Released 15 August 1981 Recorded 1981 | Format 12", 7" Label Virgin | |
Genre Post-punk, pop rock, new wave Length 5:04 (Album/12" version)
3:51 (Single edit)
4:14 (1992 remixed version) | ||
"Love Song" is the seventh single released by Scottish band Simple Minds. It was issued by Virgin Records in August 1981, one month before the release of its parent album Sons and Fascination. The B-side is an instrumental version of "This Earth That You Walk Upon", which later appeared on the album with newly-recorded vocals. Despite a sticker appearing on the 12" single promising an 'extended version', all 12" releases around the world featured the 5:04 album version.
The song is reportedly an ode to the close bond between Europe and America: "a relationship that's lasted across the centuries, through good and bad times, a "Love Song" between two continents." Its sound marked the beginning of a shift away from the band's early experimental phase towards a more accessible and commercial "pulsating electronic rock".
"Love Song" became Simple Mind's first single to enter the UK Top 50 – although only just, peaking at a lowly #47. It was more successful in Sweden and Australia, where it climbed into the Top 20.
In 1992, a slightly remixed version of the song was released to promote the band's Glittering Prize 81/92 compilation, backed with "Alive and Kicking". This re-release finally sent "Love Song" into the UK Top 10, where it reached #6.