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".