‘What About Me’ by Moving Pictures – Classic Hit or Miss

The song when by Band Founder Gary Frost while he was working with autistic children in his day job. He had gone out to get lunch at his local shop in the Sydney suburb of Annandale and saw a small boy not being noticed waiting at the counter. He was sufficiently moved by the vision to write the song. The song was rarely played live by the band; when it was, it was played in a modern country style. It would never have been recorded but their debut album's producer Charles Fisher heard Frost and Smith tinkling with the tune on the studio piano during a break in recording. Fisher suggested that Moving Pictures record the song.

It was initially released as a single in January 1982. It debuted on the charts during February and five weeks later reached #1, where it remained for six weeks, going on to become the second biggest selling single in Australia for 1982 (behind Survivor’s "Eye of the Tiger") and went on to win the "Best Single" award at the 1982 Countdown Music Awards. "What About Me?" was released in the United States later in September 1982, reaching #29 and spending 26 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. Because of its longevity on the Hot 100, the song was able to end up on the year-end chart at #88 in the U.S. It was re-released in the U.S. market in 1989 by Geffen Records, climbing to #46 at its second attempt.

How about today?