"Sweetest Smile" is a song by English singer
Black, released in June 1987 as the third single from his debut album ''
Wonderful Life''. It became his first UK top ten hit, peaking at number 8 on the
UK Singles Chart.
On the back of its success, "
Wonderful Life" was re-released, becoming an international hit.
Meaning and reception
Speaking in an interview with ''
Smash Hits
''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...
'' in 1987, he said of the song "It's me singing me story of everything that happened to me in 1985, which was a ''rotten'' year. Basically my heart was broken. I was… erm, I'm technically married. Er… I've got an imminent divorce – I've been separated for two years. Er… I've never told anyone that, I shouldn't have said it! Er… yeah, so that was 1985, along with lots of other things, me family falling ill and me friends going through all sorts of stuff… I'm alright now though. Just about."
The song was reviewed in ''
Record Mirror'' and was described as "a beautiful, slow croon. Sufficiently different from the usual conveyor-belt of identikit hits to distract the listener and stretch their attention span to four minutes."
Track listings
7"
# "Sweetest Smile" – 4:22
# "Sixteens" – 3:56
12" / CD / cassette
# "Sweetest Smile" – 5:21
# "Sixteens" – 3:56
# "Leave Yourself Alone" – 4:32
# "Hardly Star-Crossed Lovers" – 2:51
Personnel
Musicians
* Colin Vearncombe – vocals
* Dave "Dix" Dickie – keyboards
* Roy Corkill –
fretless bass
*
Jimmy Hughes – drums
* Martin Green –
soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...
Technical
* John Warwicker – art direction, design
* Jeremy Pearce – design
*
Perry Ogden – photography
Charts
References
{{Black (singer)
1987 songs
1987 singles
A&M Records singles
Black (singer) songs
Pop ballads