"Never Had a Dream Come True" is a song by British pop group S Club 7, released as a single in the United Kingdom on 27 November 2000. It was chosen to be the official 2000 BBC Children in Need song. The pop ballad peaked atop the UK Singles Chart, becoming Britain's ninth-best-selling single of 2000. Outside the UK, it peaked within the top 10 of the charts in Ireland, Sweden, and the United States—where it reached number 10 and became the group's only single to appear on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was included on a re-release of the band's second album, 7 (2000), and their third album, Sunshine (2001).
Content The song "Never Had a Dream Come True" is about the aftermath of a break-up. The protagonist says that even though she might date other people, she will always have love for her former boyfriend. Jo O'Meara sings the lead vocals for the song while the rest of the members of S Club 7 perform backup vocals.
Use in media Jo O'Meara sings the song as a solo in S Club's 2003 feature film, Seeing Double. The demo version of the song was also used as the opening theme in the 2000 television series S Club 7 Go Wild! and the S Club 7 Christmas Special. The instrumental version of the demo was briefly heard in the earlier special Artistic Differences. S Club 7 performed the song in the ITV Panto Aladdin.
Track listings UK Children in Need CD single "Never Had a Dream Come True" – 4:00 "Perfect Christmas" – 4:38 "Reach" (Almighty mix) – 9:12 "Never Had a Dream Come True" (CD-ROM video)
UK standard CD single "Never Had a Dream Come True" – 4:00 "Spiritual Love" – 3:51 "Stand by You" – 3:03 "Never Had a Dream Come True" (CD-ROM video)
UK cassette single "Never Had a Dream Come True" – 4:00 "Perfect Christmas" – 4:38
US CD single "Never Had a Dream Come True" "Spiritual Love"
Digital EP "Never Had a Dream Come True" – 4:00 "Spiritual Love" – 3:52 "Stand by You" – 3:04 "Never Had a Dream Come True" (Mike Rizzo club mix) – 6:27 "Never Had a Dream Come True" (Mike Rizzo radio mix) – 3:33
Credits and personnel Credits are lifted from the Sunshine album booklet.
Studio Mastered at Transfermation (London, England)
Personnel
Cathy Dennis – writing, production Simon Ellis – writing Paul Gendler – guitar Oskar Paul – keyboards, programming, production Pete Murray – keyboards Anne Dudley – string arrangement James McMillan – additional programming Stephen Lipson – additional programming, additional production Heff Moraes – mixing James Reynolds – engineering Richard Dowling – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2000–2001)PeakpositionCanada CHR (Nielsen BDS)14Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)9UK Airplay (Music Week)18US Billboard Hot 10010US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)8US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)8US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)36
Year-end charts Chart (2000)PositionIreland (IRMA)14UK Singles (OCC)9
Chart (2001)PositionCanada Radio (Nielsen BDS)45Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)81Ireland (IRMA)43Sweden (Hitlistan)46UK Singles (OCC)116US Billboard Hot 10061US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)26US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)37
Chart (2002)PositionUS Adult Contemporary (Billboard)31
Decade-end charts Chart (2000–2009)PositionUK Top 100 Songs of the DecadeRadio 1 Official Chart of the Decade, as broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on Tuesday 29 December 2009, presented by Nihal43
Certifications
Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United Kingdom27 November 2000United States24 April 2001
Cover versions Multiple artists have performed covers of the song, some of whom include pop duo Same Difference on series 4 of The X Factor in 2007 and singer Natalie Paris in 2023. In May 2024, Adele performed a brief snippet of the song during a live performance at her Weekends with Adele residency in Las Vegas.
On 26 November 2021, O'Meara released an acoustic version of the song on all digital streaming platforms.
References