Love Won't Wait

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"Love Won't Wait"
Love Won't Wait cover.png
Single by Gary Barlow
from the album Open Road
B-side "Cuddly Toy"
Released9 April 1997 (1997-04-09)
Genre Dance-pop
Length4:17
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Stephen Lipson
Gary Barlow singles chronology
"Forever Love"
(1996)		"Love Won't Wait"
(1997)		"So Help Me Girl"
(1997)

"Love Won't Wait" is a song by English singer Gary Barlow from his debut studio album, Open Road (1997). It was released as the second single from the album on 9 April 1997 by BMG and RCA Records. The song was written by Madonna and Shep Pettibone, and was an unreleased demo from her Bedtime Stories (1994) studio sessions. Barlow came by the demo in 1997, while looking to record more songs for Open Road. He changed the lyrics to represent a male point of view rather than Madonna's, and recorded the track with Stephen Lipson as producer.

Contents

Barlow was apprehensive about releasing the track, but due to contractual obligations he had to release it. The song became Barlow's second consecutive number-one release on the UK Singles Chart, following "Forever Love", and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It also reached number one in Lithuania and Spain, and the top ten in Denmark, Ireland, Italy and Taiwan. A music video for the song was directed by Rocky Schenck and showed Barlow singing "Love Won't Wait" across different locations. He also performed the song at the 1997 pre-Grammy Award party, where his performance was negatively received.

Background

Following the release of her fifth studio album, Erotica (1992), Madonna and her producer Shep Pettibone continued writing more songs in the same vein as present in the album. However, she later abandoned the project and collaborated with record producers Dallas Austin and Nellee Hooper to create Bedtime Stories , her sixth studio album, released in 1994. [1] Many of the songs from the writing sessions with Pettibone were not included and remained as demos. In the meantime, Gary Barlow wanted to release his debut album, Open Road , to coincide with his first single, "Forever Love". However, he wanted to continue recording songs for the album. He came across one of Madonna's demos called "Love Won't Wait" and decided to record it, after shortening the lyrics. [1]

Barlow's manager, Simon Fuller, chose Stephen Lipson to produce the song, seeing his success with 1980s artists like Grace Jones and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Although the song did not sound like what Barlow would usually record, he nevertheless explained in an interview: "It took me a while to get my interpretation right because Madonna had written from a female point of view. It's not the kind of song I would write myself. But as soon as I heard it, I thought 'This is a hit'." [2] A dance-pop song, "Love Won't Wait" is set in the time signature of common time with a tempo of 120 beats per minute. Barlow's voice spans between the nodes of C♯m and A3 and has a basic chord progression of C–A–B–C♯m in the pre-chorus and E–B–D–A–C–E–A–C♯m in the chorus. [3]

Release and promotion

Barlow had arrived in the United States in February 1997 for recording the track, where Clive Davis, who was managing his career in the United States, played him a "poppier" version of the song, remixed by Junior Vasquez. He also requested Barlow to perform "Love Won't Wait" at the 1997 pre-Grammy Award party. However, the singer did not have any time to rehearse or memorize the lyrics, resulting in the performance receiving negative reviews from critics and audience alike. [2] With The Times Barlow recounted the evening saying, "I don't remember the words. I came in at all the wrong times. I can see people drifting off to the toilet in droves. Talk about dying on your arse!" [4] The combination of the negative review towards his performance and contractual obligations led to Barlow release "Love Won't Wait" as his second single on 9 April 1997 in Japan and on 24 April 1997 in the United Kingdom. [5] [4] The CD single consists of the single version along with the Vasquez remix and two other tracks from Open Road, "Meaning Of A Love Song" and "Always". [6] Another song, "Cuddly Toy", was released on the B-side of another CD single for the song, released in May 1997.

An accompanying music video was directed by Rocky Schenck and was released on 28 April 1997. It features Barlow performing the song in France, walking down a highway littered with stage props and crew members actively changing the scenes as he walks forward. As he performs the chorus, he jumps off the set and walks towards his stage chair, where he sits and observes his surroundings. The video ends with Barlow running away from a woman down a country road, as the video fades from view. [7]

Critical and commercial reception

While the album received mostly negative reviews, songs like "Love Won't Wait" were considered a stand-out by The Times . [4] The Daily Mirror noted it as a "classic track you've known all your life". A reviewer from Music Week rated it four out of five, adding, "There's something vaguely reminiscent of those cheesy Seventies pop tunes about this Shep Pettibone-penned taster for Barlow's debut solo album. It's a killer all the same and the ex-Take That crowd will lap it up." [8] The magazine's Alan Jones commented, "The Madonna-penned track sounds like an inferior Cliff Richard record, with Barlow making a bizarrely accurate facsimile of Sir Cliff's falsetto. None of which will prevent it from being a big hit, of course." [9] The Sunday Mirror gave it seven out of ten, and cautioned that "Take That fans will lap up another smooth one from Gary, but I can't help thinking he's trying to turn into Elton John far too soon." [2]

In the United Kingdom, "Love Won't Wait" became Barlow's second solo number one single on the UK Singles Chart, following "Forever Love". It was number one for one week, and was present for a total of nine weeks within the top 100 of the chart. [10] The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified it silver, for shipment of 200,000 copies of the single. [11] The song also reached number one in Lithuania and Spain, and the top-ten of the charts in Denmark, Ireland and Taiwan. [12] [13] [14] In Australia, "Love Won't Wait" peaked at number 16 on the ARIA Singles Chart. [15]

Track listing and formats

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Love Won't Wait"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [11] Silver200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Kutner, Jon (2010). 1000 UK Number One Hits. Omnibus Press. p. 98. ISBN   9780857123602 . Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Smith, Sean (2013). Gary: The Definitive Biography of Gary Barlow. Simon & Schuster. p. 50. ISBN   9781471102240 . Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Digital Sheet Music – Gary Barlow – Love Won't Wait" (The sheet music for "Love Won't Wait" can be found on the back side of "Forever Love"). Sheet Music Plus. Alfred Publishing . Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Lewis, Justin (2014). Gary Barlow – The Biography. John Blake Publishing. p. 132. ISBN   9781784182441 . Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "ラブ・ウォント・ウェイト | ゲイリー・バーロウ" [Love Won't Wait | Gary Barlow] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  6. 1 2 Love Won't Wait (UK CD single 1 liner notes). Gary Barlow. RCA Records. 1997. 74321 470 842.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ↑ Rocky Schenck (1999). Rocky Schenck : director, Texas reel (VHS). Hollywood, CA.: David Naylor & Associates. Event occurs at 15:00. OCLC   52690159.
  8. ↑ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 19 April 1997. p. 29. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  9. ↑ Jones, Alan (3 May 1997). "Talking Music" (PDF). Music Week . p. 25. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
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  11. 1 2 "British single certifications – Gary Barlow – Love Won't Wait". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  12. 1 2 "Hits of the World: Denmark". Billboard . Vol. 109, no. 23. 7 June 1997. p. 65. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  13. 1 2 "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Love Won't Wait". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  14. 1 2 "IFPI Taiwan – Single Top 10 (1997/17)". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Taiwan. 24 February 1998. Archived from the original on 24 February 1998. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  15. 1 2 "Gary Barlow – Love Won't Wait". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  16. ↑ Love Won't Wait (UK CD single 2 liner notes). Gary Barlow. RCA Records. 1997. 74321 470 832.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ↑ Love Won't Wait (UK cassette Single liner notes). Gary Barlow. RCA Records. 1997. 74321 470 934.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ↑ Love Won't Wait (Japanese CD single liner notes). Gary Barlow. RCA Records. 1997. BVCP-8845.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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  20. ↑ "Gary Barlow – Love Won't Wait" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  21. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 14, no. 21. 24 May 1997. p. 12. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  22. ↑ "Gary Barlow: Love Won't Wait" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
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  36. ↑ "Gary Barlow – Love Won't Wait". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
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  38. ↑ "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1997" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
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