The Girl I Used to Know

"The Girl I Used to Know" is a 1990 pop single from British boyband Brother Beyond. The song was recorded specifically for the American edition of their second album, Trust, released in mid-1990, with the European edition, which was released in 1989, not containing the song. The song saw a change in the band's musical direction as this track was more funk-orientated and had less of the Motown sound of their earlier work. The song was written and produced by American producers Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers.^[1]^[2]

Released8 December 1990

RecordedJune–July 1990

GenrePop

Length4:24

Quick facts Single by Brother Beyond, from the album Trust (US Edition) ...

"The Girl I Used To Know"

Single by Brother Beyond

from the album Trust (US Edition)

Released

8 December 1990

Recorded

June–July 1990

Genre

Pop

Length

4:24

Label

Parlophone

Songwriter

Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers

Producer

Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers

Brother Beyond singles chronology

"Trust"
(1990)

"The Girl I Used To Know"
(1990)

"Just A Heartbeat Away"
(1990)

Chart success

First released as a single in the US in mid-1990, the track proved to be the group's only single to enter the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #27. Singer Nathan Moore has alleged the band were required to pay £100,000 to the mafia as part of a payola strategy to secure US airplay for the single.^[3]

The song also peaked at #62 in Canada. In the UK and Europe, the single was released as a non-album single in 1991, peaking at #48 in the UK in January of that year. This would be the group's last single to chart, and they disbanded not long after, with record label EMI dumping them amid promotion for the track.^[3] The song made the Top 10 in Portugal where it is sung today by supporters of FC Porto in a chant form.^[4]

Music video

A music video for the song directed by Anton Corbijn, Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers featuring the band driving in a convertible motor was shot in the Sahara Desert in Morocco in November 1990.^[5] These were interspersed with black and white studio scenes of the band performing, and in other scenes, at a diner.

Charts

More information Chart (1990–1991), Peak position ...

Chart (1990–1991)	Peak position
Canada	62
UK Singles (OCC)	48
UK Airplay (Music Week)^[6]	23
US Billboard Hot 100	27
US Cash Box Top 100^[7]	23
US CHR/Pop Top 40 (Radio & Records)^[8]	23

References

[1]
Breihan, Tom (2020-10-20). "The Number Ones Bonus Tracks: Florence & The Machine's What The Water Gave Me". Stereo Gum. Retrieved 2022-07-19. Welch co-wrote "What The Water Gave Me" with Francis "Eg" White, a producer who'd worked on Lungs. White had been one of the kids in Brother Beyond, a British boy band who were huge during the one year I lived in London as a kid. (In the US, Brother Beyond's only charting single was 1990's "The Girl I Used To Know," which peaked at #27.) After Brother Beyond, White became a behind-the-scenes type, and he's one of the many who worked with both Adele and Florence. (White co-wrote Adele's breakout single, 2007's "Chasing Pavements," which peaked at #21.) So Florence had a steadying pop-industry professional working on her on "What The Water Gave Me," but you can't really tell. That's a good thing.
[2]
Billboard Staff (2018-04-23). "he 100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-07-19. U.K. quartet Brother Beyond briefly cameo'd on the U.S. pop charts with the jazzy R&B of 1990's Hot 100 top 40 hit "The Girl I Used to Know," but their more delectable entry to the boy band canon came with their breakout hit across the pond, the No. 2-peaking British smash "The Harder I Try." The swinging Stock/Aitken/Waterman-engineered single threw back to '60s Motown better than any U.K. outfit since Wham!, though it was kept off the top of the charts by a couple of actual soul covers: Yazz's "The Only Way Is Up" and Phil Collins' "Groovy Kind of Love." — A.U.website=Billboard
[3]
"A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 38: Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi to Nathan Jones on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
[4]
Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirjacode: fin promoted to code: fi (in Swedish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
[5]
Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Brother Beyond - The Girl I Used To Know. YouTube.
[6]
"Playlist Chart" (PDF). Music Week. 1991-01-26. p. iii. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
[7]
"USA Cashbox Charts Summaries" (PDF). popmusichistory. p. 7. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
[8]
"R&R CHR/Pop Top 50" (PDF). Radio & Records. August 17, 1990. p. 104. Retrieved November 16, 2025.

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