"No, Honestly" is a song written, performed and produced by

Lynsey de Paul Lynsey de Paul (born Lyndsey Monckton Rubin; 11 June 1948 – 1 October 2014) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. After initially writing hits for others, she had her own chart hits in the UK and Europe in the 1970s, starting ...

, that was the theme for

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...

's comedy series of the same name, although the single release was a slightly different version from that used for the TV theme.

History

The song was the first released on 18 October 1974 on the

Jet Records Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot (band), Riot, Magnum (band ...

label established by

Don Arden Don Arden (born Harry Levy; 4 January 1926 – 21 July 2007) was an English music manager, agent, and businessman. He managed the careers of rock acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Air Supply, Small Faces, The Mo ...

. It peaked at No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart, and No. 4 on the Northern Ireland chart at the beginning of December that year. It also climbed to the No. 3 spot on Capitol Radio's Capital Countdown on 23 November 1974, as compiled by the

Media Research Information Bureau The Media Research Information Bureau (MRIB) was a music chart research company that operated in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 2008. It was best known for compiling the chart data for ''The Network Chart Show'' which was broadcast by many TV and ...

(MRIB). The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of the single was de Paul's version of " Central Park Arrest"; a hit earlier in the year that she had originally written for the female group,

Thunderthighs Thunderthighs (also known as "Thunder Thighs") were a British backing vocal group, who released records in their own right. Career The female trio, consisting of Karen Friedman, Dari Lalou (American) and Casey Synge, provided the backing vo ...

. In 1975, de Paul received an

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

for Best Theme from a Radio or TV Production. An instrumental version of the song was used as the theme for the second series, ''

Yes, Honestly ''Yes - Honestly'' is a British television sitcom that aired on ITV between 9 January 1976 and 23 April 1977. It stars Donal Donnelly as Matthew Browne and Liza Goddard as Lily Pond Browne. The series followed the course of their relationship, ...

''. The song still gets airplay on various radio stations around the world, and it was played on Weatherfield Hospital Radio by DJ Geoff on the ITV soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' on 20 July 2020.

Other recordings

It was covered by the Brazilian singer Jeannie, on the various artists album, ''Discoteca Hippopotamus'', in 1975. A Danish version of "No Honestly" was released as a single by Vivian in 1976. The Bruce Baxter Orchestra, The Ray Hartley Orchestra and The Starshine Orchestra have performed versions for albums of famous TV theme songs.

References

External links

* 1974 songs Lynsey de Paul songs Songs written by Lynsey de Paul Jet Records singles Comedy television theme songs {{1970s-song-stub