| "What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" | ||||
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| Single byKylie Minogue | ||||
| from the albumGreatest Hits | ||||
| B-side | "Things Can Only Get Better" | |||
| Released | 10 August 1992 (1992-08-10)[1] | |||
| Studio | London, England | |||
| Length | 3:55 | |||
| Label | PWL | |||
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| Kylie Minogue singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "What Kind of Fool" onYouTube | ||||
"What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" is a song recorded by Australian recording artistKylie Minogue, released as thelead single from her firstgreatest hits albumGreatest Hits (1992). The song was written byMike Stock, Minogue andPete Waterman, and produced by Stock and Waterman.
It was Minogue's last original single to be released from the record labelPWL, as although "Celebration" was released as the last single, it was acover version, not an original single. The single was released on 10 August 1992 across various formats and received positive reception frommusic critics, with many praising it as a good last single from PWL. The song peaked at numbers 17 and 14 in Australia and the United Kingdom, respectively.
The song was taken from Minogue's first compilation albumGreatest Hits as the first single and last original single to be released by her label PWL, but her second single from the album, "Celebration", was taken as the last single. The song was written by Stock and Waterman, as well as Minogue contributing in the lyrics and was produced by Stock and Waterman.
The song received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Some compared it with "I Should Be So Lucky" and "Better the Devil You Know", but many suggested the song was regressive in comparison to Minogue's more mature work from the previous two years. A reviewer fromMusic Week commented, "Typically bright and breezy, it is however a little slight of melody and hooks when compared to some of her previous work – but that won't stop it from continuing her unbroken sequence ofTop 20 hits."[2] Ian McCann fromNew Musical Express wrote, "Kylie in bubbly, non-funky, standard home-grownPWL fare. Well-constructed as ever, but hardly "Step Back in Time", a monster that will surely dog her no matter what she does."[3] Tom Doyle fromSmash Hits gave "What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" three out of five, calling it a "tweety dance anthem" and "infinitely better than most poppyhouse records".[4]
In spite of these negative reviews, British magazineClassic Pop retropectively ranked "What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" number 25 in its list of "Top 40 Stock/Aitken/Waterman songs" in 2021, adding: "It has since fallen off the radar for most – even Kylie herself has admitted she is not a fan. However, we – and a horde of dedicated types – think it's a lost Kylie gem".[5] The same magazine ranked the song at number 38 in its list of "Top 40 Kylie Minogue songs" in 2024, describing it as a "jubilant sample-happy penultimate PWL single" and noted its "exalted status amongst fanatics".[6] In 2023, Robert Moran of Australian daily tabloid newspaperThe Sydney Morning Herald ranked the song as Minogue's 114th best song (out of 183).[7]
However, Minogue admitted in an interview with the AustralianSunday Telegraph in October 2008, that she was not fond of the song: "There's plenty I've cringed about", she says. "There's one track I really didn't like called 'What Kind of Fool'. But I realised you can run, but you can't hide, so I embraced 'I Should Be So Lucky' and the rest of them."[8]
"What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" did not receive great commercial attention, although became a moderate hit in the UK and Australia where it debuted at number 37 (after five weeks it climbed and peaked at number 17). The song debuted at number 16 on theUK Singles Chart, later climbing to number 14 where it peaked, staying in the charts for five weeks. In addition, it debuted at number 22 on theIrish Singles Chart and fell off the charts after two weeks, peaked at number 36 in the Flanders region of Belgium and started at a peak of number 81 on the German chart edition of 12 October 1992 where it charted for four weeks.
The accompanying music video for "What Kind of Fool" features Minogue sunbathing in front of a blanket, while a male actor is behind it with arose. It later showed the male and Minogue having an argument in a bedroom. In the bridge, it shows Minogue in a blue plaid dress dancing under a spotlight. She later teases her lover and dances atop a table. The music video later ends with Minogue kissing him and she walks out the room, while the man sits on a chair left alone. The song's reception itself became one of Minogue's least successful singles to date. The single's video recreated scenes made famous byBrigitte Bardot in the 1956filmAnd God Created Woman. The song was featured onMTV Classics channel in 2011 and was listed at number thirty-four onEvolution of... Kylie Minogue.
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| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[10] | 17 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] | 36 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12] | 53 |
| Germany (GfK)[13] | 81 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[14] | 22 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[15] | 14 |
