"Your Love"
Single by the Outfield
from the album Play Deep
B-side
  • "61 Seconds"
  • "All the Love in the World"
  • "Mystery Man"
ReleasedFebruary 1986 (1986-02)
Recorded1985
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

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

"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

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

"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

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 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

  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

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

Weekly charts

Chart (1986) 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 (Official German Charts)[24] 52

Year-end charts

Chart (1986) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[25] 62

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

The song received a resurgence in popularity in 2002, due to its inclusion in the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.[27]

Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon uses "Your Love" as his walk-up song coming to bat.[28]

In the 2014 film Tammy, “Your Love” is played by the titular character in the opening scene as she drives to work.[29]

The New England Patriots of the NFL play this song at home games in the fourth quarter whenever leading.

In the "CutawayLand" episode of Family Guy, which aired in late 2020, the character of Joe Swanson was portrayed singing a humorous parody version of this song.

The song became the subject of an internet meme in 2021 when a video of Ed from Ed, Edd n Eddy was depicted singing the song to the surprise of the other characters. This meme draws attention to what people claim is the similarity between Ed's voice and Tony Lewis' vocals in "Your Love".

References

  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. 1 2 3 Bessman, Jim (26 July 1986). "How the Outfield Became Sluggers" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 30. Billboard Publications, Inc. p. 3.
  11. 1 2 "The Outfield Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  12. 1 2 "The Outfield Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Enter Sandman | Metallica | Music Video". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. 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. Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. 44 (13). 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 January 15, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Outfield – Your Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  25. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1986 - Longbored Surfer - Charts". Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  26. ↑ "British single certifications – Outfield – Your Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  27. ↑ Savage, Mark (21 October 2020). "Tony Lewis, UK singer who found US fame, dies". BBC News. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  28. ↑ "The Rox are alive with the sound of music". 12 April 2021.
  29. ↑ Tammy (2014) Soundtrack
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