Love Is in the Air (song)

"Love Is in the Air" is a 1977 disco song sung by John Paul Young. The song was written by George Young (no relation) and Harry Vanda and it became a worldwide hit in 1978, peaking at No. 3 on the Australian charts and No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the song peaked at No. 7 on the pop chart and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart, his only US top 40 hit.[1] The song plays at 122 beats per minute, a typical 1970s disco rhythm.[2] The song was released as the lead single from Young's fourth studio album, Love Is in the Air (1978).

"Love Is in the Air"
Artwork for some continental European territories (French vinyl release pictured)
Single by John Paul Young
from the album Love Is in the Air
B-side
  • "Won't Let this Feeling Go By" (International/Australia)
  • "Where the Action Is" (U.S.)
ReleasedDecember 1977 (International)
April 1978 (Australia)
Recorded1977
GenreDisco
Length5:16 (original album version)
3:23 (single edit)
LabelAlbert Productions, Ariola, Scotti Brothers Records
Songwriter(s)Harry Vanda, George Young
Producer(s)Harry Vanda, George Young
John Paul Young singles chronology
"Where the Action Is"
(1977)		 "Love Is in the Air"
(1977)		 "The Day That My Heart Caught Fire"
(1978)

At the Australian 1978 King of Pop Awards the song won Most Popular Australian Single.[3]

In 2017, the song was selected for preservation in the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia collection.[4]

Overview

John Paul Young said of the recording, "We actually did 'Love Is in the Air' because we needed something for the German market. 'Standing in the Rain' became a hit in the clubs over there and then on the charts, so we needed a follow-up. I'd been to Germany and heard the music. It was electronic mania, all clicks and electronic buzzes. So George and Harry gave it the treatment."[5] Young performed "Love is in the Air" live on episode 148 of Countdown on 30 April 1978.

"Love Is in the Air" was the theme song to Baz Luhrmann's 1992 debut feature film Strictly Ballroom.

Young performed the song at the Closing Ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

The song is regularly sung at football matches by supporters of Dundee United.

In 2006, the song was played during the 2006 Winter Olympic opening ceremony's parade of the athletes.

Martin Stevens

In Canada, Young's recording of "Love Is in the Air" performed significantly more poorly on the charts than in most other countries, due to the existence of a contemporaneous version of the song by Canadian singer Martin Stevens. Stevens had received Young's demo recording, and recorded a version of the song for his 1978 album, before Young's song was released.[6]

Stevens' version debuted on the Canadian charts in July 1978,[7] and had already reached #21 by September 9,[8] the week Young's version debuted.[9] The two versions appear to have cut into each other's chart momentum thereafter, with Stevens' version peaking at #19 a few weeks later before declining on the charts,[10] while Young's peaked at #26 two weeks later.[11] In the year-end RPM charts for 1978, Stevens' version ranked #137 and Young's ranked #195.[12] Stevens' version of the song was a Juno Award nominee for Best Selling Single at the Juno Awards of 1979.[13]

Track listings

European 7" single (Ariola 11 705 AT)

  • Side A "Love Is in the Air" – 3:27
  • Side B "Won't Let This Feeling Go By" – 3:11

Australian 7" (Albert Productions 11710)

  • Side A "Love Is in the Air" – 3:27
  • Side B "Won't Let This Feeling Go By" – 3:11

US 7" (Scotti Brothers SB 402)

Chart performance

1992 (Ballroom mix)
"Love Is in the Air (Ballroom mix)"
Single by John Paul Young
from the album Strictly Ballroom
ReleasedAugust 1992
GenreDisco
Length4:13 (Ballroom mix)
LabelAlbert Productions, Columbia Records
Songwriter(s)Harry Vanda, George Young
Producer(s)David Hirschfelder
John Paul Young singles chronology
"Don't Sing that Song"
(1989)		 "Love Is in the Air (Ballroom mix)"
(1992)		 "Standing in the Rain"
(1992)
Music video
"Love Is in the Air (Ballroom mix)" on YouTube

"Love Is in the Air (Ballroom mix)" was released in August 1992 as the lead single from the Strictly Ballroom soundtrack (1992). It peaked at number 9 in Denmark and number 49 in the UK. Outside Europe, it reached number 2 in New Zealand and number 3 in Australia. A new music video was shot to accompany the song. It also features some footage from the movie.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard stated that Young "updates his '70s classic for the soundtrack to "Strictly Ballroom" with a festive '90s-minded dance beat."[34] Music Week gave the 1992 remix 3 out of 5 in their review of the song.[35]

Track listing

Australian/ New Zealand CD single (658085 2)

  1. "Love Is in the Air" (Ballroom Mix) – 4:13
  2. "Scott & Fran's Paso Doble" – 3:56

European remix single (Columbia – 658426 8)

  1. "Love Is in the Air" (Strictly Dance Mix) – 8:27
  2. "Love Is in the Air" (Strictly Dance Instrumental) – 5:00
  3. "Love Is in the Air" (Ballroom Mix) – 4:13

Weekly chart
Chart (1992–93) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[36] 3
Denmark (IFPI)[37] 9
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[38] 2
UK Singles (OCC)[39] 49

Year-end charts
Chart (1992) Position
ARIA Singles Chart[40] 31
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[41] 31

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[42] Gold 35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions
  • The same year Young's version was released, Jay Black did his own cover.
  • In 1979, Tom Jones covered the song.

See also
  • List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1978 (U.S.)

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  2. "Love is in the Air". GetSongBPM. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  3. "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  4. Sounds of Australia 2017 | NFSA. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  5. Jeff Jenkins (2007). 50 Years of Rock in Australia. Melbourne: Wilkinson Publishing. p. 293. ISBN 9781921332111.
  6. "Quatre décennies de disco". Le Journal de Montréal, April 30, 2017.
  7. "RPM100". RPM, July 22, 1978.
  8. "RPM100 (1-50)". RPM, September 9, 1978.
  9. "RPM100 (50-100)". RPM, September 9, 1978.
  10. "RPM100". RPM, October 14, 1978.
  11. "RPM100". RPM, October 21, 1978.
  12. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  13. "Juno list has that familiar look". The Globe and Mail, March 21, 1979.
  14. "Austriancharts.at – John Paul Young – Love Is in the Air" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  15. "Ultratop.be – John Paul Young – Love Is in the Air" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  16. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0018a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  17. "Toutes les Chansons N° 1 des Années 70" (in French). InfoDisc. 1978-03-31. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  18. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Love Is in the Air". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  19. "Nederlandse Top 40 – John Paul Young" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  20. "Charts.nz – John Paul Young – Love Is in the Air". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  21. "Norwegiancharts.com – John Paul Young – Love Is in the Air". VG-lista. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  22. "Swedishcharts.com – John Paul Young – Love Is in the Air". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  23. "Swisscharts.com – John Paul Young – Love Is in the Air". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  24. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  25. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  26. "John Paul Young Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  27. "Offiziellecharts.de – John Paul Young – Love Is in the Air". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  28. "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  29. "Top Selling Singles of 1978 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1978-12-31. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  30. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1978". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  31. "Top 100 1978 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  32. "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  33. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1978". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  34. "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. 20 March 1993. p. 82. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  35. "Mainstream: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 7 November 1992. p. 23. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  36. "Australian-charts.com – John Paul Young – Love Is in the Air". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  37. "Top 10 Denmark" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  38. "Charts.nz – John Paul Young – Love Is in the Air". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  39. "John Paul Young: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  40. "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Singles 1992". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  41. "End of Year Charts 1993". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  42. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia’s Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 308.
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