Love Action (I Believe in Love)
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| “Love Action (I Believe in Love)” | |||||
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| Single by The Human League from the album Dare |
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| B-side | "Hard Times" | ||||
| Released | July 1981 | ||||
| Format | 7",12" Vinyl Single | ||||
| Recorded | Genetic Studios,Reading,UK | ||||
| Genre | Synthpop | ||||
| Length | 3:51 | ||||
| Label | Virgin Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Philip Oakey, Ian Burden | ||||
| Producer | Martin Rushent | ||||
| The Human League singles chronology | |||||
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"Love Action (I Believe in Love)" is a song by the British synthpop group The Human League, released as a single in the UK in July 1981. It peaked at number three in the UK Singles Chart, the band's first Top 10 success.
The song was written jointly by lead singer Philip Oakey and keyboard player Ian Burden and features lead vocal by Oakey and female backing vocals by Susanne Sulley (now Susan Ann Sulley) and Joanne Catherall, analogue synthesizers by Jo Callis, Philip Adrian Wright and Ian Burden. Drum machines, sequencing and programming were provided by producer Martin Rushent. One of the most notable synth sounds on the recording makes use of the pitch-to-voltage converter and envelope shaper on the Roland System 700 modular synth. Jo Callis' guitar strumming was fed into the synth and used to shape and trigger the sounds, producing an unusual choppy, strumming synth patch.
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[edit] Background
"Love Action (I Believe in Love)" was the second of three songs from the Dare album to be released in advance of the album itself in 1981. It was released as a double A-side single with the non-album track "Hard Times".
The song is a semi-autobiographical account of Oakey’s relationships.[1] Oakey often refers to himself and at one point uses the lyric "this is Phil talking." The line was inspired by Iggy Pop's line "Jesus, this is Iggy". The Human League had previously supported Iggy Pop live. Oakey borrows from another of his influences and the title "Love action (I Believe in Love)" is named after the Lou Reed song "I Believe in Love". The song contains another cryptic reference to Lou Reed in the lyric, "I believe what the old man said". Oakey, speaking in 1982 said, "no one ever asks me who the old man is... it's Lou (Reed)." [2]
At the time, as a short-lived marketing angle, the Human League were labeling their singles 'Red' or 'Blue'. This was supposed to help buyers differentiate between the band's musical styles. 'Red' was for dance tracks, 'Blue' for pop songs, although the exact difference was never fully explained. "Love Action" was designated 'Red'. When they were asked to explain the system, vocalist Susan Ann Sulley explained that "Red is for posers, for Spandy (Spandau Ballet) types." Oakey added: "Blue is for ABBA fans." [3]
The single made number three in the UK charts and placed the Human League in the forefront of media attention. It also renewed Virgin Records' faith in the band and guaranteed the release of the album that was to become Dare, just four months later.
[edit] Promotional video
Originally the song was released without a promotional video. The reason was that in 1981 promotional videos were still rare, very expensive and only very high-profile bands received them. At this point the Human League were not sufficiently marketable to warrant the expense of a video.
In 1982, for the U.S. release of "Love Action", a video was shot retrospectively. The storyline is loosely based on the 1968 film The Graduate. The opening scene is an exact copy of the church scene from the film with Oakey taking Dustin Hoffman's role. The majority of the video was filmed on a derelict South London council estate. Most of the female camera time goes to Joanne Catherall, in a wedding dress for the first half. Susan Ann Sulley throws a temper tantrum in her main scene throwing objects around a flat. She accidentally manages to score a direct hit on the camera and a production crew member with a flying lamp. She momentarily breaks character and cringes as she realizes she's just hit one of the crew.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] 7" version
- "Love Action (I Believe In Love)" (3:50)
- "Hard Times" (4:53)
[edit] 12" version
- "Hard Times" (4:53)
- "Love Action (I Believe In Love)" (5:06)
- "Hard Times (Instrumental)" (5:45)
- "Love Action (I Believe In Love) (Instrumental)" (5:23)
[edit] References
- ^ Sounds 12th August 1978 THE HUMAN LEAGUE
- ^ Smash Hits magazine December 1981
- ^ NME 3rd October 1981 [1]
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