True Confessions (album)

True Confessions
Studio album by Bananarama
Released	30 June 1986[1]
Recorded	April 1985 – May 1986
Studio	Odyssey, London
Genre	Dance-pop[2] synth-pop[3]
Length	47:47
Label	London
Producer	Tony Swain Steve Jolley Stock Aitken Waterman
Bananarama chronology
Bananarama (1984) True Confessions (1986) Wow! (1987)
Singles from True Confessions
"Do Not Disturb" Released: August 1985 "Venus" Released: May 1986 "More Than Physical" Released: July 1986 "A Trick of the Night" Released: December 1986 (US)

True Confessions is the third studio album by British group Bananarama. It was released on 30 June 1986 by London Records. The majority of the album was produced by Tony Swain and Steve Jolley (who produced Bananarama's eponymous second album), with the exception of "Venus" and "More Than Physical". The latter, given a garage remix for its single version, was Bananarama's first songwriting collaboration with the Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) production team.

The album contains the group's most commercially successful single to date, a cover version of Shocking Blue's 1969 song "Venus", which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. True Confessions reached number 46 on the UK Albums Chart and number 15 on the US Billboard 200, becoming the group's highest-charting album on the latter chart.

The fourth single, "A Trick of the Night" was written by Jolley and Swain and re-recorded and remixed by SAW for release in the UK.^[4]

In contrast to the two dance-oriented songs produced by SAW, the majority of the songs produced by Jolley and Swain tend towards rock-based, serious-minded pop. The lyrical content addresses overcoming obstacles in relationships ("Ready or Not", "Promised Land") and tackles social issues, such as the anti-drug stance on "Hooked on Love". Two ballads are included: the aforementioned "A Trick of the Night", which is a cautionary ballad about a male friend trying to survive on city streets, and the jazzy, sophisto-pop track "Dance With a Stranger".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Number One	[5]
Record Mirror	3/5[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[7]
Smash Hits	8/10[8]
Windsor Star	B+[9]

Critic Jerry Smith wrote a warm and positive review of True Confessions for British music newspaper Music Week: "... within the confines of what they do they're rather good—notice how they're always five minutes ahead of high street fashion, so maybe it's their suitability as teen role models that's kept them afloat on a tide of paper thin melodies for so long. Fashionable targets they may be, but their latest hit single says they still know what their public wants."^[10] In a review for Record Mirror, Lesley O'Toole was less enthusiastic, stating that the album, despite its title, is "no revelation whatsoever. Yet another slab of formula Bananas sees the girls executing cooing harmonies and fey storylines – all about as heavyweight as a mosquito, though marginally less bothersome."^[6] Tom Hibbert of Smash Hits praised the album as being "undeniably, convincingly listenable" and "a proper pop 'album'", adding that Bananarama "make 'intriguing' pop – and can even sustain the charm across an entire LP."^[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Steve Jolley, Tony Swain, Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward, except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"True Confessions"		5:19
2.	"Ready or Not"		3:53
3.	"A Trick of the Night"	Jolley Swain	4:38
4.	"Dance with a Stranger"		4:30
5.	"In a Perfect World"		6:02
6.	"Venus"	Robbie van Leeuwen	3:48
7.	"Do Not Disturb"	Jolley Swain	3:23
8.	"A Cut Above the Rest"		3:40
9.	"Promised Land"		3:43
10.	"More Than Physical"	Mike Stock Matt Aitken Pete Waterman Dallin Fahey Woodward	5:03
11.	"Hooked on Love"		3:48

2007 remastered reissue bonus tracks^[11]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Ghost"	Phil Bishop Patrick Seymour Dallin Woodward Fahey	4:03
13.	"White Train"	Dallin Fahey Woodward Bishop Seymour	3:51
14.	"More Than Physical" (single version)	Stock Aitken Waterman Dallin Fahey Woodward	3:19
15.	"Scarlett"	Bishop Dallin Woodward Fahey	4:12
16.	"A Trick of the Night" (single version)	Jolley Swain	4:17
17.	"Set on You"	Stock Aitken Waterman Dallin Fahey Woodward	3:56
18.	"Riskin' a Romance"	Ollie Marland Fahey Paul Waller	3:53

2013 deluxe edition

Disc one^[12]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"True Confessions"		5:19
2.	"Ready or Not"		3:53
3.	"A Trick of the Night"	Jolley Swain	4:38
4.	"Dance with a Stranger"		4:30
5.	"In a Perfect World"		6:02
6.	"Venus"	van Leeuwen	3:48
7.	"Do Not Disturb"	Jolley Swain	3:23
8.	"A Cut Above the Rest"		3:40
9.	"Promised Land"		3:43
10.	"More Than Physical"	Stock Aitken Waterman Dallin Fahey Woodward	5:03
11.	"Hooked on Love"		3:48
12.	"Too Much of a Good Thing"		5:12
13.	"Vicious Circle"	Jolley Swain	3:51
14.	"Ghost"	Bishop Seymour Dallin Woodward Fahey	4:03
15.	"White Train"	Dallin Fahey Woodward Bishop Seymour	3:51
16.	"Scarlett" (extended version)	Bishop Dallin Woodward Fahey	5:19
17.	"Riskin' a Romance"	Marland Fahey Waller	3:53
18.	"Set on You"	Stock Aitken Waterman Dallin Fahey Woodward	3:56

Disc two^[12]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Do Not Disturb" (extended version)	Jolley Swain	6:07
2.	"Venus" (extended version)	van Leeuwen	7:23
3.	"More Than Physical" (garage mix)	Stock Aitken Waterman Dallin Fahey Woodward	8:46
4.	"A Trick of the Night" (The Number One mix)	Jolley Swain	8:14
5.	"Ready or Not" (Pettibone & Forest mix)		6:34
6.	"Venus" (Fire & Brimstone mix)	van Leeuwen	6:43
7.	"More Than Physical" (Musclebound mix)	Stock Aitken Waterman Dallin Fahey Woodward	9:57
8.	"A Trick of the Night" (dub)	Jolley Swain	4:33
9.	"Venus" (dub)	van Leeuwen	8:15
10.	"More Than Physical" (dub)	Stock Aitken Waterman Dallin Fahey Woodward	4:57
11.	"Ready or Not" (Pettibone & Forest dub)		4:45
12.	"Venus" (original mix)	van Leeuwen	3:18

DVD^[12]

No.	Title	Director	Length
1.	"Do Not Disturb" (music video)	Simon Milne
2.	"Venus" (music video)	Peter Care
3.	"More Than Physical" (music video)	Peter Care
4.	"A Trick of the Night" (music video; UK version)	Paul Heiney
5.	"A Trick of the Night" (music video; US version)	Peter Care
6.	"Venus" (music video; 12″ version)	Peter Care
7.	"Venus" (on Top of the Pops)	Brian Whitehouse
8.	"More Than Physical" (on Wogan)	Kevin Bishop
9.	"The Making of 'A Trick of the Night'" (on In at the Deep End)	Nick Handel

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of True Confessions.^[13]

Bananarama

• Keren Woodward
• Sara Dallin
• Siobhan Fahey

Additional musicians

• Tony Swain – keyboards (tracks 1–5, 7–9, 11)
• Steve Jolley – guitar (tracks 1–5, 7–9, 11)
• Keith Thomas – saxophone (tracks 1–5, 7–9, 11)
• Matt Aitken – guitar (track 6); keyboards (track 10)
• Mike Stock – keyboards (tracks 6, 10)
• Gary Hughes – keyboards (track 6)
• Drum Machine – drums (tracks 6, 10)
• Andy Stennett – keyboards (track 10)

Technical

• Tony Swain – production (tracks 1–5, 7–9, 11)
• Steve Jolley – production (tracks 1–5, 7–9, 11)
• Stock Aitken Waterman – production (tracks 6, 10)
• Richard Lengyel – recording engineering
• Chips – engineering assistance
• Paul Batchelor – engineering assistance
• Tim Young – mastering (at CBS Studios, London)

Artwork

• Dennis Cockell – tattoos design
• Martin Brading – photography
• Peter Barrett – sleeve design

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1986) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[14] 19 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[15] 10 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 43 European Albums (Music & Media)[17] 31 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[18] 20 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 25 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[20] 37 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21] 33 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 6 UK Albums (OCC)[23] 46 US Billboard 200[24] 15

Year-end charts Chart (1986) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[25] 59

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[26]	Platinum	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[27]	Gold	500,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 31.
2. Promis, Jose F. "True Confessions – Bananarama". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 May 2019. ... this album, along with the hit 'Venus,' are prime examples of classic '80s dance-pop music.
3. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Bananarama". Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 28–29. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
4. "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 19: Looking Good Diving to I Just Can't Wait on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
5. Simper, Paul (12 July 1986). "Albums". Number One. London. p. 38. ISSN 0266-5328.
6. O'Toole, Lesley (12 July 1986). "Bananarama: True Confessions" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 160. London. p. 16. ISSN 0144-5804. Retrieved 6 November 2023 – via World Radio History.
7. Considine, J. D. (2004). "Bananarama". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 41–42. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
8. Hibbert, Tom (16–29 July 1986). "Bananarama: True Confessions". Smash Hits. Vol. 8, no. 15. Peterborough. p. 62. ISSN 0260-3004. Retrieved 4 June 2022 – via Internet Archive.
9. Shaw, Ted (27 September 1986). "Pop spins towards Christmas". Windsor Star. p. C6. ISSN 0839-2277. Retrieved 2 January 2024 – via Google News Archive.
10. Smith, Jerry (12 July 1986). "Bananarama: True Confessions" (PDF). Music Week. London. p. 20. ISSN 0265-1548. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022 – via World Radio History.
11. "True Confessions [Bonus Tracks] – Bananarama". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
12. Sinclair, Paul (30 August 2013). "Bananarama reissue track listings". Super Deluxe Edition. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
13. True Confessions (liner notes). Bananarama. London Records. 1986. RAMA 3.
14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. pp. 25–26. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
15. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0730". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bananarama – True Confessions" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
17. "European Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 3, no. 31. 9 August 1986. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
18. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
19. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bananarama – True Confessions" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
20. Okamoto, Satoshi (2006). Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
21. "Charts.nz – Bananarama – True Confessions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
22. "Swisscharts.com – Bananarama – True Confessions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
23. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
24. "Bananarama Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
25. "Top 100 Albums of '86". RPM. Vol. 45, no. 14. 27 December 1986. p. 9. ISSN 0315-5994 – via Library and Archives Canada.
26. "Canadian album certifications – Bananarama – True Confessions". Music Canada. 31 October 1986. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
27. "American album certifications – Bananarama – True Confessions". Recording Industry Association of America. 1 October 1986. Retrieved 28 August 2019.