"Hand on Your Heart" | ||||
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Single by Kylie Minogue | ||||
from the album Enjoy Yourself | ||||
B-side | "Just Wanna Love You" | |||
Released | 24 April 1989 | |||
Studio | PWL (London) | |||
Genre | Dance-pop | |||
Length | 3:47 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Stock Aitken Waterman | |||
Kylie Minogue singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Hand on Your Heart" on YouTube |
"Hand on Your Heart" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue from her second studio album, Enjoy Yourself (1989), and released as its lead single on 24 April 1989. Much like her previous releases up to Let's Get to It (1991), the song was written and produced by English songwriting and record production trio Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW). Referenced tracks during composition included "This Old Heart of Mine" by the Isley Brothers and "That's the Way Love Is" by Ten City. [1]
Upon release, "Hand on Your Heart" received positive reviews from music critics, who deemed it a highlight from the album and praised it as a strong single. It was also a commercial success, peaking at number four in Australia and within the top-ten in Finland, France, Japan and Switzerland. "Hand on Your Heart" became Minogue's third number-one hit on the UK Singles Chart.
The song was performed on some tours by Minogue, including it on her Enjoy Yourself Tour, Rhythm of Love Tour, and was featured on her Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour and the Homecoming Tour. In 2006, Swedish singer José González released an acoustic cover version of "Hand on Your Heart" as a single. His version peaked at number 29 on the UK Singles Chart.
Written in the key of B-flat major, SAW approached composition of "Hand on Your Heart" with excitement and enthusiasm following the success of Kylie. In turn, they were keen to move Minogue's sound along in accordance with the latest house-influenced pop sounds. [1] The song centers around themes of honesty and communication in a relationship. The song is sung in the viewpoint of a girl whose boyfriend is trying to break up with her yet she does not believe their relationship is over; she insists that he puts his hand on his heart and tells her until he really means it.
Minogue re-recorded the song for her 2012 album The Abbey Road Sessions , reworking the song to feature brushed drums and gentle piano which magnify the heartbreak and make the lyrics such as “Oh, I wanna hear you tell me / You don't want my love” sound pleading, not defiant. [2]
"Hand on Your Heart" received generally favourable reviews from music critics. Chris True from AllMusic highlighted the song as an album standout. [3] Digital Spy gave it a favourable review, highlighting it by saying "Put it this way... this piece is a wee bit late because it's hard to type while re-enacting the 'Hand On Your Heart' dance routine." [4] However, Tim Nicholson of Record Mirror ironically explained that SAW "have let Kylie loose on some Sinitta's material to show her how it should be done", which he considered a "confectionery perfection". [5]
The Abbey Road Sessions version was acclaimed by contemporary music commentators, who praised the instrumentation and Minogue's hushed vocals. Tim Sendra from AllMusic said that "Stripping the songs down to their basics and then adding strings on top proves to be very effective, especially on "All the Lovers" or "Hand on Your Heart," and most of the new arrangements are imaginative and sometime inspired." [6] Nick Levine from BBC Music was very positive towards the reworked version of the song, writing that "Who knew Stock Aitken Waterman tunes like [Never Too Late] and [Hand On Your Heart] had such melancholy lurking under the production chintz?" [7] Andy Gill wrote that "Hand on Your Heart", "reworked with a delicate, cyclical guitar figure augmented by a few telling piano chords, laid over a quietly shuffling snare whose gently scudding momentum allows the melody to glow at the heart of the song." [8]
Retrospectively, in 2020, Alexis Petridis of British daily newspaper The Guardian ranked the song at number 22 in his "Kylie's 30 greatest singles" list, adding that "the song itself – most notably the bridge and chorus – is strong enough to withstand the identikit production job". [9] In 2021, British magazine Classic Pop ranked the song number 18 in their list of 'Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs', adding that "this track's apparent starry-eyed innocence... houses at its heart lyrics that are utterly crushing when read out loud". [10] In 2024, the same magazine ranked the song at number 22 in its list of "Top 40 Kylie Minogue songs", describing it as a "triumphant SAW-penned gem". [11] In 2023, Robert Moran of Australian daily tabloid newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald ranked the song as Minogue's 18th best song (out of 183), describing it "a near-perfect marriage of forlorn heartbreak, extremely peppy production and a typically huge singalong chorus". [12]
On 24 April 1989, "Hand on Your Heart" was released in the United Kingdom. [13] The song became Minogue's third song to debut at number two on the UK Singles Chart, before it peaked at number one the following week. On its third week it was replaced on the top of the chart by the UK Hillsborough disaster charity single "Ferry Cross the Mersey" by the Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden and Stock, Aitken and Waterman. [14] "Hand on Your Heart" also topped the UK Dance and Indie charts.
The song was one of the first singles to sell well on cassette, selling 11,000 copies in the first week of release. This would have been enough to have Minogue enter in at number one, something no female had ever done at the time. However, PWL issued the cassette single at a cut price of £1.99, which was cheaper than chart regulations at the time allowed. This meant the Bangles stayed at number one with "Eternal Flame", with around 1,600 more sales. Because of this the rules were quickly changed so that cut-price cassette singles were allowed. The market for cassette singles stood at less than 0.5% at the time and the BPI hoped to encourage its growth. [15] Outside of the UK, the song was also successful. It reached number four in Australia and became Minogue's fifth top-five single on the singles chart. It reached the top 10 in Denmark, Finland and France and the top 20 in Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden.
"Hand on Your Heart" was accompanied with colorful music video directed by Chris Langman and shot at Minogue's hometown in Melbourne in March 1989. The video features Minogue dancing in a modern house. She appears wearing a dress with a big heart on it that changes colour between vibrant colours of red, blue and yellow, Minogue travels from room to room, dancing playfully for the camera. Langman admitted to dissatisfaction with the finished video, which was produced under unusually tight deadlines. [1] According to Minogue's then boyfriend and label mate Jason Donovan, PWL Records was highly displeased with the video. [16] It was Langman's final collaboration with Kylie, who filmed most of her subsequent videos in the UK. [1]
A live version of the video was also released and featured Minogue performing a special "live remix" in Japan, both versions featured on Kylie's Greatest Hits 87-97 DVD. An alternate version of the "Hand on Your Heart" video was broadcast on UK TV pre-release, but has never been screened again. On this version Minogue's shoes spin on camera and introduce all three of her new outfits of matching colours. Only one "shoe spin" remains on the final version. Released to music video channels prior to the single's commercial release, the video was a hit, gaining significant airplay on music video channels. The video was released commercially on the Ultimate Kylie companion DVD, released in December 2004.
The first tour that "Hand on Your Heart" was performed on was the Disco in Dream/The Hitman Roadshow, as the original recording. It was then performed on the Enjoy Yourself Tour, which was launched to promote Enjoy Yourself , the album from which the song is lifted. It began with an a cappella chorus intro before the original was performed. It was then performed the following year on the Rhythm of Love Tour as the original again. It was performed on the Let's Get to It Tour the year after as the normal version again. The song was then not performed until Minogue's 2000 tour: On a Night Like This Tour as the third song in the set. This version was not similar to the original and had a different sound. It was then performed on Minogue's Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour in 2005 where it opened the sixth act: "Kylesque". It had a similar sound to the original but had different bass lines. This tour was cancelled due to Minogue's diagnosis of breast cancer. The tour was resumed under the name Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour. "Hand on Your Heart" was also in this set list in the sixth act "Pop Paradiso", but closed this act. This was a new remix featuring a thicker bass line. More recently, the song was performed on Minogue's Kiss Me Once Tour to promote her twelfth studio album Kiss Me Once . It opened the "Dollhouse Medley" which featured 4 PWL hits: "Hand on Your Heart", "Never Too Late", "Got to Be Certain" and "I Should Be So Lucky".
7-inch single and Australian cassette single [17] [18]
12-inch single [19]
Australasian CD single [20]
UK CD single [21]
UK cassette single [22]
| iTunes digital bundle (2009) [23]
iTunes remix digital bundle (2009) [24]
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA) [44] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Japan | — | 9,000 [31] |
United Kingdom (BPI) [50] | Gold | 480,000 [51] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Stock Aitken Waterman are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through to the early-1990s. SAW is considered one of the most successful songwriting and producing partnerships of all time by the Guinness World Records, scoring more than 100 UK Top 40 hits and earning an estimated £60 million in royalties. The trio had 13 UK No. 1 singles including three consecutive UK No. 1's and three US No. 1 singles. They also had at least one record in the UK Top 100 Singles Chart every week between March 1986 and October 1990.
Enjoy Yourself is the second studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, released on 9 October 1989 in the United Kingdom by Pete Waterman Entertainment (PWE), and in Australia on 6 November by Mushroom Records. In the United States, it was released in January 1990 by Geffen Records. Following the success of her self-titled debut album, Minogue reunited with the producers Stock Aitken Waterman, who produced and wrote nine of the album's ten tracks, in London in February 1989. The recording sessions took place there from February until July, coinciding with Minogue filming her first feature film The Delinquents.
Rhythm of Love is the third studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was released in the United Kingdom on 12 November 1990 by Pete Waterman Limited (PWL) and in Australia on 3 December 1990 by Mushroom Records. Recording sessions took place in London and Los Angeles during early-to-mid 1990. Minogue started to become more involved in the writing and production of the album; she was credited as co-writer for the first time, while Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) were the primary producers along with new producers and collaborations, including Keith Cohen, Stephen Bray and Michael Jay.
Let's Get to It is the fourth studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was the final studio album with Pete Waterman Limited (PWL), being released by the record label in the United Kingdom on 14 October 1991. Mushroom Records distributed the album in Australia on 25 November 1991. After Matt Aitken left the trio Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) in early 1991, the remaining producers wanted to make another album with Minogue, although it was not a contractual obligation for her. Mike Stock and Pete Waterman agreed to share their songwriting credits with Minogue for the first time on six tracks. They spent months recording at PWL Studios, more time than any of her previous studio albums.
Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. The album was released on 24 August 1992 as Minogue's final release under Pete Waterman Limited (PWL). The record contains nineteen singles from the singer's first four studio albums, as well as three new songs recorded specifically for inclusion on this album. The album was largely written and produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman team, and its release marked the end of Minogue's professional relationship with them. It contained all her single releases to date including the Japan-only single, "Turn It into Love", featured on Kylie's first studio album in 1988.
"I Should Be So Lucky" is a 1987 song performed by Australian singer and songwriter Kylie Minogue from her debut studio album, Kylie (1988). Released on 29 December 1987 by Mushroom Records and PWL Records, the song became a worldwide breakthrough hit. The image of Minogue on the front cover of the single was shot by David Levine. The song was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman for Minogue, whom went on to produce Minogue's initial four studio albums.
"Especially for You" is a song performed by Australian recording artists Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan from Donovan's debut album, Ten Good Reasons (1989). The song was released as his album's second single on 28 November 1988 and was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW).
"Turn It into Love" is a single released by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was taken from her debut studio album Kylie (1988). The single was released in December 1988 in Japan only. The B-side was a new song "Made in Heaven", which also served as the B-side to both "Je ne sais pas pourquoi" and "It's No Secret" in other international territories.
"Never Too Late" is a song written and produced by British production team Stock, Aitken and Waterman for Australian singer Kylie Minogue's second studio album, Enjoy Yourself (1989). Released on 23 October 1989, the song peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart, number one in Ireland, and number 14 in Australia. It was later rerecorded for Minogue's orchestral compilation album, The Abbey Road Sessions, in 2012. Writer Mike Stock says he deliberately composed the song with "old fashioned" lyrical themes, imagining it the style of a 1920s number.
"Better the Devil You Know" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue, taken from her third studio album Rhythm of Love (1990). The song was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and was released as the album's lead single on 30 April 1990 by PWL and Mushroom Records. "Better the Devil You Know" is known as the song that re-invented Minogue with more sex appeal, as her previous albums were presented with her "girl next door" persona. Her music onwards presented a more independent approach.
"Got to Be Certain" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue from her debut studio album, Kylie (1988). Written and produced by English songwriting and record production trio Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW), the song was released as the second single from Kylie in most territories outside Australia, and was released on 2 May 1988 in Australia and the United Kingdom. In Australia, "Got to Be Certain" was Minogue's third single release. "Got to Be Certain" was a commercial success, peaking at number one in Minogue's native Australia and number two on the UK Singles Chart.
"Step Back in Time" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue from her third studio album, Rhythm of Love (1990). It was released as the album's second single on 22 October 1990, and distributed by PWL and Mushroom as a CD single, cassette tape and 12-inch and 7-inch singles. The track was written, arranged, and produced by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, Pete Waterman, who are collectively known as Stock Aitken and Waterman, and was recorded in London, United Kingdom. Musically, it is a disco song that lyrically pays tribute to 1970s' culture.
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The Hit Factory Volume 3 is a compilation album collecting the biggest hits of the award-winning British music production trio Stock Aitken Waterman during their most successful era. It was released by PWL Records in association with Fanfare Records in June 1989 and reached #3 in the compilation Top 20, achieving a Gold BPI award.
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