Handful of Promises

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"Handful of Promises"
Single by Big Fun
from the album A Pocketful of Dreams
B-side"Catch a Broken Heart"
Released5 March 1990 (1990-03-05)
Recorded1989
StudioPWL
VenueThe Borough, London
GenreDance-pop
Length3:16
LabelJive
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Stock Aitken Waterman
Big Fun singles chronology
"Can't Shake the Feeling"
(1989) 		"Handful of Promises"
(1990) 		"You've Got a Friend"
(1990)

"Handful of Promises" is a pop-dance song written by Stock Aitken Waterman for British boys band Big Fun. It was the third single from their 1990 debut studio album A Pocketful of Dreams on which it is the first track. The B-side of the various formats is a new song, "Catch a Broken Heart", which was not included on the parent album. Released on 5 March 1990 with two different covers, it failed to reach the top 20 in United Kingdom where it stalled at number 21. However, it was a top ten hit in Ireland and Spain.

Background and release[edit]

The harder dance sound of the record was decided upon following the success of the producers' recent hit with Lonnie Gordon, "Happenin' All Over Again".[1] "Handful of Promises" charted moderately, and this relative commercial underperformance of the song in the UK disappointed its producers, with Pete Waterman saying the song "stiffed", and conceding, "we obviously got something wrong".[1]

Critical reception[edit]

James Hamilton of Record Mirror described the song like this: "Dated hip house clichés started but then whinneyingly harmonised lush mushy canterer, far from their best".[2] In 2017, Christian Guiltenane of British magazine Attitude stated that the song was "a great tune, complete with that super cool 'Woh! Yeah!' sample… an absolute corker, but the high pitch of their vocals deem the song barely listenable, which is a shame".[3]

Chart performance[edit]

"Handful of Promises" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 29 on 17 March 1990, climbed the following week to reach a peak of number 21, and charted for a total of six weeks, becoming Big Fun's first single to stall outside the top ten.[4] In Ireland, it ranked for three weeks from 15 March 1990, with a peak at number six, which remains Big Fun's highest placement in the country.[5] It also attained number nine in Spain and number 14 in Finland, achieved a moderate success in Belgium (Flanders) where it was a top 50 hit, and missed the top 100 in Australia where it peaked at number 110. On the Pan-European Hot 100 Singles chart compiled by Music & Media, it started at number 71 on 24 March 1990, peaked of number 53 in its second and third weeks and fell off the top 100 after four weeks.[6]

Formats and track listings[edit]

  1. "Handful of Promises" – 3:16
  2. "Catch a Broken Heart" – 3:39
  1. "Handful of Promises" (7" version) – 3:17
  2. "Handful of Promises" (12" version) – 6:38
  3. "Catch a Broken Heart" – 3:48
  4. "Can't Shake the Feeling" – 3:39
  1. "Handful of Promises" (12" version) – 6:38
  2. "Handful of Promises" (instrumental) – 3:48
  3. "Catch a Broken Heart" – 3:39

Credits and personnel[edit]

The following people contributed to "Handful of Promises":

Charts[edit]

Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA Charts)[11] 110
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 42
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[6] 53
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 14
Ireland (IRMA)[5] 6
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[14] 9
UK (Official Charts Company)[4] 21

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 55: We Should Be Dancing to Use It Up And Wear It Out on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  2. ^ Hamilton, James (10 March 1990). "James Hamilton's DJ directory" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 43. ISSN 0144-5804. Retrieved 30 October 2023 – via World Radio History.
  3. ^ Guiltenane, Christian (7 September 2017). "The very best hits (and misses) of Stock Aitken Waterman". Attitude. London. ISSN 1353-1875. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Official Charts > Big Fun". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  5. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – All there is to know > Search results for 'Big Fun' (from irishcharts.ie)". Imgur.com (original source published by Fireball Media). Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 13. 31 March 1990. p. IV-V. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 14 December 2022 – via World Radio History.
  7. ^ "Handful of Promises" at Discogs, 7" single (Big Fun – "Handful of Promises") (accessdate: 14 December 2022).
  8. ^ "Handful of Promises" at Discogs, Cassette (Big Fun – "Handful of Promises") (accessdate: 14 December 2022).
  9. ^ "Handful of Promises" at Discogs, CD maxi (Big Fun – "Handful of Promises") (accessdate: 14 December 2022).
  10. ^ "Handful of Promises" at Discogs, 12 maxi (Big Fun – "Handful of Promises") (accessdate: 14 December 2022).
  11. ^ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 5 June 2015". Imgur.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Big Fun – Handful of Promises" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  13. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Big Fun". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 30. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  14. ^ 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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