Your Love (The Outfield song)

“Your Love” is a song by the English rock band The Outfield, taken from their debut album Play Deep (1985), and written by guitarist John Spinks.

"Your Love"
Single by The Outfield
from the album Play Deep
B-side
  • "61 Seconds"
  • "All the Love in the World"
  • "Mystery Man"
ReleasedFebruary 14, 1986 (1986-02-14)
RecordedJuly 26, 1985 (1985-07-26)
StudioAir Studios (London)
Genre
Length3:22
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • William Wittman
The Outfield singles chronology
"Say It Isn't So"
(1985)		 "Your Love"
(1986)		 "All the Love"
(1986)
Music video
"Your Love" on YouTube

In the United States, the song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the Mainstream Rock chart in 1986. It has been included on many '80s-themed compilations, movies and TV shows.

Background

The song was written by Outfield guitarist John Spinks. Spinks was living in east London and invited the vocalist of the band, Tony Lewis, to his flat for a writing session. The two developed "Your Love" on the porch of the flat. Lewis sat on an amplifier and Spinks began writing the opening lyrics. According to Lewis, the song took only twenty minutes to write. The song's lyrics have no basis in reality: "Josie" was not a real person, and the song is an entirely invented story. Afterwards, the band began recording demos for their debut album Play Deep with producer William Wittman, who had also worked with Cyndi Lauper and the Fixx. The initial demo was softer in tone, and Wittman encouraged the band to take a more hard rock approach to its sound. To this end, the group were inspired by the Who, and Lewis's vocal arrangement was heavily inspired by the Police vocalist Sting.[1]

Composition

"Your Love" is an uptempo new wave, power pop and pop rock song sung by lead vocalist Tony Lewis. The lyrics are vague, but imply that the narrator has fallen for an older woman that he isn't in a relationship with. The narrator convinces a girl to have a one night stand with him, while his current girlfriend, Josie, is on vacation. In the end, she is told to shut the door when she leaves and remember what he said.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone contributor Jimmy Guterman wrote that the track "seems to advocate philandering," and that "the repulsive misogyny contaminates the whole song."[2] While Dennis Hunt from the Los Angeles Times criticized the whole of Play Deep as "thoroughly derivative music," he praised the song's "lovely melodic line that's engagingly performed by vocalist Tony Lewis, who has obviously been listening to Journey's Steve Perry."[3]

Chart performance

"Your Love" became a major hit in the United States. It was first released as the second single from Play Deep in November 1985. It was first pushed to album-oriented rock (AOR) radio, to maintain momentum generated by the album's lead single, "Say It Isn't So". After entering the top ten of Billboard's Top Rock Tracks chart (which measured the playlists of AOR stations across the U.S.), Columbia began expanding the song to top 40 radio in February 1986.[4] It then peaked at number seven on the Top Rock Tracks chart during the week of March 1.[5] The song entered the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1986, peaking at number six during the week of May 10. Overall, it spent 22 weeks on the Hot 100.[6]

Music video

The music video has an extended intro and was directed by Jon Jopson.[7] The concept for the clip has the band filming a music video for the song, and prominently features a painting motif (similar to the cover of the album from which the song was taken). They perform in front of a backdrop of the Play Deep album cover, which is also being finger-painted offstage by an artist, played by actress JoAnn Willette. Her character and lead vocalist Tony Lewis appear flirtatious throughout the video. Willette was interviewed about her role on the blog Noblemania in 2013, and gave details about the shoot; it was shot in Astoria, New York on a soundstage over one day. At the end of the video, Willette can be seen exiting the studio at dawn, the time the production wrapped.[8] The band appears mainly as playing the song, highlighting their unity as a performing band: "We didn't want a situation where they had to be actors or something that wasn't what they are," said the band's manager, Kip Krones, at the time.[4]

The video was first added to MTV's schedule during the week of 19 February 1986,[9] and began attracting major rotation. It peaked at number two on MTV's Top 20 Countdown in late April 1986.[4]

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1986) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[10] 37
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 33
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 17
UK Singles (OCC)[13] 83
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 6
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[5] 6
West Germany (Official German Charts)[14] 52

Year-end charts
Chart (1986) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 62

References
  1. Lewis, Tony; Reader, Adam (November 4, 2019). Professor of Rock - The Outfield - The Story of Your Love. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  2. Guterman, Jimmy (1985). "Play Deep Review". Rolling Stone (477).
  3. Dennis Hunt (June 1, 1986). "Hit Puts The Outfield Team In The Big Leagues". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  4. Bessman, Jim (July 26, 1986). "How the Outfield Became Sluggers" (PDF). Billboard. 98 (30). Billboard Publications, Inc. p. 3.
  5. "The Outfield Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  6. "The Outfield Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  7. "Enter Sandman | Metallica | Music Video". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  8. Marc Tyler Nobleman. "The Girl in the Video: "Your Love" (1986)". Noblemania. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  9. "MTV Programming". Billboard. 98 (9). Billboard Publications, Inc. March 1, 1986. p. 39.
  10. "RPM 100 Singles" (PDF). RPM. Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. 44 (13). June 21, 1986. OCLC 352936026. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  11. "Ultratop.be – The Outfield – Your Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  12. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Outfield – Your Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  14. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Outfield – Your Love". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  15. Billboard Top 100 - 1986. "Billboard Top 100 - 1986 - Longbored Surfer - Charts". Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
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