Never Too Late (Kylie Minogue song)

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"Never Too Late"
Single by Kylie Minogue
from the album Enjoy Yourself
B-side"Kylie's Smiley Mix"
Released23 October 1989 (1989-10-23)
StudioLondon, England
Length3:24
LabelPWL
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Stock Aitken Waterman
Kylie Minogue singles chronology
"Wouldn't Change a Thing"
(1989) 		"Never Too Late"
(1989) 		"Tears on My Pillow"
(1990)
Music video
"Never Too Late" on YouTube

"Never Too Late" is a song written and produced by British production team Stock, Aitken and Waterman for Australian singer Kylie Minogue's second studio album, Enjoy Yourself (1989). Released on 23 October 1989, the song peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart (her first not to reach the top three in that country), number one in Ireland, and number 14 in Australia. It was later rerecorded for Minogue's orchestral compilation album, The Abbey Road Sessions, in 2012.

Writer Mike Stock says he deliberately composed the song with "old fashioned" lyrical themes, imagining it the style of a 1920s number.[1]

Background and release[edit]

Minogue allegedly wanted the album title track "Enjoy Yourself" to be released as the third single from that album, but Pete Waterman overruled her request and "Never Too Late" was released instead on 23 October 1989.[2] The song debuted at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart and rose to its peak of number four the following week. Its low debut broke Minogue's run of seven consecutive top-two hits, but it became her eighth consecutive top-five hit single and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales over 200,000.[3][4]

Critical reception[edit]

In 2023, Robert Moran of Australian daily tabloid newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald ranked the song as Minogue's 74th best song (out of 183), a song he described a "soaring disco number", adding "Not just a throwback, the energetic breakdown points to Kylie's burgeoning interest in Euro house".[5]

B-side[edit]

Called "Kylie's Smiley Mix", the B-side is a continuous mix of her biggest hits from the Kylie album, and the 12-inch version includes these songs in sequence order: "I'll Still Be Loving You", "It's No Secret", "Je ne sais pas pourquoi", "Turn It into Love", "I Should Be So Lucky", "Got to Be Certain", and the whistle from the beginning of the 1988 mix of "The Loco-Motion". The 7-inch mix contains the above tracks omitting "I'll Still Be Loving You" and "It's No Secret". Remixer Tony King admitted to dissatisfaction with the initial mix, which was created under time pressure with limited resources.[1]

Music video[edit]

Directed by Pete Cornish, the video showed Minogue in various costumes with her dancers in front of various backdrops – some of the costumes are as a cowgirl, '70s disco, Chinese dress with fans and as a 1920s flapper. The concept for the video was decided during a phone call between Minogue and Cornish, who both confessed they initially had no ideas about what to do next, before brainstorming the toy theatre concept.[1] It was awarded the Logie for the "Most Popular Music Video" at the 32nd Annual TV week Logie Awards held in 1990 in Australia.

Live performances[edit]

Minogue performing a medley of "Hand on Your Heart" and "Never Too Late", during her Kiss Me Once Tour (2014)

Since its release, "Never Too Late" has only been performed on four of Minogue's tours. Its first appearance was in the Enjoy Yourself Tour. It featured a small dance before hand and then the original. Its next performance was not for 11 years when Minogue performed it on her On a Night Like This Tour in 2001, which was launched to promote Light Years. It was performed as part of "Hits Medley" which featured 5 songs from her PWL days: "Step Back in Time", "Never Too Late", "Wouldn't Change a Thing", "Turn It into Love" and "Celebration" respectively. It was then set to be part of her KylieFever2002 set list as a space age version to feature as the opening to the act entitled "Cybertronica", but was removed at the last minute.[6] It made an appearance on Minogue's Kiss Me Once Tour in 2014. It featured in the "Dollshouse Medley" which featured four songs from her PWL days: "Hand on Your Heart", "Never Too Late", "Got to Be Certain" and "I Should Be So Lucky" respectively. In this segment of the show, Minogue began in a pink shawl and took a layer off at the beginning of each song, before ending in a corset and knickers to sing "I Should Be So Lucky" in a bath, alluding to a scene in the song's music video. More recently, it is performed on her Summer 2019 Tour.

Formats and track listings[edit]

CD single[7]

  1. "Never Too Late" – 3:21
  2. "Never Too Late" (extended) – 6:11
  3. "Kylie's Smiley Mix" (extended) – 6:17

7-inch single[7]

  1. "Never Too Late" – 3:21
  2. "Kylie's Smiley Mix" (7-inch version) – 3:59

12-inch single[7]

  1. "Never Too Late" (extended) – 6:11
  2. "Kylie's Smiley Mix" (extended) – 6:17

Australian 7-inch single[7]

  1. "Never Too Late" – 3:21
  2. "Made in Heaven" (Heaven Scent Mix) – 4:43

Australian 12-inch and cassette single[7]

  1. "Never Too Late" (extended) – 6:11
  2. "Made in Heaven" (Heaven Scent Mix) – 4:43

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[4] Silver 200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 51: Never Too Late to When Love Takes Over You on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  2. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. 21 October 1989. p. 41.
  3. ^ a b "Kylie Minogue: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b "British single certifications – Kylie Minogue – Never Too Late". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  5. ^ Moran, Robert; Ross, Annabel (25 September 2023). "Every Kylie Minogue song ranked". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. ISSN 0312-6315. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  6. ^ "KylieFever2002 review". Archived from the original on 4 December 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d e mix.kylie.co.uk
  8. ^ "Kylie Minogue – Never Too Late". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  9. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 47. 25 November 1989. pp. IV–V. OCLC 29800226.
  10. ^ "Kylie Minogue – Never Too Late" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  11. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Never Too Late". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 50, 1989" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  13. ^ "Kylie Minogue – Never Too Late" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  14. ^ "Kylie Minogue – Never Too Late". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  15. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  16. ^ "Kylie Minogue – Never Too Late". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  17. ^ "Top Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 18 November 1989. p. 18. Retrieved 30 August 2023 – via World Radio History.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kylie Minogue – Never Too Late" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  19. ^ "Year End Singles". Record Mirror. 27 January 1990. p. 44.
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