Kiss and Tell (Bryan Ferry song)

"Kiss and Tell"
Single by Bryan Ferry
from the album Bête Noire
Released	1 February 1988[1]
Recorded	1987
Genre	Sophisti-pop[2] soft rock[3]
Length	4:57 (Album Version) 4:02 (Single Edit)
Label	Virgin Records (UK and the rest of the world) Reprise Records (US and Canada)
Songwriter(s)	Bryan Ferry
Producer(s)	Bryan Ferry Chester Kamen Patrick Leonard
Bryan Ferry singles chronology
"The Right Stuff" (1987) "Kiss and Tell" (1988) "Limbo" (1988)
Music video
"Kiss and Tell" (single edit) by Bryan Ferry on YouTube
Audio
"Kiss and Tell" (album version) by Bryan Ferry on YouTube

"Kiss and Tell" is a song by Bryan Ferry, the lead vocalist for Roxy Music. It was released as the second single from his seventh studio album Bête Noire in February 1988, being Ferry's twenty-sixth single. The song peaked at number 41 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 31 on the US Billboard 100, becoming his highest charting single. It also appears in the film Bright Lights, Big City (1988), adapted from the Jay McInerney novel.

Composition

Fans have often speculated that his song "Kiss and Tell", was Ferry's response to Jerry Hall's tell-all book about their relationship published a couple of years earlier.^[4]

Music video

The song's main promotional video featured Mandy Smith and model Denice Lewis, whose photograph also adorns the single's cover sleeve.^[5] The musicians Chester Kamen (Nick Kamen's brother) and Guy Pratt also appear in the video. Also featured is Christine Keeler, whose earlier involvement with a British government minister triggered the Profumo affair, which discredited elements of the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan, in 1963. This is in keeping with the song's subject matter.^[6]

Track listings and versions

UK 7" single

1. "Kiss and Tell" - 3:59
2. "Zamba" - 3:00

US 7" single

1. "Kiss and Tell (Edit)" - 4:02
2. "Zamba" - 3:00

US 12" single

1. "Kiss and Tell (Extended Mix)" - 7:06
2. "Kiss and Tell (Dub Mix)" - 5:37
3. "Kiss and Tell (Edit Mix)" - 4:02
4. "Zamba" - 3:00

UK 12" single

1. "Kiss and Tell (Dance Mix)" - 7:02
2. "Kiss and Tell (Dub Mix)" - 5:37
3. "Zamba" - 3:00

US 12" single and CD single

1. "Kiss and Tell (Edit Mix)" - 4:02
2. "Kiss and Tell (LP Version)" - 4:57

UK CD single

1. "Kiss and Tell" (7" Version) - 3:59
2. "Kiss and Tell (Dub Mix)" - 5:37
3. "Zamba" - 3:00
4. "Kiss and Tell (Dance Mix)" - 7:02

Chart performance

Weekly Charts Chart (1988) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report) 38 Canada Top Singles (RPM) 47 Italy (Musica e dischi)[7] 15 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[8] 2 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 45 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] 26 UK Singles (OCC)[11] 41 US Billboard Hot 100[12] 31 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[13] 40 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[14] 19

Year-end Charts Chart (1988) Position Italian FIMI Top Annuali Single 1988 100

Notes

• The other versions of the song were edited by the Latin Rascals and mixed by Alan Meyerson.^[15]

References

1. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 54.
2. Inskeep, Thomas; Soto, Alfred. "The Bluffer's Guide – Sophisti-Pop". Stylus. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
3. Peake, Steve. "Top 6 Bryan Ferry Solo Songs of the '80s". ThoughtCo.
4. "Songfacts: Kiss And Tell by Bryan Ferry". Songfacts. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
5. "Press | Denice Lewis Fine Art". www.denicelewisfineart.com.
6. "Kiss and Tell by Bryan Ferry - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com.
7. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Bryan Ferry".
8. "Tipparade-lijst van week 12, 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
9. "Bryan Ferry – Kiss and Tell" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
10. "Bryan Ferry – Kiss and Tell". Top 40 Singles.
11. "Bryan Ferry: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
12. "Bryan Ferry Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
13. "Bryan Ferry Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
14. "Bryan Ferry Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
15. "Bryan Ferry - Kiss And Tell". Discogs.

External links

• Kiss and Tell at Discogs (list of releases)