The Love Parade (song)
"The Love Parade" is the fourth single released by The Dream Academy. It was a more "edgy" song than their previous singles, made so by the inclusion of implied themes of adultery and erotic temptation in the lyrics., and was arranged to a brisk bossa nova-esque beat which was in stark contrast to the style of the group's first single Life In A Northern Town . There were two additional singles released in the UK by Blanco y Negro, a 7" shaped picture disc and a second limited edition release.
"The Love Parade" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The Dream Academy | ||||
from the album The Dream Academy | ||||
Released | 1985 (UK) 1986 (United States) | |||
Recorded | 1984 | |||
Genre | dream pop | |||
Length | 3:50 | |||
Label | Reprise (US) Blanco Y Negro (UK) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Gilbert Gabriel Nick Laird-Clowes | |||
Producer(s) | Alan Tarney | |||
The Dream Academy singles chronology | ||||
|
Background
The Love Parade is the only song on The Dream Academy's eponymous album not to be produced by David Gilmour. Instead, the band recruited Alan Tarney to work with them on the track. Tarney was brought in at the suggestion of Rough Trade Records founder Geoff Travis to work on "The Love Parade". "What happened was, we had a pretty good demo for “Love Parade,” and we loved it, and when we made the record with David, somehow we ever got 'round to it". Lead vocalist Nick Laird-Clowes noted that Tarney brought some "real special techniques" to the table: he tracked the vocals "12 or 15 times" during certain portions of the song.[1]
There were high hopes for the single, especially from Warners, and there was some degree of promotion of the song (such as a live performance on American Bandstand). However, the single failed to live up to the expectations of their debut single, "Life in a Northern Town", just making the top 40 (#36) in the US and reaching #68 in the UK.
The video was directed by Peter Kagen and Paula Greif and edited by Laura Isreal and Glenn Lazzaro: the same team that worked on Steve Winwood's "Higher Love" video.
Track listing
7" version
- "The Love Parade" - 3:50
- "Girl in a Million" (for Edie Sedgwick) - 3:50
References
- "Interview: Nick Laird-Clowes of The Dream Academy | Rhino". www.rhino.com. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
External links
- The Video. Hosted on VH1.com.
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics