Kamen was first brought to the public's attention in 1984 when Ray Petri featured him on the front cover of The Face. The cover showed him wearing a ski-hat, orange roll-neck sweater and aviator sunglasses.
He was most remembered, in the UK, for his 1985 beefcake performance in Levi's "Launderette" television commercial, where he strips down in order to stone-wash his blue jeans in a 1950s style public laundromat while he waits clad only in his boxer shorts, which dramatically increased their popularity. It was selected for, and came fourth, in "The 100 Greatest TV Ads of All Time" in 2000.
His first single was the 1986 UK #5 hit "Each Time You Break My Heart" from his self-titled debut album. Written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray, it also cracked both the U.S. dance chart (remix by Shep Pettibone) and the Top 50 in Canada. Madonna also sang the backing vocals. Her original demo remains one of many Unreleased Madonna Songs. Kamen also had a #16 follow-up in the UK with the second single, "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever", although his later singles were less-commercially successful in the UK but more so in the rest of Europe, particularly Italy, France, Germany and Spain.
He appeared on UK television, singing, on Top of the Pops (12 March 1987 and 18 October 1990), This Morning (9 April 1990), Night Network (15 April 1987, 19 August 1987 and 1988) and The Tube (31 October 1986 and 21 November 1986).
Kamen's second album Us (1989) was produced by Patrick Leonard. Madonna again made an appearance as a backing vocalist on the song "Tell Me", this time without contributing to the songwriting or production.
In 1989 Kamen performed the song "Turn It Up" on the soundtrack to Walt Disney's film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
A new dance remix of his self-penned 1990 song, "I Promised Myself", and his biggest hit, was featured on a 2004 various artists collection in Europe and three years later, in 2007, the Spanish singer José Galisteo recorded his own version of the song. Kamen's own version was the fourth highest played record in Europe in 1990 and reached No 1 in eight European countries.
I Promise Myself
Nick Kamen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I promised I'd wait for you
The midnight hour
I know you'll shine on through
I promised myself
I promised the world to you
I gave you flowers
How many of us out there
Feel the need to run
and look for shelter
I promised myself
That I'd say a prayer for you
A brand new tomorrow
Where all you wish comes true
I promised myself
That I'd make it up to you
My sister and brother
Know I'm in love with you
How many of us out there
Feel the pain of losing
what was once there
God I know what people
say about her
No mistake who can live
without love
I promised myself
(spoken:) i promised myself, i'd wait for you
How many of us out there
Feel the pain of losing
what was once there
God I know what people
say about her
No mistake who can live
without love
I promised myself
I promised I'd wait for you
The midnight hour
I know you'll shine on through
I promised myself
I promised the world to you
I gave you flowers
You made my dreams come true
In the midnight hour
I will wait for you
I will wait for you
I will wait for you
In the midnight hour
I will wait for you
I will wait for you
I will wait for you
I promised myself
The song "I Promise Myself" by Nick Kamen is a love ballad that speaks to the depths of the human heart. The lyrics are centered around promises made to a loved one and the pain of waiting for someone to come back. In the first verse, the singer promises themselves they will wait for their love interest through the midnight hour, believing in their ability to overcome adversity.
The song speaks to the idea of perseverance in love, and the sacrifices we make to be with the ones we love. The singer promises to pray for their love interest to have a better tomorrow, and to make it up to them for any mistakes they may have made. The second verse speaks to the pain of losing someone we once loved, and the difficulty of living without love. It shows the resilience of human nature, however, in the ability to keep waiting through the midnight hour.
Overall, the song is a touching tribute to the power of love and the strength of the human spirit.
Line by Line Meaning
I promised myself
The singer is making a personal promise to himself.
I promised I'd wait for you
The singer made a promise to wait for someone special.
The midnight hour
The time of night when the singer is making this promise.
I know you'll shine on through
The person the singer is waiting for will overcome any struggles and succeed.
I promised the world to you
The singer made a grand promise to someone, offering them everything.
I gave you flowers
The singer gave a gift to the person they love.
You made my dreams come true
The person the singer loves is responsible for making their dreams become reality.
How many of us out there
Feel the need to run
and look for shelter
Many people feel the urge to flee and find refuge from their circumstances.
That I'd say a prayer for you
The singer promised to pray for the person they love.
A brand new tomorrow
Where all you wish comes true
A new day will bring with it the realization of all the person's hopes and desires.
That I'd make it up to you
The singer will do everything in their power to compensate for any past wrongs towards the person they love.
My sister and brother
Know I'm in love with you
The singer's siblings are aware of their love for this person.
Feel the pain of losing
what was once there
The hurt of losing what used to exist is felt by many.
God I know what people
say about her
The singer is aware of the negative things people say about the person they love.
No mistake who can live
without love
It is evident that one cannot survive without love.
In the midnight hour
I will wait for you
I will wait for you
I will wait for you
The singer's promise to wait for the person they love, even in the darkest of times.
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@josemariamolinamanresa8326
Letras
I promised myself
I promised I'll wait for you
The midnight hour
I know you'll shine on through
I promised myself
I promised the world to you
I gave you flowers
You made my dreams come true
How many of us out there
Feel the need
To run and look for shelter?
I promised myself
That I'd say a prayer for you
A brand new tomorrow
Where all you wish comes true
I promised myself
That I'd make it up to you
My sister and brother
Know I'm in love with you
How many of us out there
Feel the pain of losing what was once theirs?
God I know what people say about her
No mistake, who can live without love?
How many of us out there
Feel the pain of losing what was once theirs?
God I know what people say about her
No mistake, who can live without love?
I promised myself
I promised I'd wait for you
The midnight hour
I know you'll shine on through
I promised myself
I promised the world to you
I gave you flowers
You made my dreams come true
In the midnight hour
I will wait for you
I will wait for you
I will wait for you
In the midnight hour
I will wait for you
I will wait for you
I will wait for you
@Guizeira80
Someone in 2024, listening to this huge massive song by the band Nick and pure NOSTALGIA...⚡😎
@sveborgrof9354
You are not alone, blessed be💛🍀
@Guizeira80
@@sveborgrof9354There you go ⚡
@rafaelmangrone721
2025 here
@Guizeira80
@@rafaelmangrone721 It's in the future already lol
@RollrickGaming
still listening in 2026
@PauloSergioAlvesdaSilva-mb8qi
Oh my God. How much I miss my adolescence. What a beautiful song. The 80s marked an era... What will only be in the future, my God?
@demetreflorede1449
Simply timeless. R.I.P. Nick.
@inexpugnabilis
One of the best songs of 1990. Even in 2023 it still is as good as it was back then. R.I.P. Nick
@sylvia3695
Knochen Krebs... ich bin erschüttert... ich lieb ihn so sehr😢... komm zurück du engel