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Slave to Love

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Bryan Ferry song. For other uses, see Slave of Love (disambiguation). For the unrelated song of the same name by Willy DeVille, see Crow Jane Alley.

"Slave to Love"
Single by Bryan Ferry
from the album Boys and Girls
Released3 May 1985[1]
GenreSophisti-pop
Length
  • 3:59 (7" mix)
  • 5:56 (12" extended mix)
  • 4:26 (album version)
LabelE.G.
Songwriter(s)Bryan Ferry
Producer(s)
  • Bryan Ferry
  • Rhett Davies
Bryan Ferry singles chronology
"That's How Strong My Love Is"
(1978) 		"Slave to Love"
(1985) 		"Don't Stop the Dance"
(1985)
Music video
"Slave to Love" on YouTube

"Slave to Love" is a song by English singer-songwriter Bryan Ferry, released as the first single from his sixth solo studio album, Boys and Girls (1985). The song is one of Ferry's most popular solo hits. The single was released on 3 May 1985 and spent nine weeks in the UK singles chart in 1985, peaking at number 10. He performed the song at Live Aid in the London concert at Wembley Stadium in July 1985.

The song features Neil Hubbard, Dave Gilmour and Keith Scott on lead guitar,[2] Dire Straits' Guy Fletcher on keyboards, Omar Hakim on drums, and Tony Levin on bass guitar.

Music video

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A promo video directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and featuring the Swedish model Christine Bergström, the French model Laurence Treil, the Dutch model Marpessa Hennink, Jillian King, Fabrice Langlade, Olivier Poivre and Richard Teophile was shot to promote the single. The cinematographer was Pascal Lebegue.

Reception

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Writing for AllMusic, Bill Janovitz called "Slave to Love" an "achingly beautiful ballad" which "clearly has a 1980s aura to it, yet 'Slave to Love' was not a slave to the gimmicks of the era, sounding more timeless and classic than other radio hits from the mid-'80s."[3] Writing for The Guardian, Jeremy Allen likened it to Roxy Music's "Dance Away", saying that Ferry had "hit on a formula to write the same oleaginous ballad over and over again to handsome remuneration (play 'Dance Away' and 'Slave to Love' back to back and you'll see what I mean)."[4]

Track listing

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  • 7"
  1. "Slave to Love"
  2. "Valentine" (instrumental)
  • 12" UK single: E.G. Records / FERRx 1 881873-1
  1. "Slave to Love" (special 12" re-mix) – 5:56
  2. "Slave to Love" (instrumental) – 4:23
  3. "Valentine" (instrumental) – 4:00

Charts

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Chart (1985) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 29
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 11
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] 75
France (SNEP)[8] 45
Germany (GfK)[9] 30
Ireland (IRMA)[10] 8
Italy (Musica e dischi)[11] 9
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 36
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 33
Norway (VG-lista)[14] 5
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 11
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 18
UK Singles (OCC)[17] 10
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[18] 109
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[19] 19

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[20] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Use in media

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References

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  1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 14.
  2. ^ "Roxy Music - Songs". Vivaroxymusic.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  3. ^ Janovitz, Bill. "Slave to Love Review by Bill Janovitz". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  4. ^ Allen, Jeremy (25 February 2015). "Roxy Music: 10 of the best". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  5. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ^ "Bryan Ferry – Slave to Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  7. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0551." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  8. ^ "Bryan Ferry – Slave to Love" (in French). Les classement single.
  9. ^ "Bryan Ferry – Slave to Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  10. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Slave to Love". Irish Singles Chart.
  11. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Bryan Ferry".
  12. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bryan Ferry" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  13. ^ "Bryan Ferry – Slave to Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  14. ^ "Bryan Ferry – Slave to Love". VG-lista.
  15. ^ "Bryan Ferry – Slave to Love". Top 40 Singles.
  16. ^ "Bryan Ferry – Slave to Love". Swiss Singles Chart.
  17. ^ "Bryan Ferry: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  18. ^ "Bubbling Under" (PDF). Billboard. 15 June 1985. p. 72. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Bryan Ferry Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
  20. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Bryan Ferry – Slave to Love". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  21. ^ "British single certifications – Bryan Ferry – Slave to Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
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