Story of the song: Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? by Paloma Faith

From The Independent archive: Robert Webb looks back on Paloma Faith’s wry commentary on the cult of her own celebrity

Faith cites influences as broad as Edith Piaf, Tim Burton and Jessica Rabbit (PA)

Emerging in 2009 with a colourfully burlesque biography, the 24-year-old, Hackney-born, half-Spanish Paloma Faith Blomfield took her cue, she said, from figures as wide-ranging as Edith Piaf, Tim Burton and Jessica Rabbit. Following two decent chart hits, and an acclaimed debut album, her splendidly wordy third single failed to break the top 20. Nevertheless, it was still one of the best of the post-”Back to Black” ballads.

The brooding “Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?” is a wry comment on the cult of celebrity. She viewed the song as effectively her manifesto: “The title is all about perception and I think it's beautifully vulnerable... [it's] an introduction to me and what I do”.

“Do You Want the Truth” was composed by Faith with the singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt. Recorded in London and produced by Patrick Byrne and Blair Mackichan, it was the opener for the album of the same name. It was issued by Sony, presumably to maintain artist momentum as a follow-up single to the hits “Stone Cold Sober” and “New York”.