Love's Great Adventure
"Love's Great Adventure" is a single released by Ultravox on 12 October 1984.[1] Having enjoyed massive radio airplay that autumn, the single became Ultravox's thirteenth Top 30 single in Britain, and was their last major hit in the UK, peaking at #12 in the UK Singles Chart.[2] The style of this single is different from any of their preceding Lament singles, aiming for a more lightweight, pop-oriented approach.
"Love's Great Adventure" | ||||
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Single by Ultravox | ||||
from the album The Collection | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 12 October 1984 | |||
Recorded | 1984 | |||
Genre | Synthpop, pop rock, new wave | |||
Length | 3:04 5:40 (Extended version) | |||
Label | Chrysalis | |||
Songwriter(s) | Warren Cann, Chris Cross, Billy Currie, Midge Ure | |||
Producer(s) | Ultravox | |||
Ultravox singles chronology | ||||
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The music video was filmed in Kenya and features the band members in a humorous parody of Indiana Jones, with Midge Ure being chased across deserts and forests by a ruthless treasure hunter. Midge Ure stated in his autobiography, If I Was, that the aim of the single and its video was to promote Ultravox as having a sense of humour, away from the seriousness of their previous releases. Also in the video is Ure's future wife Annabel Giles. The music in the video stops halfway through where a seemingly exhausted Midge Ure, tired from minutes of endless running around has to sit down for a moment and take a breather. He rests for a moment then takes a breath before standing up recovered and continuing with the song at which point the music starts up once again.
The song, based on a riff for a Levi's jeans commercial which was not taken up by the company, was not released on a studio album, instead appearing on their 1984 compilation album The Collection.
In popular culture
An episode of the BBC series Inside No. 9, also called "Love's Great Adventure", used this song as its closing theme.
Track listing
7" version
12" version
- "Love's Great Adventure (Extended Version)" – 5:40
- "White China (Live)" – 3:43
- "Man Of Two Worlds (Instrumental)" – 4:32 - (music: Currie, Cann, Cross, Ure - lyrics: Ure)
References
- "Record News". NME. London, England: IPC Media: 51. 6 October 1984.
- "The Official Charts Company - Ultravox - Love's Great Adventure". Retrieved 9 January 2010.