Honey to the Bee

"Honey to the Bee" is a song by English singer Billie from her debut studio album, Honey to the B (1998). It was released on 22 March 1999 and debuted at number three on the UK Singles Chart, which became its peak position. It was not a hit in mainland Europe, but it became one of Billie's highest-charting songs in Australia and New Zealand, reaching number six in the former country and number five in the latter. In Australia, it was the 48th-best-selling song of 1999.

In January 2007, the song was championed by Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles as part of an experiment to test out the new UK Singles Chart rules that came into effect that month, which prompted the song to reach number 17 on the UK Singles Chart on 21 January 2007.

Music video
The video, which uses the shorter radio edit version in lieu of the full album version, was directed by Katie Bell and features Billie in a computer-animated background.

Come Back
In 2007, 'Honey to the Bee' saw a resurgence in popularity after it was featured on a British radio show. This led to a successful experiment that tested the newly revised UK Singles Chart rules, resulting in the song re-entering the UK Singles Chart and peaking at number 17

Track listings
UK CD1
 * 1) "Honey to the Bee" (radio edit) – 3:39
 * 2) "Call Me" – 3:58
 * 3) "What's Missing" – 3:46

UK CD2 and Australian CD single
 * 1) "Honey to the Bee" (radio edit) – 3:39
 * 2) "Honey to the Bee" (acoustic version) – 4:24
 * 3) "Honey to the Bee" (Delakota mix) – 5:00
 * 4) "Honey to the Bee" (video)

UK cassette single
 * A1. "Honey to the Bee" (radio edit) – 3:39
 * A2. "She Wants You" (7-inch disco) – 3:29
 * B1. Interview – 10:05

European CD single
 * 1) "Honey to the Bee" (radio edit) – 3:39
 * 2) "Call Me" – 3:58

Credits and personnel
Credits are lifted from the Honey to the B album booklet.

Studios
 * Recorded at Ridge Farm (Surrey, England) and Marcus Studios (London, England)
 * Mixed at Metropolis Studios (London, England)

Personnel


 * Wendy Page – writing, backing vocals, vocal arrangement, production
 * Jim Marr – writing, guitar, keyboards, programming, production
 * Billie Piper – vocals
 * London Community Gospel Choir – choral backing vocals
 * Reverend Bazil Meade – choir arrangement
 * Pete Craigie – recording, mixing
 * Steve Cooper – assistant engineering (Ridge Farm)
 * Michelle Barry – assistant engineering (Marcus)
 * Matt Tait – assistant engineering (Metropolis)

Play version
In June 2003, Swedish girl group Play covered the song on their third album Replay. Play's version featured a trip hop beat and soprano vocals.