When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going

• Artist: Bow Wow Wow
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1983
• Genre: Rock

Review

Producer Mike Chapman, who had recently worked with Pat Benatar and Blondie, came on board for Bow Wow Wow's When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going set. Perhaps it's Chapman's involvement that finds lead singer Annabella Lwin sounding a bit like Debbie Harry at times. This 1983 album was also the first that had no writers from outside the band contributing. When the Going Gets Tough is a well-polished, well-executed effort that holds some surprises mainly in the fact that there is more diversity than on prior Bow Wow Wow records. Chapman adds a gloss to the ballads "Lonesome Tonight" and the dreamy "Love Me," with Lwin toning down her usual frantic delivery. "The Man Mountain" sounds like an old folk song. And, there's also the straight-ahead, playful pop that you'd expect from the band on the ultra-hooky single "Do You Wanna Hold Me" and "Tommy Tucker," which begins as a nursery rhyme and concludes with a quasi-football chant. ~ Tom Demalon, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Aphrodisiac (Lyrics)	Annabella Lwin, Matthew Ashman, Dave Barbarossa, Leigh Gorman	Bow Wow Wow
Do You Wanna Hold Me? (Lyrics)	Annabella Lwin, Matthew Ashman, Dave Barbarossa, Leigh Gorman	Bow Wow Wow
Roustabout	Annabella Lwin, Matthew Ashman, Dave Barbarossa, Leigh Gorman	Bow Wow Wow
Lonesome Tonight	Annabella Lwin, Matthew Ashman, Dave Barbarossa, Leigh Gorman	Bow Wow Wow
Love Me	Annabella Lwin, Matthew Ashman, Dave Barbarossa, Leigh Gorman	Bow Wow Wow
What's the Time (Hey Buddy)	Annabella Lwin, Matthew Ashman, Dave Barbarossa, Leigh Gorman	Bow Wow Wow
Mario (Your Own Way to Paradise)	Annabella Lwin, Matthew Ashman, Dave Barbarossa, Leigh Gorman	Bow Wow Wow
Quiver (Arrows in My)	Annabella Lwin, Matthew Ashman, Dave Barbarossa, Leigh Gorman	Bow Wow Wow
The Man Mountain	Annabella Lwin, Matthew Ashman, Dave Barbarossa, Leigh Gorman	Bow Wow Wow
Rikki Dee	Annabella Lwin, Matthew Ashman, Dave Barbarossa, Leigh Gorman	Bow Wow Wow
Tommy Tucker	Annabella Lwin, Matthew Ashman, Dave Barbarossa, Leigh Gorman	Bow Wow Wow
Love, Peace and Harmony	Annabella Lwin, Matthew Ashman, Dave Barbarossa, Leigh Gorman	Bow Wow Wow

Credits

Mike Chapman (Producer), Annabella Lu Win (Vocals), Dave Barbarossa (Drums), Leroy Gorman (Bass), Matthew Ashman (Guitar)