1975Released
4:11

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Love Is The Drug. By Songfacts®.

"Love Is the Drug" is a song about hitting the streets in search of some casual, no-strings-attached sex. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal on February 27, 2019, Bryan Ferry noted: "The image I had in mind for the song was a young guy getting into his car and zooming off into town, looking for action at a club." The Roxy Music singer added that part of "Love Is the Drug" was inspired by the Caribbean patois of his Trinidadian friend, Christian. "He worked for Roxy doing wardrobe. Christian was a very amusing, laid-back guy. If there was ever a problem, Christian would say, 'T'ain't no big t'ing.' I liked the phrase, so my opening lyrics to the song were: T'ain't no big thing To wait for the bell to ring T'ain't no big thing The toll of the bell"

This song started life as a "distinctly English-y'' instrumental composed by Roxy Music saxophonist Andy Mackay on a Wurlitzer electronic piano before becoming more groove-driven. "The song I composed didn't have words or a title," Mackay told The Wall Street Journal. "When I played it for the band at the studio, my tempo was slow, with a majestic, sweeping feel, moving in a dreamy and ambient direction. Bryan and drummer Paul Thompson wanted to push it along, to make it more dance-y."

"Love Is the Drug" hears Ferry and co. flirting with disco music, a genre that was increasing in popularity in the UK and the US at the time. In an interview with Roxy Music biographer David Buckley, Ferry said this was an attempt to get more nightclubs to spin their records. "I was always interested in dance records," he said. "I spent a lot of time in clubs, I guess. It was really irritating that when we went out anywhere, there was never any of our music played in any clubs, because it wasn't really dance music. I wanted to introduce something. I always wanted to do something where you'd see people actually getting up to dance, rather than sitting down when it came on. And to an extent, 'Love Is the Drug' was good for that."

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Love Is The Drug.
DKey
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
125BPM

Album

The album Love Is The Drug is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released Love Is The Drug.
EG Records
© 1999 Virgin Records Limited
℗ 1999 Virgin Records Limited

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