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Love Comes Quickly

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"Love Comes Quickly"
7-inch single cover
Single by Pet Shop Boys
from the album Please
B-side"That's My Impression"
Released24 February 1986
Recorded1985
Genre
Length4:19
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Stephen Hague
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"West End Girls"
(1985) 		"Love Comes Quickly"
(1986) 		"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)"
(1986)
Music video
"Love Comes Quickly" on YouTube

"Love Comes Quickly" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the second single from their debut studio album, Please (1986). It peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart in March 1986.[3]

Composition and recording

[edit]

"Love Comes Quickly" was written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant in early 1985,[4] near the end of their time at Ray Roberts' Camden studio where they'd done much of their work. The duo considered it one of their most mature compositions at that point.[5]

During the recording sessions for Please, producer Stephen Hague used a Roland MSQ-700 sequencer, which accidentally shifted the bassline off the beat, and he incorporated that into the track.[6] Hague suggested adding a middle eight and received a co-writing credit for its first two chords.[5]

"Love Comes Quickly" features handclaps, inspired by Sharon Redd's "Never Give You Up" (1982), and the first appearance of a high string line,[5] which became a trademark of their songs.[7] Andy Mackay of Roxy Music plays the saxophone parts towards the end.[7]

Release

[edit]

"Love Comes Quickly" was released on 24 February 1986 as the follow-up to the number one hit "West End Girls". The single only reached number 19 on the UK chart and fell out of the top 100 six weeks later,[3] prompting concerns that they might be a one-hit wonder.[8] A special 10-inch edition that came in a bag with a poster was released in an effort to boost sales.[9]

As with "Opportunities", the 12-version of the single contains remixes by 1980s producer Shep Pettibone. The remixes of "Love Comes Quickly" and "That's My Impression" reached the top ten on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in October 1986.[10] Later, in 2003, new remixes by Blank & Jones were produced for the promotion of the singles collection PopArt.[11]

Pet Shop Boys sampled "Love Comes Quickly" for their song "Somebody Else's Business", which appeared on the Disco 3 album in 2003.[12]

Artwork

[edit]

The cover, featuring Chris Lowe in a baseball cap emblazoned with "BOY" in block letters, has become an iconic Pet Shop Boys image. Neil Tennant later recollected that he had expected the image of the cap to be the group's coming out moment, calling it "incredibly gay".[13]

Critical reception

[edit]

In a contemporary review for Billboard's "Dance Trax" column, Brian Chin wrote that "Pet Shop Boys' "Love Comes Quickly" (Parlophone U.K.) is even more a tribute to drifting Italian disco-pop than the team's current hit. Once "West End Girls" has concluded what will undoubtedly be a hugely successful run, this will follow nicely. The flip, "That's My Impression," deserves double A-rank, with its jittery hi-NRG beat and petulant lyric."[2]

In a 2023 interview with Greatest Hits Radio, Noel Gallagher stated that "Love Comes Quickly" is the song he wished he'd written.[14]

Music video

[edit]

Directed by Andy Morahan and Eric Watson,[15] the video to the song is very simple, utilising facial shots of Tennant singing, interposed with blurry montages of the faces of various other people; at points, shots of Lowe, lying on top of a construction of a square grid, are superimposed over these shots. Watson would later call it a "complete disaster".[16]

Live performances

[edit]

Pet Shop Boys performed "Love Comes Quickly", along with "West End Girls", at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, accompanied by singer Ava Cherry.[17] The song was on the setlist of their first tour in 1989.[18] More recently, "Love Comes Quickly" has been performed on the Super Tour in 2016–2017 with Tennant on keyboards[19] and on the Dreamworld tour in 2022–2024.[20]

Track listings

[edit]

7": Parlophone / R 6116 (UK)

[edit]
  • A. "Love Comes Quickly" – 4:18
  • B. "That's My Impression" – 4:45

12": Parlophone / 12 R 6116 (UK)

[edit]
  • A. "Love Comes Quickly" (Dance Mix) – 6:50
  • B. "That's My Impression" (Disco Mix) – 5:18
    • also released on 10" (10 R 6116)

12": EMI America / V-19218 (US)

[edit]
  • A1. "Love Comes Quickly" (Shep Pettibone Mastermix) – 7:34
  • A2. "Love Comes Quickly" (Dub Mix) – 6:55
  • B1. "Love Comes Quickly" (Dance Mix) – 6:50
  • B2. "That's My Impression" (Disco Mix) – 5:18

Personnel

[edit]

Pet Shop Boys

Additional musicians

Technical

Artwork

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for "Love Comes Quickly"
Chart (1986) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[22] 54
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[23] 35
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[24] 74
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[25] 15
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[26] 12
Ireland (IRMA)[27] 13
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[28] 8
Spain (AFYVE)[29] 6
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 24
UK Singles (OCC)[31] 19
US Billboard Hot 100[32] 62
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[33]
with "That's My Impression" 		10
US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[34]
with "That's My Impression" 		37
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[35] 56
West Germany (GfK)[36] 17

Cover versions

[edit]

As early as 1986, a Japanese-language cover version of the song was recorded by pop singer Hidemi Ishikawa.[37]

[edit]

Lyrics: Love Comes Quickly

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Edwards, Luke; Elliott, Mark (16 June 2023). "Best Pet Shop Boys Songs: 30 Synth-Pop Hits Always On Our Mind". Dig!. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b Chin, Brian (15 March 1986). "Dance Trax". Billboard.
  3. ^ a b "Love Comes Quickly by Pet Shop Boys". Official Charts. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  4. ^ Heath, Chris (2018). Introspective: Further Listening 1988–1989 (booklet). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone Records. p. 10. 0190295826178.
  5. ^ a b c Heath, Chris (2018). Please: Further Listening 1984–1986 (booklet). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone Records. pp. 11–13. 0190295831745.
  6. ^ Bradwell, David (March 1988). "Talking Shop: Stephen Hague". Music Technology. Retrieved 24 December 2024. The bassline of that is interesting because, originally, it was going to be a down-beat set up as it is in the intro. I had programmed it on an MSQ700, but something got screwed up when it came back sync'd from tape and the whole thing was delayed by exactly half a beat. I thought it sounded really cool so I had to re-write the bass sequence with that in mind.
  7. ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "Love Comes Quickly by Pet Shop Boys - Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  8. ^ Harrison, Ian (August 2013). "Pet Shop Boys Interviewed: We prefer not to be fake". Mojo. No. 237. Retrieved 24 December 2024. But then we release "Love Comes Quickly" and it's Number 19, "Opportunities" struggles, and it all feels a bit shaky, anyway. You know, I remember thinking we felt like a one hit wonder in the first part of 1986.
  9. ^ Peel, Ian (28 February 2009). "Good Old Boys". Record Collector. Retrieved 25 December 2024. Love Comes Quickly's got a weird 10" in just a plastic bag with a poster. It's actually not designed. We weren't very happy about it at the time, but we were all in a panic because it had charted low.
  10. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco 1974–2003, (Record Research Inc.), page 201.
  11. ^ Sinclair, Paul (6 June 2016). "Blank & Jones on curating so80s". Super Deluxe Edition. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  12. ^ Pet Shop Boys (April 2003). "Disco 3". Literally, issue 26.
  13. ^ Silcott, Mireille (1999). "The Pet Shop Boys, obsessively". Montreal Mirror. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2006.
  14. ^ Taylor, Tom (5 December 2023). "'It's just to die for': The melody Noel Gallagher wishes he had written". Far Out. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  15. ^ Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - Pet Shop Boys - "Love comes quickly"". Music Video DataBase. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Interview with Eric Watson". Literally (Pet Shop Boys fanclub magazine). May 1992. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2006.
  17. ^ Mills, Simon (24 September 1986). "Pet Shop Boys: Weird Tales from America" (PDF). Smash Hits. Vol. 8, no. 20. pp. 55–56. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  18. ^ Heath, Chris (2020). Pet Shop Boys, Literally. London: William Heinemann. p. 28. ISBN 9781473575691.
  19. ^ "Review: Pet Shop Boys - Super Tour". Edinburgh Evening News. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  20. ^ Earls, John (25 July 2024). "Online Exclusive: Live Review - Pet Shop Boys at London's Royal Opera House". Classic Pop. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  21. ^ "Pet Shop Boys - Love Comes Quickly (R 6116)". Discogs. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  22. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 232. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  23. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Love Comes Quickly" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  24. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0734." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  25. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 3, no. 15. 19 April 1986. p. 12. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  26. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 233. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  27. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Love Comes Quickly". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  28. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Love Comes Quickly". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  29. ^ Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  30. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Love Comes Quickly". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  31. ^ "Pet Shop Boys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  32. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  33. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  34. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  35. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending October 4, 1986". Cash Box. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  36. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pet Shop Boys – Love Comes Quickly" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  37. ^ (in Japanese) Hidemi Ishikawa discography page Archived 12 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
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