Kiss and Tell (Bryan Ferry song) explained

Kiss and Tell
Cover:	Kiss and Tell (Bryan Ferry song) cover.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Bryan Ferry
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)
Producer:	Bryan Ferry Chester Kamen Patrick Leonard
Prev Title:	The Right Stuff
Prev Year:	1987
Next Title:	Limbo
Next Year:	1988

"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

Year-end Charts

Notes

• The other versions of the song were edited by the Latin Rascals and mixed by Alan Meyerson.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Music Week. 54.
2. Web site: Thomas . Inskeep . Alfred . Soto . The Bluffer's Guide – Sophisti-Pop . . 28 April 2016 . 14 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160314172451/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/bluffer/sophisti-pop.htm . dead .
3. Web site: Top 6 Bryan Ferry Solo Songs of the '80s. Steve. Peake. ThoughtCo.
4. News: Songfacts: Kiss And Tell by Bryan Ferry. Songfacts. 10 August 2007.
5. Web site: Press | Denice Lewis Fine Art. www.denicelewisfineart.com.
6. Web site: Kiss and Tell by Bryan Ferry - Songfacts. www.songfacts.com.
7. Web site: Classifiche. Musica e dischi. it. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Bryan Ferry".
8. Web site: Tipparade-lijst van week 12, 1988. Dutch Top 40. nl. September 25, 2023.
9. Web site: Bryan Ferry - Kiss And Tell. Discogs.