# Who wrote the Cyndi Lauper 1986 number one ‘True Colours’?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/who-wrote-the-cyndi-lauper-1986-number-one-true-colours/
- Published: 2026-10-23T02:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:09:51+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/who-wrote-cyndi-lauper-true-colours/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly wrote ‘True Colours’.
- Lauper’s version topped the US chart for two weeks.
- Its message became closely associated with LGBTQ+ acceptance.

## Summary

Cyndi Lauper’s 1986 hit ‘True Colours’ was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, the American songwriting duo behind songs including Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’. The song’s history shows how Lauper transformed their piano ballad into a distinctive recording, while its message of acceptance later made it an anthem for the LGBTQ+ community.

Steinberg began the lyrics as a tribute to his mother, and Kelly urged him to finish them after George Martin praised an early demo. Released in August 1986 as the lead single and title track of Lauper’s second album, it spent two weeks at number one in the US and reached number 12 in the UK. Lauper recorded it while grieving her friend Gregory Natal, who had died of an AIDS-related illness, and later supported LGBTQ+ causes through the True Colors Tour and True Colors United.

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