"Love Is a Stranger" is a song by the British pop duo

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...

. It is the opening track off their second album, ''

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" is a song by British synth-pop duo Eurythmics. It was released as the fourth and final single from their second album of the same name in January 1983. It was their breakthrough hit, establishing the duo wor ...

''. Originally released in October 1982, the single peaked outside the top 50 in the UK, but it was re-released in 1983, reaching the top 20 in several countries, including number six in the UK. The single was re-released again in 1991, to promote Eurythmics' ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' album. Both the

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

and the

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compa ...

were backed by "Monkey Monkey" as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

; the 12-inch single also included "Let's Just Close Our Eyes", a song that borrowed musical elements from " The Walk", which was the second single from ''Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This''.

Background

"Love Is a Stranger" was created around nine months prior to its initial release as a single. During the song's first chart run, Dave Stewart began to receive requests from musicians such as Billy MacKenzie to produce their records. Lennox sought to encapsulate the dichotomy of love and hatred when writing the lyrics to "Love is a Stranger". She explained that her goal was to "put opposites together, because love and hate are so close to each other." Stewart assembled the track by playing eighth notes on a

Roland Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...

synthesiser and a drum machine pattern with a repeating

sixteenth note Figure 1. A 16th note with stem facing up, a 16th note with stem facing down, and a 16th rest. Figure 2. Four 16th notes beamed together. In music, a 1/16, sixteenth note ( American) or semiquaver (British) is a note played for half the d ...

figure on a programmed

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock music, rock, popular music, pop, jazz, an ...

. He then accentuated certain passages with an

Omnichord The Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument introduced in 1981 by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation. It allows users to play distinctive harp-like arpeggios produced through an electronic strum plate, simulating the experience of ...

to create an electronic harp sound. Stewart said that the composition already "sounded eerily complete" at this stage, even before the addition of Lennox's lead vocals, which were completed in one take. After some guitar overdubs, he then recorded various grunts and breathing sounds because he felt that it "just seemed like a good idea at the time."

Commercial performance

Originally released in October 1982 in the United Kingdom, "Love Is a Stranger" debuted on the UK Singles Charts at number 70 for the week dated 20 November 1982. It peaked at number 54 two weeks later and spent five weeks in the top 75 during its initial chart run. Following the success of "

" the following year, the song was re-released and reached number six in April 1983. In the United States, the song was the second single from the ''Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)'' album. The single was released just as the album title track reached number one, entering the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 81 in September 1983 and peaking at number 23 in November of that year. The song spent 13 weeks on the chart.

Music video

The single release was accompanied by a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

directed by Mike Brady, in which Stewart acts as chauffeur for Lennox, who plays the role of a high-class prostitute. Lennox removes a curly blonde wig to reveal much shorter red hair, though slicked back rather than the buzz cut seen in the subsequent music video for "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". The video caused minor controversy in the USA, as some people mistakenly thought Lennox was a male

cross-dresser Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

. In one instance,

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imposed a blackout during its transmission because they disapproved of the wig removal scene. MTV producers later telexed

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

for a copy of Lennox's birth certificate and accused her of being a

transvestite Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

Critical reception

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'' said that "the commanding vocals of Annie Lennox and hazy, electronically inflected backing combine to make 'Love Is a Stranger' a challenging yet already familiar sound." ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' felt that "Love Is a Stranger" effectively integrated Lennox's "cultured" vocals into a modern musical arrangement. ''

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'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' ranked the song number two and number one respectively on their lists of the greatest Annie Lennox songs.

Track listings

*7-inch single :A. "Love Is a Stranger" (LP version) – 3:43 :B. "Monkey Monkey" (Non-LP track) – 5:20 *12-inch single :A1. "Love Is a Stranger" (LP version) – 3:43 :B1. "Let's Just Close Our Eyes" (Non-LP track) – 4:19 :B2. "Monkey Monkey" (Non-LP track) – 5:20 "Let's Just Close Our Eyes" is a newly recorded version of "The Walk" with a more synth-oriented instrumentation. *7-inch single (1991 reissue) :A. "Love Is A Stranger" (LP version) – 3:43 :B. "Julia" (Edit) – 4:05 *12-inch single (1991 reissue) :A1. "Love Is A Stranger" (The Obsession Remix) 6:32 :A2. "Love Is A Stranger" (J.C. Meets The Obsessor) – 6:34 :B1. "Love Is A Stranger" (Cold Cut Remix) – 7:17 :B2. "Love Is A Stranger" (The Obsession Instrumental) – 6:07 :B3. "Love Is A Stranger" (LP version) – 3:43 *CD single (1991 reissue) #"Love Is A Stranger" (LP version) – 3:43 #"There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)" – 5:23 #"Julia" (Edit) – 4:05 #"Love Is A Stranger" (The Obsession Remix) – 6:30

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Love Is A Stranger 1982 songs 1982 singles Eurythmics songs Music videos directed by Mike Brady RCA Records singles Songs written by Annie Lennox Songs written by Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) Song recordings produced by Dave Stewart (Eurythmics)