Lose Your Love

"Lose Your Love"
Single by Blancmange
from the album Believe You Me
B-side	"John"
Released	1985
Format	7", 12"
Genre	Synthpop, new wave
Length	3:58
Label	London Records, Sire Records (US)
Songwriter(s)	Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe
Producer(s)	Stewart Levine, Stephen Luscombe (B-Side)
Blancmange singles chronology
"What's Your Problem?" (1985) "Lose Your Love" (1985) "I Can See It" (1986)
"What's Your Problem?" (1985) "You Can Go Home" (1985) "I Can See It" (1986)
Alternative Cover
Canadian cover of "Lose Your Love"

"Lose Your Love" is a 1985 single by English synthpop duo Blancmange. The song was released as the second of three singles from the band's third studio album Believe You Me.

Background

After the previous leading single "What's Your Problem?" peaked at #40 in the UK, "Lose Your Love" showed a big decline in Blancmange's popularity, with the single peaking at #77 for a total of 2 weeks in the UK.^[1] It fared better in America, where it peaked at #2 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs Chart.^[2]

In the official American Billboard Magazine of December 14, 1985, the song was listed under the Hot Dance/Disco section, based on club play and sales. The song was listed under "Breakouts", explaining that the single had future potential, based on club play for the week.^[3]

Release

"Lose Your Love" was remixed for the single version, instead of using exactly the same version as the album version. The single's B-Side was the instrumental album track "John", also taken from Believe You Me. Like "Lose Your Love", the track was also written by Arthur and Luscombe.^[4]

The single was released in the UK, Canada, Japan and all throughout Europe via London Records, whilst it was released in America through Sire Records.^[4]

For all 7" vinyl versions of the single, the single's B-Side was "John", whilst an American promotional 7" vinyl release featured an edit of "Lose Your Love" by John Luongo, with the B-Side being the "LP Version" of "Lose Your Love".^[5]

In the UK only, a special 2x 7" vinyl gatefold sleeve pack was released, featuring the bonus 7" vinyl, with an extended remix of the previous 1983 hit single "That's Love That It Is" and "Game Above My Head (Extended Remix)", a remix of an album track from the band's 1983 album Mange Tout.^[6]

For the UK 12" vinyl, the "Extended Version" of "Lose Your Love" was used, a 10-minute remix, whilst the B-Side "John" was added along with the track "Mixing on the Ceiling", another 10-minute track that is a Medley of various hit tracks by the band, mixed by Alan "The Judge" Coulthard of Disco Mix Club UK.^[7] A promotional 12" version was also released in the UK, using the same track listing.^[8]

The 12" vinyl release in France used the same track listing as used in the UK, although "Lose Your Love" was titled "(No, No, No) Lose Your Love (Extended Version)" whilst the "Mixing on the Ceiling" was titled "Mixing on the Ceiling (Megamix)".^[9] In Germany, the 12" vinyl release used the same track listing as the UK, but removed the instrumental "John". It also exclusively featured yellow coloured vinyl.^[10]

In Canada, two promotional 12" vinyl samplers were issued, one featuring the same edit of "Lose Your Love" as on the American promotional 7" vinyl. It appeared on both sides of the vinyl.^[11] The other promotional 12" vinyl featured "Lose Your Love (This Club Mix)" as the A-Side, a near seven-minute remix, whilst the edit of "Lose Your Love" appeared as the B-Side.^[12]

In America only, a specially-priced maxi 12" vinyl single featured the "Extended Version" of "Lose Your Love", whilst the B-Side was by West India Company, a band relating to Blancmange, and featuring Luscombe. The track was an "Extended Version" of "Ave Maria", featuring Vince Clarke as guest musician on pyrotechnics.^[13] "Ave Maria (Om Ganesha)" was originally the West India Company's debut single in 1984.^[14]

For the single's artwork in the UK and America, the sleeve read out the band's name and song title via a Snellen eye chart theme, also using background colours black and white on each side of the sleeve. A similar theme was used for the Dutch and Japanese 7" vinyl release, although both releases differ from the original sleeve, using a plain white background colour instead.^[15] In Canada, the artwork featured a shot taken from the same shoot as for the Believe You Me album, featuring the band posing.^[16] The German and French 12" vinyl cover uses a plain white background like the Dutch 7" vinyl release, although it differs slightly.^[10]

The song was later included on four Blancmange compilations, the 1994 compilation The Third Course, the 1996 compilation Best of Blancmange, the 2006 compilation The Platinum Collection and the 2012 compilation The Very Best of Blancmange.^[17]

Promotion

Aside from a music video, the song was performed with live vocal on TV^[18] and during live performances.^[19]

Music video

A music video was created for the single, featuring the duo inside a house, where throughout the video they trash every bit of furniture they can get their hands on. By the end of the video, the house is a victim of demolition.^[20] In the 1986 Disney sci-fi film Flight of the Navigator, Blancmange appear on David's TV with the music video for "Lose Your Love" when he is introduced to music videos by Carolyn, played by a young Sarah Jessica Parker.

Upon release, the video was banned by both UK broadcasting companies BBC and ITV, as well as America's MTV, due to the violence.^[21]

The video was filmed in New York and was made by the same director who also created the video for the Art of Noise hit "Close (To The Edit)".

Since being unofficially uploaded on YouTube in early 2007, the video has gained approximately 160,000 views.^[20]

In a mid-2011 interview with Neil Arthur, the song's video was mentioned. Arthur stated "We had great fun making the video for that, many years ago. We flew over to New York to film it. The video got banned by ITV and the BBC for 'inciting violence in the home'. Because we were smashing up things. It was ridiculous."

After the interviewer commented that the duo always looked like they were having fun with their videos, Arthur stated

"It was always like that, having a lot of fun. Even that "studio" one for 'Lose Your Love' was like that ... we hired an old, abandoned terminal in Manhattan—each room was a different scenario. And then we went upstate and pulled a house down for the finale! An old house was going to be demolished—and we filmed it being pulled down. There was supposed to be another scene with us outside the house in daylight, but we were stopped by law enforcement for speeding, got delayed."^[21]

Track listing

7" Single

1. "Lose Your Love" – 3:58
2. "John" – 4:12

7" Single (American release)

1. "Lose Your Love" – 3:56
2. "John" – 4:17

7" Single (American promo)

1. "Lose Your Love (Edit)" – 3:59
2. "Lose Your Love (LP Version)" – 3:56

2x 7" Single (UK Gatefold release)

1. "Lose Your Love" – 4:07
2. "John" – 4:17
3. "That's Love That It Is" – 7:30
4. "Game Above My Head (Extended Remix) " – 7:06

12" Single (UK release)

1. "Lose Your Love (Extended Version)" – 10:12
2. "John" – 4:17
3. "Mixing on the Ceiling" – 10:38

12" Single (UK promo)

1. "Lose Your Love (Extended Version)" – 10:11
2. "John" – 4:17
3. "Mixing on the Ceiling" – 10:39

12" Single (American release with West India Company as B-Side)

1. "Lose Your Love (Extended Version)" – 10:05
2. "Ave Maria (Extended Version)" (West India Company) – 7:30

12" Single (French release)

1. "(No, No, No) Lose Your Love (Extended Version)" – 10:12
2. "John" – 4:12
3. "Mixing on the Ceiling (Megamix)" – 10:35

12" Single (German release)

1. "Lose Your Love (Extended Version)" – 10:12
2. "Mixing on the Ceiling" – 10:35

12" Single (Canadian promo # 1)

1. "Lose Your Love" – 3:58
2. "Lose Your Love" – 3:58

12" Single (Canadian promo # 2)

1. "Lose Your Love (This Club Mix)" – 6:45
2. "Lose Your Love" – 3:58

Critical reception

In the official American Billboard Magazine of December 14, 1985, the 12-inch remix of "Lose Your Love" was mentioned under the "Dance Trax" section. The article stated "The epic-length remix of "Lose Your Love" (Sire 12-inch) suggests that a new, artier form of high-energy may be emerging..."^[3]

Chart performance

Personnel

• Neil Arthur – lead vocals, writer
• Stephen Luscombe – keyboards, synthesizers, writer, producer of "John"

Additional personnel

• Stewart Levine – producer
• Katie Kissoon, Stevie Lange – backing vocals
• Justin Hildreth – drums
• Gary Hellman – engineer
• Renney Hill – assistant engineer
• David Rhodes – guitar
• John Luongo – mixer, editor, remixer

Footnotes