"Sweetest Smile"
Single by Black
from the album Wonderful Life
B-side"Sixteens"
Released19 June 1987 (1987-06-19)[1]
Genre
Length
  • 4:22 (7" version)
  • 5:21 (12" and album version)
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Colin Vearncombe
Producer(s)Dave "Dix" Dickie
Black singles chronology
"Everything's Coming Up Roses"
(1987)		 "Sweetest Smile"
(1987)		 "Wonderful Life"
(1987)
Music video
Black - Sweetest Smile (Official Video) on YouTube

"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.[2] 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 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."[3]

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."[4]

Track listings

7"

  1. "Sweetest Smile" – 4:22
  2. "Sixteens" – 3:56

12" / CD / cassette

  1. "Sweetest Smile" – 5:21
  2. "Sixteens" – 3:56
  3. "Leave Yourself Alone" – 4:32
  4. "Hardly Star-Crossed Lovers" – 2:51

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

  • John Warwicker – art direction, design
  • Jeremy Pearce – design
  • Perry Ogden – photography

Charts

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 87
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[6] 41
France (SNEP)[7] 38
Ireland (IRMA)[8] 8
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 40
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] 41
Spain (AFYVE[11] 29
UK Singles (OCC)[2] 8

References

  1. ↑ Strickland, Andy (20 June 1987). "News Digest". Record Mirror. p. 17. ISSN 0144-5804.
  2. 1 2 "Black: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  3. ↑ "Black". Smash Hits. 15–22 July 1987. p. 39. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via sites.google.com.
  4. ↑ "Black aka Colin Vearncombe » Music » Wonderful Life". Black. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  5. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 24. 25 July 1987. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  7. ↑ "Black – Sweetest Smile" (in French). Les classement single.
  8. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Sweetest Smile". Irish Singles Chart.
  9. ↑ "Black – Sweetest Smile" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  10. ↑ "Black – Sweetest Smile". Top 40 Singles.
  11. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
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