"No, Honestly" is a song written, performed and produced by Lynsey de Paul, that was the theme for

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

'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 and Magnum. History Th ...

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, Air Supply, Small Faces, The Move, Black Sabbath ...

. It peaked at No. 7 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. 4 on the Northern Ireland chart at the beginning of December that year. The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the single was de Paul's version of "

Central Park Arrest "Central Park Arrest" is a song composed by Lynsey de Paul for the vocal trio Thunderthighs, and told the story of a policewoman apprehending a flasher in New York's Central Park. This song in the style of TV cop theme tunes of the day featured po ...

"; 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 became artists in their own right. Career The female trio, consisting of Karen Friedman, Dari Lalou (American) and Casey Synge, provided the backing vocals ...

. In 1975, de Paul received an

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

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 from 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, from ...

''.

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