''Love Explosion'' is the fourth solo studio album by

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

, released late 1979 on the

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

label in Europe,

Ariola Records Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomera ...

in West Germany and

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

in the UK. Italy and South Africa followed in early 1980. The album was not released in the United States. It was her second solo album released after she left husband

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

and the

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing voca ...

Revue. ''Love Explosion'' failed to chart, so Turner lost her recording contract. It would be her last album until the critically acclaimed ''

Private Dancer ''Private Dancer'' is the fifth solo studio album by Tina Turner. It was released on May 29, 1984, through Capitol Records and was her first album released through the label. After several challenging years of going solo after divorcing Ike T ...

'' in 1984.

Recording and release

''Love Explosion'' was recorded mainly in London (the brass recorded in New York) and was produced by one of the leading characters in French disco at the time, Alec R. Costandinos, who had written hits for

Demis Roussos Artemios "Demis" Ventouris-Roussos ( ; el, Αρτέμιος "Ντέμης" Βεντούρης-Ρούσσος, ; 15 June 1946 – 25 January 2015) was a Greek singer, songwriter and musician. As a band member he is best remembered for his work in ...

and worked with bands like Love And Kisses and

Cerrone Marc Cerrone Daryl Easlea, "Supernature Boy", ''Record Collector'', #502, February 2020, pp.60-63 (, ; born 24 May 1952) is a French disco drummer, composer, record producer and creator of concert shows. Cerrone is a producer of 1970s and 198 ...

and also appeared on the soundtrack to the 1978 movie '' Thank God It's Friday''. The album features heavy influences of funk and disco. The track listing includes two soul ballads, "I See Home" and "Just A Little Lovin'", the former originally recorded by Patti LaBelle on her 1978 album '' Tasty'' and the latter originally recorded by

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...

on her 1969 album ''

Dusty in Memphis ''Dusty in Memphis'' is the fifth studio album by English singer Dusty Springfield. Initial sessions were recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, while Springfield's final vocals and the album's orchestral parts were recorded at Atlantic ...

''. The disco track "Love Explosion" was released as a single in Australia, while "Music Keeps Me Dancin'" was released in Europe. It is the only song Turner has been known to ever perform from the album as it was included in her European live tour earlier in the year. A mid-tempo cover of

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor ...

' 1972 soul classic " Backstabbers" was released as a

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

in the UK. Because the singles and the album failed to chart, United Artists Records and Turner parted ways.

Reissues

After the success of Turner's ''Private Dancer'' album, Ariola re-released ''Love Explosion'' in September 1984. The album was re-issued on CD by EMI in the early 1990s, but is currently out of print.

Track listing

Personnel

*Tina Turner – vocals *Jean-Claude Chavanat - guitar *Tony Bonfils – bass guitar *Bernard Arcadio – keyboards *

André Ceccarelli André "Dédé" Ceccarelli (born 5 January 1946) is a French jazz drummer. Biography After learning to play the drums from his father, Ceccarelli started out playing in the salons of the Hotel Royal Nice Promenade des Anglais at the age of fi ...

– drums *Emmanuel "Manu" Roche – percussion *George Young, Lawrence Feldman,

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

– tenor saxophone *Lew Del Gatto – baritone saxophone *Barry Rogers, David Taylor, Tom Malone,

Wayne Andre Wayne Andre (November 17, 1931 – August 26, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist, best known for his work as a session musician. Andre's father was a saxophonist, and he took private music lessons from age 15. He played with Charlie Spivak in ...

– trombone *Alan Rubin,

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on No ...

– trumpet *George Marge – oboe *Arthur Simms, Stephanie de Sykes, Stevie Lange,

Vicki Brown Vicki Brown (23 August 1940 – 16 June 1991) was an English pop, rock and contemporary classical singer. She was a member of both The Vernons Girls and The Breakaways and was the first wife of fellow singer and musician Joe Brown and mother o ...

– background vocals *The Pat Halling String Ensemble – strings *Georges Rodi – synthesizer, programming

Production

* Produced by Alec R. Costandinos * Engineers: Mike Ross-Trevor,

Scott Litt Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most su ...

, Geoff Calver, Peter R. Kelsey * Arranged and conducted by Raymond T. Knehnestky * Rhythm tracks recorded at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...

(London); Vocals at CBS Studios (London); Strings, Backing Vocals and Synthesizers recorded at Red Bus Studios (London); Brass recorded at Power Station Studios (New York) * Remixed at Trident Studios, London by Peter R. Kelsey * "Love Explosion" and "Sunset on Sunset" recorded at Trident Studios, London * "On the Radio" remixed at Red Bus Studios, London * Design: RIA Images * Photography: Claude Mougin

References

{{Authority control Tina Turner albums 1979 albums United Artists Records albums Disco albums by American artists EMI Records albums Ariola Records albums