Never Ever (All Saints song)

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"Never Ever"
Single by All Saints
from the album All Saints
B-side"I Remember"
Released10 November 1997 (1997-11-10)
Genre
Length6:29
London
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
All Saints singles chronology
"I Know Where It's At"
(1997) 		"Never Ever"
(1997) 		"
Under the Bridge"/"Lady Marmalade
"
(1998)
Music videos
"Never Ever" on
YouTube

"Never Ever" is a song by English girl group All Saints. Written by All Saints member Shaznay Lewis along with co-writers Robert Jazayeri and Sean Mather and produced by Cameron McVey and Magnus Fiennes, it was released on 10 November 1997 as the second single from their debut album, All Saints (1997).

"Never Ever" is All Saints' highest-charting single, topping the charts in several countries, including Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It peaked within the top 10 in numerous other countries, including Ireland, Sweden, Canada, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Norway, Austria and the United States. As of June 2019, it is the third-best-selling single by a girl group of all time in the United Kingdom, behind "

Wannabe" by the Spice Girls and "Shout Out to My Ex" by Little Mix.[1]

Two music videos were shot for the single: the European and Australian version, and an American version, due to the mass success in those countries. The North American featured the group in a

British Single of the Year and British Video of the Year
.

Background

After the success of their debut single "I Know Where It's At", the group decided to record and produce their debut full-length studio album. "Never Ever" was released as the second single from their first album All Saints. The song was written by All Saints member Shaznay Lewis along with co-writers Robert Jazayeri and Sean Mather, and was produced by Cameron McVey and Magnus Fiennes. Lewis wrote the song after splitting up with a boyfriend, but the music conveyed the impression that all would be well.[2] Soon after they signed their first major label deal with London Records, she discovered that the rest of the group—Melanie Blatt and Canadian sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton—had presented the label head with a tape of vocal recordings they had made without her. It was their version of Lewis's own song "Never Ever" that made him pay attention to the music. "He asked who had written it, so then they were forced to come back and get me," Lewis commented. "Looking back on it, that was pretty low. I think that's why the whole time I knew that if I didn't write I'd be out on my ear".[3]

All Saints flew to the United States, where the song was recorded and produced by Mather and Jazayeri. Due to control issues, London Records brought in Cameron McVey to do additional production on the track because of time/distance constraints and Cameron's relationship with Lewis. Lewis was in tears over the success of "Never Ever", since it was written about a personal broken relationship, and said, "I never believed that so much good could come out of such a bad situation." All Saints recorded the vocals in Washington, D.C., except for the intro, which was recorded at Battery Studios in London and was kept from the original demo. This was because the mood could not be replicated and everyone agreed to keep the demo vocals.[2]

However, the song's producing and writing caused controversy. Robert Jazayeri, who wrote the song, issued a writ against All Saints, and they were granted 40% of the publishing rights to the track.[2] After he was not satisfied, Jazayeri filed a lawsuit towards the group's record label London Records and All Saints' management, which was settled amicably by the parties.[2]

Composition

"Never Ever"
A sample of the song.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The song is set in

common time at a tempo of 67 beats per minute.[4]
The lyrics are about the girls' first expressions after a sad break-up, and the girls ask what they did wrong in the relationship.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from

power ballad".[6]

Critical reception

"Never Ever" received positive reviews from music critics.

Power Ballad days or whatever."[6]

Commercial performance

"Never Ever" debuted at number three on the

Wannabe" by the Spice Girls and "Shout Out to My Ex" by Little Mix.[1]

The song debuted at number 30 on the

Australian Singles Chart and rose to number one, staying there for seven consecutive weeks and stayed in the charts for 22 weeks. It was successful in the charts and was certified double platinum by Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA), with sales of 140,000. The song was successful in New Zealand as well, debuting at number one and staying there for five consecutive weeks. It was the group's only number one single in that country. It stayed in the charts for 13 weeks in total.

The song was successful in European markets. It debuted at number 10 in the

Finnish Singles Chart
, peaking at number 12 and staying in the charts for two weeks.

"Never Ever" was successful in North America as well. The song debuted at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number four on the charts, becoming the group's first top 10 and their highest-peaking single on those charts. The song peaked at number four on the Canadian Singles Chart.

Music video

Natalie Appleton in the UK version of the music video for "Never Ever".

When this song was first released in

1998 Brit Awards
.

For the United States, the video was re-shot and re-edited in a church. When

MuchMusic
played both versions.

Legacy

The song was featured on the

1998 Brit Awards, All Saints won two Brit Awards for this single: Best British Single and Best British Video, beating strong competition from the likes of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve, "Song 2" by Blur, "Paranoid Android" by Radiohead and "Something About the Way/Candle in the Wind 1997" by Elton John
.

The melody of the song is based upon an overlay of the hymn tune "New Britain", the most common setting for "Amazing Grace", which according to Ger Tillekens is the reason it became so successful. Although the lyrics and music are very different, "Never Ever" is based on a familiar and popular song.[15]

Track listings

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[72] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Belgium (BEA)[73] Gold 25,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[74] Gold 5,000*
Sweden (GLF)[75] Gold 15,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[76] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[77] 2× Platinum 1,600,000[13]
United States — 470,000[78]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 10 November 1997
  • CD
  • cassette
London
 [79]
United States 7 April 1998 Contemporary hit radio [80]
Japan 20 May 1998 CD [81]
United States 7 July 1998
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [82]

References

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  2. ^ a b c d "Never Ever by All Saints Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  3. ^ Sturges, Fiona (3 July 2004). "Never Again". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Unsupported Browser or Operating System". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  5. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "All Saints - All Saints | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  6. ^ a b Butler, Nick. "All Saints - All Saints (album review )". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  7. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "All Hits - All Saints | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  8. ^ "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Chart Slot". Daily Record. 13 February 1998.
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  11. The News Letter
    .
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