Never Ever (All Saints song)

Background

After their success of their debut single "I Know Where It's At", the group decided to commence recording and producing their debut full-length studio album. The song was released as the second single from their first album All Saints (1998). The song was written by All Saint's member Shaznay Lewis along with co-writers Robert Jazayeri and S. Mather, and then produced by Cameron McVey and Magnus Fiennes. Lewis wrote this after splitting up with a boyfriend, but the music conveyed the impression that all would be well. All Saints flew to the US where the song was recorded and produced by Mather and Jazayeri, but due to control issues, London records brought in Cameron McVey to do additional production on the track at London Records request because of time/distance constraints which were present at the time 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, stating "I never believed that so much good could come out of such a bad situation."

For recording, All Saints flew to Washington, D.C. where they recorded the vocals, except for the intro which was recorded at Battery Studios in London and were kept from the original demo. This was because the mood could not be replicated and everyone agreed to keep the demo vocals.

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

Composition

The song is set in common time at a tempo of 67 beats per minute. Lyrically, the song talks about the girls feeling their first expressions after a sad break-up, where the girls query what they did wrong in the relationship.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic had described the musical content as an "extraordinary gospel-tinged" song. Nick Butler from Sputnikmusic had, however described the musical content as a "power ballad". According to Dusk411; ""Never Ever" is a flaky, monotone song about heartbreak. Opening with a half-sung, half-talking solo, in which the girl wants some answers and then blames herself for the entire breakup."

Critical response

"Never Ever" received positive reviews from music critics. Nick Butler from Sputnikmusic stated that, "'Never Ever' is a fantastic song; quite rightfully, it still gets a fair bit of airplay today, and I still enjoy it whenever it appears on one of those VH1 Power Ballad days or whatever." Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic had named the song as a highlight on its parent studio album, and said it "lead[s] the way" for their career. He then reviewed the All Hits record and said the track was a "basic hit", but called it a standout. Dusk411, however described the group's vocals as "weak". He praised Lewis' abilities, but said that the rest of the group's vocals were "all flat and nasal".

Chart performance

"Never Ever" debuted at number three on the UK Singles Chart, before rising to number one for a sole week. The song remains the group's longest single on those charts and stayed in the top ten for fifteen weeks, but charted for twenty-six weeks. It has sold over 1.35 million copies in the UK as of April 2016. It is also the second best selling single by a girl group of all time in the UK, only behind "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls.

The song was very successful worldwide. The song debuted at thirty on the Australian Singles Chart and rose to number one, staying there for seven consecutive weeks and stayed in the charts for twenty-two weeks. It was successful in the charts and was certified 2× 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 thirteen weeks in total.

The song was very successful in European markets. It debuted at ten in the Swedish Singles Chart, peaked at three for one week and stayed in the charts for twenty weeks. It was certified gold in that country. It debuted at twenty-seven on the French Singles Chart, and peaked at four for a sole week. It stayed in the charts for twenty-one weeks. The song peaked at four in The Netherlands for three consecutive weeks, and lasted twenty-four weeks in the chart. The song debuted at twenty-nine on the Austrian Singles Chart, and peaked at seven for two consecutive weeks. It lasted for nineteen weeks in the charts. The song debuted at fifteen in Norway, and peaked at six, staying in the charts for twelve weeks. The song wasn't as successful on the Finnish Singles Chart, peaking at twelve and staying in the charts for two weeks.

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

Legacy

The song was featured on the Guinness World Records for Top British Singles. A total of 1,263,658 copies of the single were sold in the UK, making it All Saints' biggest hit; 770,000 copies were sold before it became #1 which makes it more than any single ever before in the UK chart history. At 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 '97" by Elton John.

The music 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 why it became so successful. Even though the lyrics are very different and the music sounds different, it is based on a familiar and popular song.

Music video

When this song was first released in Europe, it featured the girls first in a swimming pool and later in a house. The video was shot by fashion photographer Sean Ellis.

For the United States, the video was re-shot and re-edited in a church. When All Saints – The Video was released, it was decided to release both versions on the video, because the European audience never had the opportunity of seeing both. In Canada Much Music played both versions.

Track listings and formats

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Never Ever".

Remixes