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Heavyweight Champion of the World (song)

{{Short description|2007 single by Reverend and the Makers}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Heavyweight Champion of the World

| cover = HeavyweightChampionOfTheWorldSingleCover.JPG

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Reverend and the Makers

| album = The State of Things

| B-side =

  • "18-30"
  • "The Last Resort"

| released = 28 May 2007

| recorded =

| studio =

| genre =

| length = 3:30

| label =

| writer =

| producer = Jagz Kooner

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title = He Said He Loved Me

| next_year = 2007

}}

"Heavyweight Champion of the World" is the debut single of English band Reverend and the Makers as well as the first single from their debut album, The State of Things (2007). The single was released on 6 May 2007 on download only and was subsequently released on CD and 7-inch vinyl on 28 May that year. The single was also released on a white label which was limited to 800 copies; the track list for this release is the same as the standard vinyl. The song peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and number 85 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. It was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry in 2022 for sales and streams exceeding 400,000 units.

Inspiration

{{More citations needed section|date=June 2021}}

"Heavyweight Champion of the World" tells a story of not just under-achievers, but the majority who are trapped within repetitive lives, with the ironic hook "just be like everybody else". Many songs by the band centre on the downward spiral of somebody's life. The song title is taken from a line of Barry Hines book A Kestrel for a Knave. Like the song, the book's main character is an under-achieving young boy growing up in Yorkshire. The song has received rave reviews, and appeared as Zane Lowe's 'Hottest Record In The World Today', and is equally liked by Radio 1 DJs Nick Grimshaw and Greg James. The single is accredited to Jon McClure, Ed Cosens and Alan Smyth, acknowledging the work that Smyth did towards the demo of the song.

In addition to the reference to Barry Hines, the song's chorus includes another pugilistic reference, from the movie On the Waterfront. The line, "I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody" spoken by Marlon Brando in the movie is closely paraphrased in the song's lyrics as "I could've been a contender/Could've been a someone."[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047296/quotes]

Track listings

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UK 7-inch single {{small|(WOS 009S)}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Heavyweight Champion of the World|others=Reverend and the Makers|year=2007|type=UK 7-inch single sleeve|publisher=PIAS Recordings, Wall of Sound|id=WOS 009S, 949.2009.140}}

:A1. "Heavyweight Champion of the World"

:B1. "18-30"

:B2. "The Last Resort" (with John Cooper Clarke)

UK CD single {{small|(WOS 009CD)}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Heavyweight Champion of the World|others=Reverend and the Makers|year=2007|type=UK CD single liner notes|publisher=PIAS Recordings, Wall of Sound|id=WOS 009CD, 949.2009.122}}

  1. "Heavyweight Champion of the World"
  2. "18-30" (extended)
  3. "Heavyweight Champion of the World" (club mix)

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Australian maxi-CD single {{small|(PIAS006CD)}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Heavyweight Champion of the World|others=Reverend and the Makers|year=2007|type=Australian maxi-CD single liner notes|publisher=PIAS Recordings, Wall of Sound, Liberator Music|id=PIAS006CD}}

  1. "Heavyweight Champion of the World"
  2. "18-30"
  3. "Heavyweight Champion of the World" (club)
  4. "Heavyweight Champion of the World" (dub)
  5. "The Last Resort" (with John Cooper Clarke)

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Charts

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=Weekly charts=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Weekly chart performance for "Heavyweight Champion of the World"

!Chart (2007)

!Peak
position

{{single chart|Australiapandora|85|url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20070819140100/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20070820-0001/issue909.pdf|urltitle=Issue 909|rowheader=true|access-date=3 December 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
{{single chart|Scotland|13|date=20070609|rowheader=true|access-date=24 March 2019}}
{{single chart|UK|8|date=20070616|rowheader=true|access-date=24 March 2019}}
{{single chart|UKindie|1|date=20070616|rowheader=true|access-date=24 March 2019}}

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=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Year-end chart performance for "Heavyweight Champion of the World"

!Chart (2007)

!Position

scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC){{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/end-of-year-singles-chart/20070107/37501/|title=End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2007|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=24 March 2019}}

|82

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Certifications

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Heavyweight Champion of the World"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Reverend & The Makers|title=Heavyweight Champion of the World|award=Gold|relyear=2007|certyear=2022|id=13901-927-1|access-date=19 April 2022}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Reverend and The Makers}}

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Category:2007 debut singles

Category:2007 songs

Category:PIAS Recordings singles

Category:Reverend and The Makers songs

Category:Songs written by Alan Smyth

Category:Wall of Sound (record label) singles

Category:UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles