Love Bomb | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1975 | |||
Studio | Marquee Studios, London | |||
Label | Jet | |||
Producer | Lynsey de Paul | |||
Lynsey de Paul chronology | ||||
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Love Bomb is the fourth album released in 1975 by the British singer-songwriter Lynsey de Paul, and her second album released on Jet Records in the UK [1] and Polydor in Germany, Australia and Japan. [2] [3] In the US and Canada, it was released in January 1976 on Mercury Records. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] The album was recorded at the Marquee Studios, London, England, produced by de Paul and arranged by Tony Hymas, with Terry Cox playing drums, John Dean percussion, Chris Rea guitar and Frank McDonald bass. [9] The striking sleeve cover photo of de Paul in U.S. military style clothing was taken by Brian Aris. [3]
De Paul performed live versions of some of the album's songs as a special weekly guest on Cooper, the Tommy Cooper series produced by Thames Television, that was broadcast on ITV in late 1975. Songs performed from the album included "No, Honestly", "Hungry for Love" and "Shoobeedoo Wey Doobee How", with each song introduced by a witty exchange between de Paul and DJ David Hamilton. [10] [11] The shows were released on DVD by Network Distributing in 2008. [12]
As well as containing the hit single, "No, Honestly" (which was also the theme for the TV comedy series of the same name), [13] the album included the soul/disco infused UK single "Love Bomb" [14] (at 4:54 minutes too long for radio play) and the ballad "Hug and Squeeze Me" (sometimes referred to as "Hug and Squeeze" on later compilation albums), which was also released as a single in November 1975 (backed by the non-album song "You Made Me Write This Song"). [15] The song highlights of the album according to AllMusic are "Dreams" and "No, Honestly". [16]
"Sugar Shuffle" was released as a single in the US and Japan, with the UK single A-side "Love Bomb" being relegated to the B-side. "Sugar Shuffle" received positive reviews in the US in industry trade magazines such as Record World , [17] with Cashbox writing "Lynsey is a very hot writer in Great Britain at this point in time, and so she's earned a shot at the United States "Sugar Shuffle" is well worth that shot. Cool little teasing vocal gets straight to the point, "Get some honey/forget the money/do the sugar shuffle." The lady works with words very well and has a memorable voice". [18] [19] Although it was not released as a single in the UK, "Sugar Shuffle" was popular on a number of mainstream UK radio stations, including BBC Radio 1. [20] In 2020, it was included on the album Bob Stanley Presents 76 in the Shade [21] with reviewer Martin Ruddock singling it out as "The poolside cool of Lynsey De Paul’s sedate Sugar Shuffle". [22]
The song "Love Bomb" was covered in 1979 by the American singer Cheryl Lynn as a track on her U.S. charting album In Love , which was produced by De Paul's writing partner, Barry Blue and has been remixed by Glenn Rivera. [23] [24] According to the magazine Sepia, "Love Bomb" was one of three outstanding tracks on Lynn's In Love album [25] and Record World also mentions it in their review of the album. [26] It was also covered by the UK Celtic/folk-rock band, The Dolmen. [27] In 2020, three mixes of "Love Bomb" were released by Dornbirn 78 on Codek Records with vocals by the Lithuanian artist Adelina Sasnauskaitė, produced by Sasa Crnobrnja & Bryan Mette. [28] "Sugar Shuffle" was updated and covered by Japanese artist Asami Kobayashi on her 1984 album, Cryptography [29] which reached number 4 on the Japanese album charts. [30] The song "No, Honestly" was covered by Brazilian singer, Jeannie [31] and also by the Danish singer Vivian (aka Vivian Johansen). [32]
The track "Love Bomb" appeared on a French discotheque compilations album in 1975. [33] More recently, a remix of de Paul's version of "Love Bomb" is featured in the TOWN II // TELEGRAPH footage for the Peter Hutton film, Three Landscapes, which was released in 2013. [34] The German group "Lovebomb" is named after the title song, [35] as is the U.S. band formed by Robert Holmes. [36]
The song "Shoobeedoo Wey Doobee How" was featured as a track on the 1992 compilation album "'Tis Blue Drops; A Sense of Suburbia Sweet". [37] In March 2019, as part of International Women's Day, Jann Arden chose "You Are The Happiest Day of My Life" from Love Bomb as one of the songs that means most to her. [38] The track "Crystal Ball" was sampled and used as the basis for the song "Takista" by Finnish artist "Huge L" on his 2011 album "Yo Yo!" [39] In 2020, de Paul's version of "Sugar Shuffle" was released as a track on the compilation vinyl album 76 In The Shade, presented by Bob Stanley, [40] which peaked at number 23 on the Dutch albums chart [41] and number 78 on the UK Official Compilations chart. [42]
The album has been critically acclaimed [43] including by de Paul's peers, such as musician, journalist, author Bob Stanley [44] and was a notable album. [45] [46] The album was featured as one of Billboard 's recommended LPs on 27 December 1975 issue of Billboard magazine, [47] and also received a positive reviews on 27 December 1975 issue of Cashbox , with the reviewer writing "The ingrained sultreyness of Lynsey de Paul's voice is the major focal point on "Love Bomb " The textured soulfulness of her pop oriented vocals makes the most of ballad and lightly up-tempo numbers. An effective adjunct to the singing is some carefully orchestrated instrumentals that seem to change moods in tandem with the singing registers. Good AM possibilities with equally strong chances at middle of the road and disco oriented stations. Top cuts include "You Are the Happiest Day of My Life," "Sugar Shuffle", "Hug and Squeeze Me" and “Season to Season" [48] as well as High Fidelity [49] and Stereo Review. [50] UK weekly music paper Record Mirror stated "In a field of music where mediocrity is rife, Lynsey shows in no uncertain terms how things should be done properly". [51] Canadian music magazine RPM stated "The beautiful and talented Britisher produced the LP and penned very cut". [52]
The album is held by the US Library of Congress Washington, D.C., 20540 United States. [53] [54] It is also rated as one of the top albums released in 1975 by online site "Best ever albums", as well as one of the top 1000 albums released in the 1970s, a listing that also includes de Paul's previous albums Taste Me... Don't Waste Me and debut album Surprise . [55] The album is also mentioned in the book How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Independent Record Label as being popular [45] as well as in the book The Mercury Labels: The 1969-1991 Era and Classical Recordings. [56]
The "Love Bomb" album was re-issued on CD in Japan in 1990 on the Century label, but on this version the track "Crystal Ball" was replaced by "Rhythm and Blue Jean Baby" (originally a single only release). [57] [58] It was released again in 1999 in Japan on the Vivid label with "Crystal Ball" re-instated but also with "Nothing Really Lasts Forever" (the B-side to de Paul's 1974 hit single "Ooh I Do" and also composed by her) included. [59] In 2010, the album was released on CD in the USA on the Renaissance label [58] [60] and included (in addition to the original tracks) "Sugar Me", "Getting a Drag", "Won't Somebody Dance with Me", "If I Don't Get You the Next One Will" and the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 entry "Rock Bottom", as bonus tracks, all of which were UK hit singles for de Paul. [61] The CD album reached number 57 on the Brazilian iTunes chart in August 2018. [62]
Lynsey de Paul was an English singer-songwriter and producer. After initially writing hits for others, she had her own chart hits in the UK and Europe in the 1970s, starting with UK top 10 single "Sugar Me", and became the first British female artist to achieve a number one with a self-written song. She represented the UK in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, coming second and scoring another chart-topping hit in Switzerland, and had a successful career as a two-time Ivor Novello Award-winning composer, record producer, actress and television celebrity.
Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot and Magnum.
Barry Blue is an English singer, producer, and songwriter. As an artist, he is best known for his hit songs "Dancin' " and "Do You Wanna Dance".
Thunderthighs were a British backing vocal group, who released records in their own right.
Taste Me...Don't Waste Me is the third album by the English singer-songwriter Lynsey de Paul but the second album of completely new material and de Paul also was the producer for all of the songs. It was released in the UK in November 1974 and was the first album on Don Arden's then new label, Jet Records, and initially distributed by Polydor, although Island Records was soon contracted by Arden to take over distribution and this confusion may have negatively affected sales. Releases in all other countries, such as Spain, Germany, Australia, Japan and South America, were on the Polydor label in early 1975. The album was generally well received by music critics from leading magazines of the day. AllMusic journalist Craig Harris stated that "one of the first successful female singer-songwriters in England, de Paul has had an illustrious career" and lists this as one of her best albums. The Sunday Sun reviewed the album and wrote "Lynsey de Paul has shown her fine smoochy new album "Taste Me Don’t Waste Me" that she consistent song-writing talent". It was also de Paul's personal favourite album and she wrote on her music store website some years later "The Taste Me... Don't Waste Me album was a romantic collection of songs that I wrote and recorded as a relaxing, late night album", echoing earlier comments to the music press. The LP was listed as one of the best album releases of 1975 by journalist Judith Simons. It has stood the test of time in that it is listed as one of the top albums released in 1974 by online site "Best ever albums", as well as one of the top 1000 albums released in the 1970s.
"No, Honestly" is a song written, performed and produced by Lynsey de Paul, that was the theme for London Weekend Television's comedy series of the same name, although the single release was a slightly different version from that used for the TV theme.
"Storm in a Teacup" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Ron Roker, recorded by the British group The Fortunes and released as a single in 1972.
"Ooh I Do" is the fifth single released by Lynsey de Paul on 17 May 1974 and her only single released on the Warner Bros. label, after moving there from MAM Records. Co-written by de Paul and Barry Blue, this Phil Spector-ish song with a nod to the style of the Roy Wood/Wizzard sound, conveys the angst about parents not believing in a teenage love affair represented a change of style for de Paul, who also produced the recording. De Paul performed the song on TV shows in Spain and Germany, however, her only UK performance was for Top of the Pops, but this was never shown because of industrial action at the BBC. De Paul re-recorded the song for this episode and this version was released on the BBC Transcription Services album, Top Of The Pops-495, which also featured an interview conducted by Brian Matthews.
"Love Bomb" is a song and title track from the album Love Bomb by Lynsey de Paul, written by de Paul and Barry Blue. It is listed in the Catalog of Copyright Entries held by the Library of Congress 1976. The song's lyrics express "a call for love and peace".
"Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Blue, that was recorded by Blue and released as a single in 1973 on Bell Records. Blue's backing band of session musicians were well known in the industry and one year later the drummer, John Richardson, joined the Rubettes.
Surprise is the first album released by Lynsey de Paul on the MAM record label in 1973. In Australia, the album name was changed to Sugar Me, after de Paul's first hit single. All of the songs on the album were written or co-written by de Paul. On the album, de Paul was accompanied by some of the UK's leading session musicians including Terry Cox, Ralph McTell, Ray Cooper, Jeff Daly, John Gustafson, Chris Rae, Danny Thompson, Gary Boyle, Barry de Souza, Dick Katz, Robert Kirby, Francis Monkman, John Richardson and violinist Johnny Van Derrick. The album front cover is a portrait photo of de Paul photographed by Clive Arrowsmith, and a gatefold sleeve with illustrations provided by de Paul, a nod to her previous career of designing album sleeves and song lyrics.
"Sugar Me" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Green. The first version of this song to be released was recorded by de Paul as her first single on MAM Records in 1972. It was produced by Gordon Mills and the B-side was de Paul's version of "Storm in a Teacup", a song she had co-written and had been a hit for the Fortunes earlier that year.
"Papa Do" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Blue, who are credited as Rubin and Green. The song was released as a single performed by Barry Green in February 1972 backed with "Boomerang" on the Decca label and had a modicum of chart success in Spain, France and Sweden. It received a number of favourable reviews, including one from the BBC DJ Alan Freeman on his Sunday radio show Pick of the Pops. The Dutch group, Cardinal Point, recorded a version which was similar in style to that recorded by Green, as a track on their self-named album, and the Greek group, The Daltons, also released a version of the song as a single. The song was re-titled "Mama Do" and the text slightly modified for de Paul's own jazzed up version, that served as the opening track for her debut album, Surprise, which was released in 1973. In January 1974, Decca Records re-released the single to capitalize on Barry Blue's chart success and it again received positive reviews.
"House of Cards" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Blue and is one of their most covered songs. It was first released as a single by Chris Kelly on the CBS label on 7 April 1972, credited as being written by Rubin and Green (Blue). The song was a radio hit in Italy, receiving multiple plays on national radio stations.
Into My Music - Anthology 1975-1979 is a digitally remastered double album, featuring songs written and performed by Lynsey de Paul, that was released on 18 March 2013 on Cherry Red's RPM Retrodisc label. All recordings have been remastered by de Paul and Simon Murphy from original tape sources and co-produced by de Paul and Mark Stratford. The album is packaged with photographs and memorabilia from de Paul's personal archive and text by Michael Robson.
Just a Little Time is an album by Lynsey de Paul. It was originally released on 30 September 1994 on the Music Deluxe label but has since been released on the Tring International PLC label and on Arc Records/The Magic Collection. All of the songs on the album are written or co-written by de Paul.
"Rhythm and Blue Jean Baby" is a song that was written and produced by Lynsey de Paul, and released in July 1975 as her third single on the newly designed yellow Jet Record label in the UK, as a follow-up to the hit single "My Man and Me". It was released on Polydor in Belgium, France and Germany ; backed with another de Paul composition "Into My Music". The release of the single was also announced in the American music industry magazine Cashbox. The song as well as the lyrics and credits are listed on the Italian music resource "Rockol".
"All Night" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Ron Roker. De Paul released her version of the song on 27 April 1973 as her third single released on MAM Records, with arrangements by Martyn Ford and John Bell and produced by de Paul. The song is listed in the U.S. Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries and in "The Directory of American 45 R.p.m. Records". It features an uncredited male vocal. A slinky, sexy song, it compares a love relationship to that of the spider and a fly. The single is backed by the more socially aware song "Blind Leading the Blind", composed and produced by de Paul. The song was an unusual release since neither the A-side or the B-side featured as tracks on her debut album. Surprise had been released a little more than a month earlier - presumably it was not included since "All Night" has a very different style than the tracks on Surprise.
Sugar and Beyond is a double compilation album by the British singer-songwriter Lynsey de Paul released on 18 March 2013, together with a second double album, Into My Music. De Paul personally oversaw the project and was involved in the digital remastering of the tracks from the original tapes. The CD includes all her hits as well as the two LPs released in the period between 1972 and 1974.
"Sugar Shuffle" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Blue. It first appeared as the lead-in track on de Paul's album Love Bomb as an ethereal, chilled and dreamy song about nightlife and dating. AllMusic rated "Sugar Shuffle" as one of de Paul's song highlights. Musician and music critic Bob Stanley wrote in The Guardian, "Sugar Shuffle is an especially gorgeous, woozy mid-70s confection, fit to sit at the table with Liverpool Express’s You Are My Love".