formula of '

These Days These Days may refer to: Music Albums * ''These Days'' (Bon Jovi album), and the title song (see below) ** These Days Tour, a 1995–1996 tour by Bon Jovi in support of the above album * ''These Days'' (Crystal Gayle album), 1980 * ''These D ...

', the song that brought us all onto the dancefloor at weddings this summer." The review concluded by stating that "it has a driving bassline and lyrics to sing along with in the car. What's not to love?"

Personnel

– co-lead vocals *

– co-lead vocals

Track listing

*;Digital download #"Hey Boy" – 3:43 *;UK CD single # "Hey Boy" – 3:43 ;Other versions * 7th Heaven Club Mix – 7:38 * 7th Heaven Radio Edit – 3:54

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hey Boy 2015 songs 2015 singles Take That songs Pop ballads Songs written by Gary Barlow Songs written by Mark Owen Songs written by Howard Donald Polydor Records singles Songs written by Jamie Norton Songs written by Ben Mark Song recordings produced by Greg Kurstin