"Hello" was the first single taken from The Cat Empire

The Cat Empire

The Cat Empire are an Australian ska and jazz band formed in 1999. Core members are Harry James Angus , Will Hull-Brown , Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwhala , Ollie McGill , Ryan Monro and Felix Riebl...

's 2003 debut album

The Cat Empire (album)

The Cat Empire is the eponymous studio debut album of Melbourne band The Cat Empire. Released in October 2003 in Australia, it went platinum in Australia in February 2004.-Recording of the album:...

. It was only released as a CD single in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, where it peaked at #12 in the singles chart. It is considered by many to have been the break-through single for the band, although the song never saw commercial release in their native Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is credited as exposing the band to a more mainstream audience and allowing them to enhance their following.

Physical copies of the single itself are credited to being quite a rarity, as they were only released in New Zealand for a short time. They can still be found in some collectible shops mainly throughout New Zealand, and more uncommonly through Australia. Few copies have been sold on online auction site, eBay

EBay

eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...

.

Track listing

1. "Hello" - 3:44
2. "East" - 3:53
3. "The Chariot (live version)" - 7:41
4. "Hello (extended version)" - 4:44

Promotional releases

There were two promotional releases of Hello, containing one track - "Hello (radio edit)". One version (black cover) was given away at certain gigs whilst the other, a white cover, was a radio / promotional release. The white cover releases were all hand stamped, as you can see through the differing locations of The Cat Empire logo and the word 'Hello' on the slipcase. The 'white' disc is labeled 'PR344' and was pressed by Virgin Australia, whilst the version given away at gigs is labeled 'CDRP689'.

Other uses in media

• Samples of Hello have been used in the promos and advertising of the Network Ten
  Network Ten
  Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
  
   TV program The 7PM Project
  The 7PM Project
  The Project is an Australian talk show television program airing weeknights across Australia on Network Ten. The formerly half hour long show premiered on 20 July 2009, and is hosted by Charlie Pickering, Carrie Bickmore and Dave Hughes, with a rotating daily guest panelist...
  
  .
• This is the official theme of "Musa da Beleza Interior" (Muse of Inner Beauty), one current sketch of the Brazilian TV program "Pânico na TV
  Pânico na TV
  Pânico na TV is a Brazilian comedy program shown on RedeTV! on Sundays. It is the television version of the original radio program called Pânico. After its debut on TV , the program has become famous throughout Brazil....
  
  ".