Weak in the Presence of Beauty (song)

Floy Joy version

Following the band's 1984 debut album Into the Hot, which spawned two minor Top 100 single entries in the UK chart ("Until You Come Back to Me" and "Operator"), lead vocalist Carroll Thompson left the group, along with Shaun Ward. Michael Ward continued the group with Rob Clarke, and lead vocalist Desi Campbell, the latter who originally the unofficial backing vocalist and bongo player for the group. Together the new trio released one album in 1986 – Weak in the Presence of Beauty – which would also be the band's final album. The title track "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" was the lead single from the album. It peaked at #85 in the UK, lasting in the Top 100 for a total of three weeks. It was the group's highest charting single. The single's highest chart placing was in Australia, where it reached the Top 30. It also saw minor success in Canada, where it peaked at #68 on the Singles Chart and #14 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.

Like the band's debut album, the song (and the album) was produced by Don Was in Detroit.

As revealed in The Face magazine during 1986, the inspired "Weak in The Presence" catch phrase originally came to Michael Ward as a joke. He stated "This girl was saying that she didn't trust me and I said, just off the cuff, "what can I do, I'm weak in the presence of beauty". I still don't know where it came from."

In The Times, a Malta interview with Campbell saw the interviewer ask "Weak in the Presence of Beauty was a minor hit for you – but then, Alison Moyet covered it and it became a huge hit. Did you feel cheated?" Campbell replied "On the contrary, my association with that song has and continues to open many doors for me and I'm very proud to have been part of a little piece of pop history."

Track listing

1. "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" – 3:24
2. "You And Me" – 3:07

1. "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" (Extended Version) – 5:12
2. "You And Me" – 3:07

Critical reception

In the official American Billboard Magazine of 18 January 1986, "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" was mentioned under the "Dance Trax" section. The article stated: "Floy Joy, much praised but barely charted (like Working Week, another of our undiscovered faves), sound like they have the key to both the U.S. and U.K. charts with "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" (Virgin/U.K.), a Don Was production that's sort of Shannon-meets-"Every Breath You Take". Addictive."

Alison Moyet version

In 1987, "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" was released by English singer Alison Moyet as the second single from her second studio album Raindancing. Unlike the original version, this cover became a hit throughout Europe.

Background

Over the last decade, Moyet has revealed that the song was only recorded as she knew it would be a hit single, and that she is not actually fond of the song at all. To promote her 2004 album Voice, Moyet appeared on the This Morning show. On the show, Phillip Schofield asked why Moyet had said she hated the song. She replied: "Oh, because I know how cynical I was being when I recorded it. I recorded it 'cause I knew it was a hit rather than the fact that I loved it, and that will teach me, you know? You have a massive hit with something you're not particularly fond of, and it's not a good feeling."

In an interview with Ian Wade for The Quietus in May 2013, Moyet spoke about the greater level of independence she achieved later in her career, in comparison to the early period of her solo career: "What I must say is that it's sometimes very easy to sit there and rescind responsibility, but sometimes I couldn't be arsed. That's the truth of it. We can all make the right choices, but sometimes we're just too lazy to. And sometimes I was just too lazy to do it myself. "Love Letters" and "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" – neither song I enjoy now – they're both my fault. I found them. That was when I was feeling smart, thinking that I knew what a hit was - I don't know what's a fucking hit! But they were hits, and now I'm forever to fucking sing them years later!"

In a June 2013 interview by Chi Ming Lai for The Electricity Club, Moyet spoke of the song and her reason for recording the track: "Love Letters" was me shooting myself in the foot! That was me being a show-off! That was me showing I had an A&R thing... "oh, I know what a hit is"! I did that twice, I did it with that and with "Weak in the Presence of Beauty"! Two times that I recorded songs knowing they were hits as opposed to the fact I loved them! I say that honestly, that's the only time I've ever recorded anything cynically!"

Critical reception

In the 7 March 1987 issue of Number One magazine, Paul Simper reviewed the single, commenting: "Not an obvious single with its pleasant production and leisurely chorus but at least Alison Moyet's voice is blossoming in a discreetly unexpected way. A million miles from that Erasure buffoon but just one short stop to Carly Simon."

Track listings

1. "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" - 3:37
2. "To Work on You" - 4:13

1. "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" (Extended Remix) – 6:04
2. "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" (Single Version) - 3:37
3. "To Work on You" - 4:13

1. "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" (Extended Remix) – 6:04
2. "To Work on You" - 4:13
3. "Take My Imagination To Bed" - 3:41

Other versions

The American band Eddie & the Tide released a version on their 1987 album Looking For Adventure.