"Lies" is the fifteenth single from British

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band,

McFly McFly are an English pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the '' Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Danny Jones (lead vocals, har ...

, released on 15 September 2008. "Lies" did not feature on the promotional 10-track copy of the album '' Radio:Active'' which was given away in ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the '' Daily Mail'', was first pu ...

'' in July 2008, however it features as one of the four additional tracks on the retail edition of the album, which was released on 22 September 2008. The lead vocals for the song are split between band members

Danny Jones Daniel Alan David Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1984–2005'' (born 12 March 1986) is an English singer-songwriter and musician who is one of the lead vocalists and the lead guitarist for pop-rock band McFly. Jone ...

and

Tom Fletcher Thomas Michael Fletcher (born 17 July 1985) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, composer, author and vlogger. He is one of the lead vocalists and rhythm guitarist of English pop rock band McFly, in addition to being the group's founder ...

, with vocal contributions from bassist

Dougie Poynter Dougie Lee Poynter (born 30 November 1987) is an English musician, songwriter, fashion model, aspiring clothing designer, children's author and actor. He is the bassist of the pop rock band McFly. Biography Early life Poynter was born in Orset ...

. Upon release, the song reached No. 4 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and No. 1 on the

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

Background

"Lyrically, Lies is definitely the darkest song we've ever written," says Tom Fletcher, who shares vocals on the track with Danny Jones. "It's about a real bitch of a girl who is out for herself and doesn't care who she uses to get what she wants. We did have a girl in mind when we wrote it, but really it's an amalgam of several girls we have met along the way. We hope she burns in hell at the end. A real good time tune then!" On 17 September 2008 the song was added to both

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

and

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

's A-Lists.

Chart performance

"Lies" debuted at number No. 4, it sold 26,071 on the

in its first week on sale. It peaked at No. 1 on the

, giving McFly their ninth number-one single there. "Lies" has received a Platinum sales status certification for sales of over 170,000 copies in the Brazil. The song appears on the international soundtrack to the Brazilian telenovela '' Caminho das Índias''.

Music video

The full music video is just over 6 minutes long, and received its premiere on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's teen strand, T4 on 23 August 2008, and Brazil its premiere on

MTV Brasil MTV Brasil was a Brazilian over-the-air television network owned by Grupo Abril focused on the youth. The network was launched on 20 October 1990, as the first specialty television network to broadcast over-the-air, becoming the local version ...

on 7 October 2008. The video, directed by the duo Chris Hopewell and Ben Foley. The music video takes place in an apocalyptic world where water is scarce and therefore a source of power. The opening monologue of the video. "Now We have only the memories, of a green and pleasant land that lies below the countless fathoms. The lifeless seas, filthy and reeking, crept up on mankind, inch by inch. Slowly his clever water powered world ground to a halt. Brother fought Brother, Nation fought Nation. But there are those who flourish in this blight of times, they cleanse the water. Make it pure again. For a Price. Only the strong and the quick survive, living off their animal cunning, always mobile in the endless search of the life bringing water. In their cities of fire and steel, these all powerful water barons, now run the world. Holding all to ransom in a firestorm of fear." In the start of the video, it starts with a monologue as the band are in a water powered van in the vast and lonely landscape. However the van grinds to a halt as the water cells that power the van have stopped working as they ran out of water. They then push their van towards the closest civilization they can find. However being watched by one of the water barons. As they then reach the city, they are met with some of the security and guides to bring them around the city to get what they are looking for however throughout the path, they encounter different people and surroundings as they get pushed along towards to where they need to get the cleaned water. Once they get to where they are needed they get stopped by the Water baron of the city and they get sent off to be at the stage as a way of "payment". Then the boys are on a stage performing as everything is made from loads of scrap objects. They then had enough of performing and then get into a fight with some of the members of the Barons gang. Initially they beat them away only leaving Tom and the baroness to fight it off. It seemed the baron would have won however Tom defeats the baroness. In the light of a celebration however, a big chainsaw wielding thug comes out. The boys then decide it's best to leave as they take whatever they can and fuel up. They then leave in their van, however by the end of the video the van breaks down on their escape. The video ends as the baroness and the chainsaw thug go after them as the screen quickly blacks out. Unsure if the boys have escaped. The baroness is played by Jo-Emma Larvin.

Track listing

UK CD1 # "Lies" (Album Version) - 3:46 # "Winner Takes It All" (Acoustic) - 4:17 UK CD2 # "Lies" (Album Version) - 3:46 # "Going Through The Motions" (Live) - 3:49 # "The End" (Acoustic) - 3:42 # "Interview" - 11:26 UK DVD single # "Lies" (Full-Length Video) - 6:06 # "Behind the Scenes Documentary - The "Lies" Video Shoot" # "Lies" (Audio) - 3:49 # "Additional McFly Footage"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lies (Mcfly Song) 2008 singles McFly songs Songs written by Danny Jones Songs written by Dougie Poynter Songs written by Tom Fletcher 2008 songs EMI Records singles Number-one singles in Scotland