Stone Cold Sober

"Stone Cold Sober" is the debut single by English recording artist Paloma Faith from the album Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? (2009). It was released on 15 June 2009 and entered the UK chart at number 17.

Not to be confused with the Rod Stewart song of the same name, which was the B-side to his #1 single "Sailing (Sutherland Brothers song)".
For other uses, see Stone Cold Sober (disambiguation).

"Stone Cold Sober"
Single by Paloma Faith
from the album Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?
B-side"I Just Wait"
Released15 June 2009
Recorded2009
Genre
Length2:56
LabelEpic Records
Songwriter(s)
  • Paloma Faith
  • Paddy Byrne
  • Blair Mackichan
Producer(s)Patrick Byrne and Blair Mackichan
Paloma Faith singles chronology
"Stone Cold Sober"
(2009)		 "New York"
(2009)
Music video
"Stone Cold Sober" on YouTube

Background

The theme of the song is the predicament of appearing to be one thing and actually being quite another. Faith told Q July 2009 about the Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? album: "My vocal style suits the subject matter of my album. It's about the human condition, the constant striving for love and companionship. I've thrown my heart at many a wrong man in my time, I can't tell you. I'm the queen of tragedy. Melancholy informs everything I do."

This song is featured in the commercial for the Max Lashes product manufactured by cosmetics company Rimmel London. The B-side, meanwhile, featured in an 'Alcohol: Know Your Limits' public information film run by the NHS about binge drinking in 2008.

Critical reception

Digital Spy gave the song 4/5 stars and a positive review stating: "'Stone Cold Sober' makes the most of her theatrical background. Sure, it's another slice of post-Winehouse retro-pop, but it's more interesting that most tunes of that ilk, partly because it's a got a chorus you could quite easily do the can-can to, and partly because Faith gives it more sass than a backchatting teenager. Maybe a spell in the circus should be compulsory for all pop wannabes?"[1]

BBC Chart Blog gave the song a mixed review with 3/5 stars: "'Stone Cold Sober' is more of an uptempo rockin' raveup than it is an old school soul resurrection (with desperate lyrics, let us not forget), there are a LOT of little clues scattered through this endeavour which suggest Paloma is being sold as a sequel to a very successful franchise."[2]

Chart performance

"Stone Cold Sober" had moderate success throughout the charts, being most successful in the UK, peaking at number 17 and spending three weeks in the chart. The song peaked at number 70 in Germany, 45 in Australia, 36 in Switzerland and number 30 in New Zealand.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by the British music video director Sophie Muller.[3]

Track listing
Digital download[4]
No.TitleLength
1."Stone Cold Sober"2:56
2."I Just Wait"4:48

Charts
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian Physical Singles (ARIA)[5] 45
Germany (Official German Charts)[6] 70
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[7] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] 84
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 30
Scotland (OCC)[10] 15
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 36
UK Singles (OCC)[12] 17

Release history
Region Date
United Kingdom 15 June 2009
Germany[4] 11 September 2009

References
  1. "Paloma Faith: 'Stone Cold Sober'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  2. "BBC - Chart Blog: Paloma Faith - 'Stone Cold Sober'". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  3. "Paloma Faith - Stone Cold Sober video". NME. IPC Media. Archived from the original on 15 December 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  4. "Faith,Paloma - - - musicline.de". musicline.de. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  5. "The ARIA Report" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 17 August 2009. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  6. "Paloma Faith – Stone Cold Sober" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  7. "Tipparade-lijst van week 49, 2009" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  8. "Paloma Faith – Stone Cold Sober" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  9. "Paloma Faith – Stone Cold Sober". Top 40 Singles.
  10. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  11. "Paloma Faith – Stone Cold Sober". Swiss Singles Chart.
  12. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
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