Love, Truth And Honesty
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"Love, Truth and Honesty" is a song by English girl group
Bananarama Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...
from their first greatest hits album, '' Greatest Hits Collection'' (1988). Co-written and produced by the
Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW and also known as the Hit Factory) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s throug ...
(SAW) trio, the song was released on 12 September 1988 by
London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
as the album's lead single. It achieved a moderate success, peaking out of the top 20 in the majority of countries where it was released. The music video was produced by Big TV!.


Background and writing

"Love, Truth and Honesty" is the only Bananarama's single to give a songwriting credit to new member Jacquie O'Sullivan, and was also the last single Bananarama would write with SAW as a trio. Speaking of the subject matter of the song,
Keren Woodward Keren Jane Woodward (born 2 April 1961) is an English singer/songwriter and, with Sara Dallin and Siobhan Fahey, a founding member of the girl group Bananarama. In 1986, the trio reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with their ve ...
noted, "The single’s more bitter than it appears on the surface. It's not Hey!'' Love, Truth and Honesty!' It’s what a fool I was to believe in love truth and honesty.”


Critical reception


Reviews

Jonh Wilde from ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' wrote, "Another blithely cheerful nursery-rhyme that will get housewives rattling their J-cloths all over the home counties, flicking the dust-beetles under the rugs as they whistle along, "''Never trust your emotions, they'll always let you down''", they yodel." Jack Barron from ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' said, "A tale of betrayal, 'Love Truth and Honesty' doesn't bleat about the bush but blushes with a tacky
SAW A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, Wire saw, wire, or Chainsaw, chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when man ...
electrodance beat and purple prose passion. Prime pop delivered in a screw-top."
James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...
from ''
Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...
'' was critical of the song, describing it as a "surprisingly dull and uninspired Stock Aiken Waterman produced blandly lolloping bpm canterer with the girls's usual unison vocal patterns and typically nagging hook". Similarly, in another issue of the same magazine, David Gilles called it a "lesser song", adding "it's about time they ananarama's membersbroke away from SAW". By contrast, in 2017, Christian Guiltenane of British magazine ''
Attitude Attitude or Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), a disposition or state of mind ** Attitude change * Propositional attitude, a mental state held towards a proposition Science and technology * Orientation ...
'' praised this Bananarama song as being "one of their more glum affairs (though still wrapped up in a tinny SAW package), but is sensational nevertheless".


Impact and legacy

In 2021, British magazine ''
Classic Pop Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...
'' ranked it number 15 in their list of "Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs", describing it as a "bleak yet lovable ode to the nasty business of love cheats" and as being "charming, simple, honest". In 2023, Tom Eames of Smooth Radio ranked the song at number nine in his "Bananarama's 10 greatest songs, ranked" list.


Chart performance

"Love, Truth and Honesty" was not as successful as Bananarama's previous singles from the '' Wow!'' album. In the UK, it entered the chart at number 31 on 24 September 1988, peaked at number 23 for consecutive two weeks and fell off the chart after eight weeks of presence. The only country where it peaked within the top ten is Finland where it topped the chart, while it was a top 20 hit in Ireland where it attained number 12 with four weeks of charting, and New Zealand where it peaked at number 20 and appeared on the chart for five weeks. In addition, it reached number 25 in Switzerland, missed the top 30 in Australia and the top 40 in West Germany by two places in each case, and barely made the top 100 in the Netherlands. In the United States, "Love, Truth and Honesty" peaked at number 89 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and charted for three weeks, marking the group's last appearance on the chart, but did better on the
Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...
chart, peaking at number 26 in its fourth week out of a seven chart run. On the
European Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...
singles chart compiled by Pan-European magazine ''
Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...
'', it ranked for eight weeks, with a peak at number 41 twice, in its fourth and fifth weeks.


Music video

The accompanying music video for "Love, Truth and Honesty", directed by Big TV!, features the trio performing in front of mirrors and neon lights as a well-groomed man looks on. The three members of the band are shown alternately in evening gowns—a departure from their previous looks—as well as more casual black outfits.


Track listings

* 7-inch single #"Love, Truth and Honesty" – 3:25 #"Strike It Rich" – 5:03 * 12-inch single #"Love, Truth and Honesty" (Dance Hall Version) – 7:20 #"Strike It Rich" (Full Length Club Mix) – 5:55 * 12-inch single (The Remixes) #"Love, Truth and Honesty" (Balearacidic Mix) – 8:20 #"Love, Truth and Honesty" (Hot Power 12″) – 9:15 #"Strike It Rich" – 2:15 * US 12-inch single #"Love, Truth and Honesty" (Hot Power Mix) – 9:24 #"Love, Truth and Honesty" (Hot Power Edit) – 3:30 #"Love, Truth and Honesty" (Dance Hall Version) – 7:20 #"Strike It Rich" (Full Length Club Mix) – 5:58 * UK and German CD maxi single #"Love, Truth and Honesty" (Dance Hall Version) – 7:25 #"Strike It Rich" (Full Length Club Mix) – 5:17 #"
I Want You Back "I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Jackson 5. It was released by Motown on October 7, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on ...
" – 3:49 #"Love, Truth and Honesty" – 3:25


Charts


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Love, Truth And Honesty 1988 singles 1988 songs Bananarama songs London Records singles Music videos directed by Big T.V. Number-one singles in Finland Song recordings produced by Stock Aitken Waterman Songs written by Keren Woodward Songs written by Matt Aitken Songs written by Mike Stock (musician) Songs written by Pete Waterman Songs written by Sara Dallin