Are You Ready for Love

"Are You Ready for Love" is a song recorded by Elton John in 1977, and was first released in the UK in 1979 on the EP The Thom Bell Sessions. It was written by Leroy Bell, Thom Bell and Casey James, and was originally produced in Philadelphia by Thom Bell (who had already produced a series of hits for The Spinners, The Delfonics and The Stylistics). Whilst the song, "Mama Can't Buy You Love" from the EP charted in 1979, this song and the other track on the three-track 12-inch vinyl disc, "Three Way Love Affair", were only minor footnotes at the time.

In 1989, MCA released a 6-track CD, The Complete Thom Bell Sessions, which contained a different mix of "Are You Ready for Love" in place of the one that appeared on the original 1979 EP. (The original "Thom Bell Sessions" EP mix did, however, surface — along with the EP's other two original tracks — as a b-side to a UK CD-single of "The Last Song" in 1992, issued as Rocket/Phonogram EJSCB-30).

In 2003, it was remixed by Ashley Beedle and released as a 12" vinyl single on 25 August 2003 ^[1] and gave Elton a #1 hit in the UK Singles Chart on its first week of its 2003 re-release, due to its being featured in a television advertisement for Sky Sports promoting the new Premier League season of that year. It scored Elton his fifth UK No.1.^[2]

The 2003 single's B-side is "Three Way Love Affair" (from the original EP) and also the full-length 1979 Version of "Are You Ready for Love". On some CD versions, the CD also contains a Quicktime version of a video for the song, with recording studio footage from 1977with Elton recording his vocals.

Various hit R&B vocalists of the late 1970s, including Bell & James, MFSB and The Spinners with lead singer John Edwards, contribute backing and accompanying lead vocals, most prominent on the Thom Bell Sessions mixes of the song, but downplayed somewhat in the 2003 single remix and its edits. In 1979, The Spinners also recorded a version of the song which charted at #25 on the R&B singles chart.

It is worthy of note that the Full Length 1979 Version and the Original Version the same length, however, the latter version is an ensemble recording of sorts. Various black R&B vocalists contribute to help Elton sing on each verse in the Original Version. This interplay of vocalists lends the Original Version a much more lively feel than all other versions.The single's B-side is "Three Way Love Affair" and also the Full Length 1979 Version of "Are You Ready for Love". The aforementioned Original Version is quite rare, and was only re-released in 2003 as a Promo.

Track listing (2003 remix)

UK CD single

1. 1979 radio edit
2. Full length 1979 version
3. "Three Way Love Affair"
4. Music video

Covers

This song was covered by The Kooks along with the Buena Vista Social Club in 2007 on the album Rhythms del Mundo Classics.

In 2003, The Detroit Spinners, a soul vocal group active under that name since 1961, reissued Are You Ready For Love, featuring them on backing vocals. In 1977, The Spinners had recorded two versions of the track. One had all of the Spinners, the other with only lead singer John Edwards on vocals. Elton John was not happy with the mixes and sat on the tapes for a year before asking for them to be remixed to give an easier on the ear sound. Finally in 1979, the Phillipe Wynne version was released as a ,making it to number 42 in the UK. The track was subsequently remixed by Ashley Beedle from Xpress-2 in 2003 after becoming a fixture in the Balearic nightclubs and being used by Sky Sports for an advertisement. It then went to number 1 in the singles chart after being released on DJ Fatboy Slim's Southern Fried record label.

Track listing (2003 remix) [Promo]

1. Original version

References in pop culture

"Are You Ready for Love" is featured on the PAL version of Donkey Konga 2.

Charts

References