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Your Love (The Outfield song)

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"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
StudioAir Studios (London)
Genre
Length3:36
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

“Your Love” is a song by the English rock band The Outfield, taken from their 1985 debut album Play Deep, released in early 1986 and written by guitarist John Spinks. In the United States, the song reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number seven on the Album Rock Tracks chart in 1986.

Background

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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.[4] 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.[5]

Composition

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"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 is interested in a girl that he is not in a relationship with, who may be older or younger depending upon how those lyrics are interpreted.[6] The narrator asks her to let him "use her love"; i.e. have a one night stand with him, while his current girlfriend, Josie, is on vacation. In the end, she declines because she wants him to be faithful to Josie.

Critical reception

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Rolling Stone contributor Jimmy Guterman wrote that the track "seems to advocate philandering".[7] 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".[8]

Chart performance

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"Your Love" became a major hit in the United States. It was first promoted as the second single from Play Deep in November 1985, when it was played on album-oriented rock (AOR) radio, to maintain momentum generated by the album's lead single, "Say It Isn't So". After entering the Billboard's Top Rock Tracks chart in January 1986 (which measured the playlists of AOR stations across the U.S.),[9] Columbia began expanding the song to top 40 radio in February.[10] It then peaked at number seven on the Top Rock Tracks chart during the week of March 1.[11] The song entered the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1986, peaking at number six during the week of 10 May. Overall, it spent 22 weeks on the Hot 100.[12]

Music video

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The music video has an extended intro and was directed by Jon Jopson.[13] 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 at 31-89 Crescent St. over one day. At the end of the video, Willette can be seen exiting the studio at dawn, the time the production wrapped.[14] 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.[10]

The video was first added to MTV's schedule during the week of 19 February 1986,[15] and began attracting major rotation. It peaked at number two on MTV's Top 20 Countdown in late April 1986.[10]

Track listings and formats

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  1. "Your Love"  – 3:22
  2. "61 Seconds"  – 4:18
  • Japanese 7-inch vinyl[17]
  1. "Your Love"  – 3:22
  2. "All the Love in the World"  – 3:33
  • United Kingdom 12-inch vinyl[18]
  1. "Your Love"  – 3:22
  2. "61 Seconds"  – 4:18
  3. "Mystery Man"  – 4:04

Credits and personnel

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Credits and personnel are adapted from the Play Deep album liner notes.[19]

  • John Spinks – writer, guitar, vocals
  • Tony Lewis – bass, lead vocals
  • Alan Jackman – drums
  • Reg Webb – keyboards
  • Frank Callaghan – additional vocals
  • Bill Wittman – additional vocals, producer, recording, mixing
  • Andy Canelle – recording
  • John Agnello – mixing
  • George Marino – mastering

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Weekly chart performance for "Your Love"
Chart (1986–1987) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[20] 37
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[21] 33
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] 17
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 83
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 6
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[11] 6
West Germany (GfK)[24] 52
2024 weekly chart performance for "Your Love"
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Global 200 (Billboard)[25] 127
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[26] 3

Year-end charts

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Year-end chart performance for "Your Love"
Chart (1986) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[27] 62

Certifications

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Certifications for "Your Love"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[28] Gold 45,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[29] Gold 300,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[30] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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The song received a resurgence in popularity in 2002, due to its inclusion in the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.[32]

Retired Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon used "Your Love" as his walk-up song coming to bat.[33]

In the 2014 film Tammy, "Your Love" is played by the titular character in the opening scene as she drives to work.[34][better source needed]

The song is adapted by Joe Swanson in a 2015 episode of Family Guy, with Peter Griffin hearing the song’s first verse and chorus as Joe’s voicemail when he attempts to call him.

The song became an internet meme on various social media platforms in 2021 after Lewis' vocals were compared to the voice of Ed from Ed, Edd n Eddy, voiced by Matt Hill.

References

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  1. ^ McVey, Rob (29 March 2019). "75 Best Baseball Walk-Up Songs of All Time". Athlon Sports. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  2. ^ Reed, Ryan (30 May 2021). "35 Years Ago: Genesis and Alumni Place Five Songs in Hot 100". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  3. ^ Murray, Noel (11 October 2012). "A beginners' guide to the heyday of power-pop, 1972-1986". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  4. ^ Tony Lewis: UK singer whose band The Outfield made it big in US, dies
  5. ^ Lewis, Tony; Reader, Adam (4 November 2019). Professor of Rock - The Outfield - The Story of Your Love. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  6. ^ Mitchell, Todd (13 September 2014). "English Majors Discuss Pop Songs: "Your Love" by The Outfield". toddmitchellbooks.com. Todd Mitchell. Retrieved 12 February 2023. It's never made clear exactly how young Susan might be, but we can assume that either she's too young to legally 'talk it over with'[...], or is the speaker professing an attraction for "older" women[...]?
  7. ^ Guterman, Jimmy (1985). "Play Deep Review". Rolling Stone. No. 477.
  8. ^ Dennis Hunt (1 June 1986). "Hit Puts The Outfield Team In The Big Leagues". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  9. ^ "US chart performance".
  10. ^ a b c Bessman, Jim (26 July 1986). "How the Outfield Became Sluggers" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 30. Billboard Publications, Inc. p. 3.
  11. ^ a b "The Outfield Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  12. ^ a b "The Outfield Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Enter Sandman | Metallica | Music Video". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. Archived from the original on 26 October 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  14. ^ Nobleman, Marc Tyler. "The Girl in the Video: "Your Love" (1986)". Noblemania. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  15. ^ "MTV Programming". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 9. Billboard Publications, Inc. 1 March 1986. p. 39.
  16. ^ Your Love (United States 7-inch vinyl liner notes). The Outfield. Columbia Records. 1985. 38-05796.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Your Love (Japanese 7-inch vinyl liner notes). The Outfield. CBS. 1985. 07SP 948.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Your Love (United Kingdom 12-inch vinyl liner notes). The Outfield. CBS. 1985. TA 6942.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ Play Deep (Vinyl liner notes). The Outfield. Columbia. 1985. FC 40027.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ "RPM 100 Singles" (PDF). RPM. 44 (13). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. 21 June 1986. OCLC 352936026. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  21. ^ "The Outfield – Your Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  22. ^ "The Outfield – Your Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  23. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  24. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Outfield – Your Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  25. ^ "Billboard Global 200: Week of August 24, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  26. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 18". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  27. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1986 - Longbored Surfer - Charts". Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  28. ^ "Danish single certifications – Outfield – Your Love". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 18 October 2024. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2024 to obtain certification.
  29. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Outfield; 'Your Love')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  30. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Outfield – Your Love". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  31. ^ "British single certifications – Outfield – Your Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  32. ^ Savage, Mark (21 October 2020). "Tony Lewis, UK singer who found US fame, dies". BBC News. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  33. ^ "The Rox are alive with the sound of music". 12 April 2021.
  34. ^ Tammy (2014) Soundtrack
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