Album · UB40
Promises and Lies by UB40
Promises and Lies is an album by UB40, released in 1993. 2 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 6 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Can't Help Falling in Love”, on 4 lists with a best position of #27.
Promises and Lies, UB40's tenth album, came out on Virgin in 1993, and the Birmingham reggae outfit caught the biggest wave of their career with it. Front and center is their version of "Can't Help Falling in Love", the Elvis Presley ballad retooled as a lilting, lighter-than-air skank for the soundtrack of the movie Sliver, and it became a Billboard Hot 100 number one as well as topping the charts at home.
The lineup that had stood together since 1979 was still intact: Ali Campbell's smooth, honeyed lead, Robin Campbell's guitar, Earl Falconer's bass, Jimmy Brown's drums, Norman Hassan's percussion, Brian Travers's saxophone, Mickey Virtue's keyboards and Astro. Their sound here is glossy and warm, pop-leaning reggae built for summer radio, with "Higher Ground" riding the same easy groove. It went to No. 1 in the UK and No. 6 in America, and with more than 9 million sold it stands as their best-selling album.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Promises and Lies on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Can't Help Falling in Love | 4 | #27 | – | 1993 | |
| 2 | Higher Ground | 2 | #60 | – | 1993 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.