Honey to the Bee – Billie Piper

RETRO REVIEW OF THE WEEK1

Better known these days as Femme Fatale Rose Tyler in Doctor Who, Billie Piper first came to the attention of the UK public aged 15, with her debut single, “Because We Want To” in 1998, making her the youngest artist ever to debut at number 1 in the UK.

Piper’s album “Honey to the B” (also released 1998) was certified platinum in the UK, and double platinum in New Zealand. Her second album, “Walk of Life”, released in 2000, fared less well (nevertheless certified silver in the UK), and in 2003 she retired from singing, relaunching herself as an actress.

“Honey to the Bee”, from her first album, was released in 1999 and peaked at number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. In January 2007, Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles used it as part of an experiment to test the new UK Singles Chart rules that had come into effect that month. Because of this, the song had a second lease of life, reaching number 17 in the UK Singles Chart, and number 11 in the UK Download Chart.

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The UK special edition (Australian/New Zealand CD single) release of “Honey to the Bee” came with three versions of the song – a radio edit, an acoustic version, and the Delakota mix – as well as the music video. It also contained a double-sided mini poster:

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The song itself is about as bluesy as a fifteen year old can get, and is a poppy, fun song, with some dubious lyrics,

“Come on and buzz me”

“I’m thinking about your sugar lips”

“I’m dreaming of the candy in your fingertips”

…and of course,

“Honey to the bee, that’s you for me”

Nonetheless, it’s a great song, and it seems enough people also thought so, as it not only peaked at number 3 in the UK but also 5 in New Zealand, 6 in Australia, and 23 in Ireland. Ms Piper has made the transition from popstar to actress flawlessly, but should she ever decide to return to singing, we’re sure she’d find her audience once again.

About the author

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat.

Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com

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