‘Dressing Up the Truth’ is the fifth release of 2024 by John Jenkins. It follows his critically acclaimed album ‘Tuebrook’, released in July 2023, and the previous 2024 standalone tracks ‘The Reason’, ‘Bury Myself in the Sand’, ‘I Don’t Want to be That Guy Anymore’ and ‘Do You Ever Think About Me?’

John writes: The previous four standalone tracks released this year thematically wouldn’t fit on my ‘Tuebrook’ album. This song however is lyrically firmly a Tuebrook song. It was left off that album as musically it felt too upbeat and jolly alongside the intimate tracks selected and I didn’t want to upset the feeling I was aiming for on that album.

This song is a little trip down memory lane for me. Characters and relatives intertwine within the narrative. A big memory for me was the New Year celebrations we had in Borella Road where my family and cousins lived, where at midnight everyone would be hugging each other and then 3 hours later some would be at each other’s throats. Ah, the good old days. ‘Mrs Sweetman grinning’ is a reference to my junior school days at St Cecilia’s where, apparently, I’d get up out of my chair from the boys’ side of the room mid-lesson and start talking to the girls on the other side of the classroom – so much so that my teacher (Mrs Sweetman) eventually tied me to the chair. I remember her grinning, not out of malice by the way but because she obviously thought it funny. Things have changed drastically since those days I guess. Memories can be deceptive so occasionally, as I’m looking way back into my past, I’m wondering if some of these things happened the way I think I remember them or maybe it’s a case of dressing up the truth?

With a release date of July 26th, 2024, ‘Dressing Up the Truth’ is co-produced by John Jenkins and Jon Lawton (Sami Yusuf, Ian Prowse, Only Child) and mastered by Pete Maher (The Rolling Stones, U2, Patti Smith).

Featuring Jon Lawton on Guitars/Bass, Chris Howard on Keyboards, and Pippa Murdie, Karl Parry and Margie Ryan on backing vocals.

It will be available from the usual digital retailers.