White, White Dove

After the success of their 1975 album The Best Years of Our Lives, which included the UK number-one single "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)", Cockney Rebel soon returned to the studio to record their next album Timeless Flight. Preceding the album, the single "Black or White" was released in November 1975, however it failed to reach the UK Top 50. With the release of the album in February 1976, EMI Records opted to release "White, White Dove" as the album's second single that same month. Although Timeless Flight was a UK Top 20 success, "White, White Dove", like its predecessor, also failed to make an appearance in the UK Top 50. This was despite the song being enthusiastically released by EMI and receiving sufficient airplay. However, "White, White Dove" did reach No. 6 on the BMRB's UK Breakers Chart on 13 March 1976 (which would be equal to #56 on the UK Singles Chart, at a time when the national singles chart only ran to the Top 50).[2]

The song was recorded at Trident Studios, London. Like the entire Timeless Flight album, it was remixed and cut at Abbey Road Studios, London.[3] The song featured Lindsay Elliott, the younger brother of drummer Stuart Elliott, on congas.

"White, White Dove" was released by EMI Records on 7" vinyl in the UK, Germany, Belgium, Portugal and Australia.[4][5] A UK promotional demo/DJ copy was also issued.[6] For the Australian version of the single, which was released on 22 March 1976, an exclusive edited version of "White, White Dove" was featured as the A-Side.[7]

The single's B-Side, "Throw Your Soul Down Here", was written and produced by Harley.[8] It was exclusive to the single and remained so until it was included as a bonus track on the 1991 EMI CD release of Timeless Flight.[9] The song was recorded after the Timeless Flight sessions at AIR Studios, London. It featured Herbie Flowers on double bass, and B. A. Robertson on piano. One of Harley's more popular B-Sides, it has since been performed live.[10]

The UK and Australian releases had no artwork and were issued in a generic company sleeve, while all other releases featured colour picture sleeves. The German release had a similar sleeve to that of Timeless Flight. The Belgian release featuring a photograph of Harley on stage, while the Portuguese release featured a photograph of the original Cockney Rebel group, who had parted from Harley in 1974 and therefore did not play on "White, White Dove" or Timeless Flight.[4]

Following its original release, "White, White Dove" has appeared on various Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel compilations, including 1996's Premium Gold Collection,[11] The Best Of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel,[12] The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel[13] and 2008's The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel.[14]

Upon release, the song was performed live on the UK ITV music programme Supersonic, and this performance has since surfaced on YouTube.[15]

On its release as a single, Ray Fox-Cumming of Record Mirror & Disc predicted the song would be a hit. He commented, "I was not convinced that this was the best track to be single number two from Timeless Flight, but now, edited down, it does make sense. It's still not one of Harley's strongest songs, but the funky guitar patterns, well-paced vocal and sterling production all help to make it man enough for the job of chart-breaching."[16]

In a review of Timeless Flight, Stewart Parker, for his "High Pop" column in The Irish Times felt the song was "aimless and tuneless".[17] Graham Scott of The Evening Times (Little Falls, New York), considered the song musically similar to the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil". He wrote: "Harley can always be relied upon to come up with something original, and he's done it again with 'White White Dove'. What it's all about I'm not sure, but the music's certainly good."[18]

In a 2003 review of Timeless Flight, Martin Aston of Q felt the song's "borderline-poppy chorus is scuppered by skittish, borderline-jazz rock flourishes".[19] Dave Thompson of AllMusic spoke of the song in a review of the 2008 compilation The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. He wrote: "The real meat, however, lies among the excerpted album cuts. "White White Dove," "Roll the Dice," and the like all deserve a fresh hearing."[20]

7" Single

1. "White, White Dove" - 5:37
2. "Throw Your Soul Down Here" - 4:04

7" Single (Australian release)

1. "White, White Dove (Edited Version)" - 4:15
2. "Throw Your Soul Down Here" - 4:04

White, White Dove

• Steve Harley - vocals, guitar, producer
• Jim Cregan - guitar, backing vocals
• Duncan Mackay - keyboards
• George Ford - bass, backing vocals
• Stuart Elliott - drums
• Lindsay Elliott - congas
• Peter Kelsey - engineer
• Tony Clark - engineer, remix engineer
• Chris Blair - mastering

Throw Your Soul Down Here

• Steve Harley - vocals, acoustic guitar, producer
• Herbie Flowers - double bass
• B. A. Robertson - piano
• Stuart Elliott - drums
• Yvonne Keeley - backing vocals (multi-tracked)

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics