Love Rendezvous

"Love Rendezvous"
Single by M People
from the album Bizarre Fruit II
B-side	Remixes
Released	2 October 1995
Format	12" maxi CD single, cassette
Genre	House
Length	3:51
Label	Deconstruction
Writer(s)	Mike Pickering, Paul Heard
Producer(s)	M People
M People singles chronology
"Search for the Hero" (1995) "Love Rendezvous" (1995) "Itchycoo Park" (1995)
Alternative cover CD2 cover of "Love Rendezvous".

Love Rendezvous is the fourth single from the album Bizarre Fruit/Bizarre Fruit II by British band M People. Written by Mike Pickering and Paul Heard and Heather Small. Produced by M People. It was released on 14 October 1995, after the band’s World Tour. The song peaked at number thirty two on the UK Singles Chart.

Background

Since the release of the last single four months previously, the band had relentlessly continued a World Tour, played to sell-out Summer festivals in the UK, in Belgium and Sweden. They then created a new radio and master mix for this, their fourth single and a new track (the band’s live favourite) a cover of The Small Faces’ Itchycoo Park. Like Search for the Hero, the band re-edited the funky Bizarre Fruit version of Love Rendezvous to create a more radio-friendly pop version with the additional trademark sax ad-lib. This would delay the release of the single which was originally pencilled in for 18 September 1995 but pushed back two weeks. This left them time to prepare for a re-release of the already double platinum album to a deluxe edition called Bizarre Fruit II which would feature the same tracks as before, with new artwork and the new radio edit of tracks: Search for the Hero and the new master mixes of Love Rendezvous and Itchycoo Park as well as an additional second ‘Live and Remixed’ CD.

Composition

The new version of the song very much captured the signature M People dance sound and a return to form from the softer more serious side of the band as heard on Search for the Hero; dancey piano chords, pure stomping house beats and layers of synths and bleepery. Lyrically, Heather sings about the arranged meeting with a lover, away from everything else and sees the band in a much more fun and carefree pop mood, straying away from the usual ‘love yourself, respect yourself’ themes. She also namechecks singers Patti Smith (#"Patti sang horses.."#) and Stevie Wonder (#"…Stevie Got uptight"#).

The newer version of this single also features a funky sax break in the middle eight and also during the choruses. What remains from the original are the underlying keyboard sequences in the bridges up to the choruses. The backing vocals are strong and fun and use the insistent refrain #"Uptight. Outta Sight"# as mentioned on Stevie Wonder’s 1966 song: Uptight (Everything's Alright) adding to the song’s spirit of fun.

M People backing vocalist, Paul Johnson also gets a more prominent role singing alongside Snake Davis’s funky sax ad-lib during the middle eight.

Chart Performance

There was an aura of mild disappointment when the single showed no sign of entering the Top 30 in its week of release. It entered the chart at a lowly number 33 with sales of 21,000 copies in its first week to 23,000 copies in its second, causing it to climb one place to peak at number 32. Although, it was the fourth consecutive M People single to climb the chart in its second week, it did break the band’s eight consecutive Top 10 single run. In the third and fourth week it slid down the chart to number 52 and then to 70, spending just 4 weeks on the chart. This was the lowest selling single from the album Bizarre Fruit and the lowest chart position since Colour My Life charted at number 35, some three years prior, in 1992.

Airplay

Generally, radio support began typically supportive to the single when it was serviced to radio on 25 September 1995, Search for the Hero had become a firm Airplay favourite across Europe, but in The UK, it was still in the lower echelons of Top 75 some four months on. In the four weeks prior to airplay Love Rendezvous entered the chart at #75, scaling to number 36 and then moving to number 23 and then to 15. Only after physical release, did the single’s airplay seem to stall and peak at number 9, despite heavy support from Dance stations: Kiss and Galaxy who were heavily rotating the K-Klass Klub Mix (Radio Edit)’.

UK Radio Station’s indifference to the song was compounded by the lower Sales chart placing which meant it spent another four weeks falling swiftly out of the chart. It did however continue the band’s run of 9 consecutive Top Ten airplay hits.

Formats/Remixes

This single was the second M People single to be available on two CD formats following the success of Open Your Heart earlier that year.

The formats were given a staggered release like Open Your Heart. CD1 and the cassette were released on 2 October 1995, CD2 was released on 9 October 1995 and the 12" was released on 16 October 1995.

The two CDs all feature the radio and master mixes of the single. CD1 contains the ‘Uno Clio Dub Mix’ and the U.S. Remix of Search for the Hero by ‘Dave Jam’ Hall which was released too late to make it onto the last single. CD2 has two further mixes by K-Klass the ‘Klub Mix’ and ‘Pharmacy Dub’.

Artwork

The artwork for the single on CD1 is of a bunch of beautiful, colourful and extravagant flowers wrapped in paper enscripted with the band’s name and title of the single. CD2 is simply a close-up view of the wrapping paper for the flowers without them featured. Both are set against a purple background.

Live

The band have not performed this single since the Bizarre Fruit Tour and subsequent ‘Summer M Parties’ of 1996, this is the only single to have not been performed since it release and it was also the only single to not be performed at The Best of M People concert in 1998 despite appearing on the accompanying The Best of M People album release in the same year. When released on the second ‘Best of’… compilation: Ultimate Collection (M People album) was released in 2005, the band still left it off the set list on that year’s tour.

Music Video

The video was filmed over two days on Friday 25th and Saturday 26 August 1995 while the band were on the South American leg of their World tour. Director Matthew Amos and Producer Laura Kanerick and the 'Medialab' crew filmed their live show at Citibank Hall which was then known as the "Arena Metropolitan" in front of 6,500 fans. (who had embraced the frequently used Latin sound of the band) on the first day and on the second day of shooting, the band were filmed out together amongst the Rio people and their natural beauty. Mike, Paul and Shovell are photographed together in the sunshine and there are deliberate footballing references and Heather sings separately by day and night amongst some beautiful locations including the Rio Botanical Gardens. The general theme also features some couples kissing and others running across the city’s streets to meet and embrace. There are also views of other great Rio landmarks including the packed and bright yellow trams and Christ the Redeemer, the world’s largest Art Deco statue.

Other promotion

After returning from their World Tour which had followed a summer of performing at Festivals in Ireland, Scotland’s T in the Park, Switzerland and then covering America, Australia and the Far East, the band returned home to work on the deluxe issue of the parent Album: Bizarre Fruit, which had already gone double platinum, selling in excess of 600,000 copies. Although the band gave the single limited promotion, support from Music video channels was strong but the release date was pushed from 16 September 1995 back a whole month.

The video was premiered exclusively and in full on ITV’s The Chart Show on Saturday 30 September 1995.

Tracklisting

CSS

1. "Love Rendezvous" (Radio mix) 3.48
2. "Love Rendezvous" (Master Mix) 3.56

CD 1 Maxi

1. "Love Rendezvous" (Radio mix) 3.48
2. "Love Rendezvous" (Master mix) 5.53
3. "Love Rendezvous" (Uno Clio Dub Vocal mix) 8.11
4. "Search for the Hero" (Dave ‘Jam’ Hall – US Remix) 4.14

CD 2 Maxi

1. "Love Rendezvous" (Radio mix) 3.48
2. "Love Rendezvous" (Master mix) 5.53
3. "Love Rendezvous" (K Klass Klub Mix) 7.58
4. "Love Rendezvous" (Pharmacy Dub) 7.40

12" Maxi

1. "Love Rendezvous" (Master mix) 5.53
2. "Love Rendezvous" (Uno Clio Dub Vocal) 8.11
3. "Love Rendezvous" (K Klass Klub Mix) 7.58
4. "Love Rendezvous" (Pharmacy Dub) 7.40

External links

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics