"Love Is All Around" is a song recorded by English rock band

the Troggs The Troggs (originally called the Troglodytes) are an English garage rock band formed in Andover, Hampshire in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper " Wild Thing", " With a Girl Like You" and " Love Is All Around", all ...

, featuring a string quartet and a 'tick tock' sound on percussion, in D-major. Released as a single in October 1967, it was a top-ten hit in both the UK and US. "Love Is All Around" has been covered by numerous artists, including

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

, with whom the Troggs subsequently recorded their 1992 comeback album '' Athens Andover''. R.E.M.'s cover was a B-side on their 1991 " Radio Song" single, and they also played it during their first appearance at MTV's ''

Unplugged Unplugged may refer to: *Acoustic music, music not produced through electronic means * "Unplugged" (B.A.P song), 2014 * "Unplugged" (''Modern Family''), a 2010 episode of ''Modern Family'' Albums and EPs * ''Unplugged'' (5'nizza album), 2002 * '' ...

'' series that same year.

Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits in the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit " Love Is All Around", which ...

's cover, for the soundtrack to the 1994 film ''

Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle ...

'', was an international hit and spent 15 consecutive weeks at number one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Background and release

"Love Is All Around" was written by lead singer

Reg Presley Reginald Maurice Ball (12 June 1941 – 4 February 2013), known professionally as Reg Presley, was an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer with the 1960s rock and roll band the Troggs, whose hits included " Wild Thing" (#1 on th ...

in around ten minutes, inspired by a television transmission of the Joystrings Salvation Army band's "Love That's All Around". In the UK, the single was released on producer

Larry Page Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American business magnate, computer scientist and internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-founding Google with Sergey Brin. Page was the chief executive officer of Google from 1997 unti ...

's record label Page One. Earlier in 1967, the Troggs had intended to sever ties with the label and with Page, who was also their manager; however, after several months, they later decided to stay, though they changed manager. In the rest of Europe and North America, "Love Is All Around" by released on Fontana Records. The B-side "When Will the Rain Come" was written by drummer

Ronnie Bond Ronnie Bond (born Ronald James Bullis; 4 May 1940 – 13 November 1992) was an English drummer, best known as the original drummer with the 1960s rock band The Troggs. Born in Andover, Hampshire, Bond was the original drummer with The Troggs, ...

. On the UK '' Record Retailer'' chart (since recognised as the official chart for this period), "Love Is All Around" spent a total of 14 weeks on the chart, reaching its peak at number 5 in the fourth week of November 1967. Whilst, in the US, although it was released there in November 1967, the song did not enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 until February 1968. It spent a total of 16 weeks on the chart, reaching its peak at number 7 in the third week of May. "Love Is All Around" also performed well in Europe, becoming a top-twenty hit in several countries, though failed to recapture the success of the Troggs' early singles such as " Wild Thing" and "

With a Girl Like You "With a Girl Like You" is a song by English rock band the Troggs, released as a single in July 1966. On the back of the success of " Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You" topped the charts in the UK, and was similarly a success across Europe, but ...

". Hover, the song performed best in Southern Africa, where it topped the charts in South Africa and Rhodesia.

Critical reception

Reviewing for '' New Musical Express'', Derek Johnson wrote that "Love Is All Around" is "set to a fairly slow rhythm, with an appealing scoring of guitars, violins and cellos – plus a melody that takes a little time to register, but once you've got it in your mind, it sticks there! Reg sings warmly and sincerely – departing from that rather stilted style which has characterised many of the group's discs". Peter Jones for ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the '' NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in '' ...

'' described it as "optimistic and cheery and full of sentiment. Like the way the string section is insinuating itself as it builds. Rather a serene slice of Troggs". For '' Disc and Music Echo'',

Penny Valentine Penelope Ann Valentine (13 February 1943 – 9 January 2003) was a British music journalist, rock critic, and occasional television personality. Biography Penny Valentine was born in London, of Jewish and Italian ancestry. In 1959 she became ...

wrote that "although this has none of their trademark of suggestive hip-thumping rhythm and Reg Presley making love to the mike, it is quite pleasant. At the beginning, I liked it very much with its closed-up gentle sound and pretty strings. It would have been nice if something had happened, but it just went on, which I somehow think will be its downfall". '' Billboard'' wrote that "this smooth, easy beat ballad with good lyric line should be just the commercial entry to put the British group back in their top selling bag in the U.S.". '' Cash Box'' described it as a "steady-moving, romance-slanted soft rocker...

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

could make noise".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Wet Wet Wet version

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...

approached Scottish band

about recording a cover song to soundtrack his film ''

''. The band got to pick between three choices of songs, the other two being "

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 as the second single from her sixth album, '' Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. A top-selling song, it is a popular di ...

" by Gloria Gaynor and " Can't Smile Without You" by Barry Manilow. Singer Marti Pellow related that the decision to pick "Love is All Around" was an easy choice "because we knew we could make it our own". The song, which has a different introduction from the Troggs' version, was released on 9 May 1994.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' wrote, "Grinding

rock ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

is etched with crunchy chords and vocals that conjure up memories of various old '60s pop favorites. Pledge-of-love lyrics will tug at the emotions of susceptible teen-age girls, as well as folks who want to relive fond moments from the notable

Andie MacDowell Rosalie Anderson MacDowell (born April 21, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell's known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. MacDowell has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman ...

film." Steve Baltin from '' Cash Box'' concluded that "the Scottish quartet have a charm about their music that makes it easy to see why they were chosen for the soundtrack of the surprise hit film. Supposedly they’re through conquering the rest of the world and now plan on concentrating on America. With this song, they're on their way." Music writer James Masterton commented in his weekly UK chart commentary, "Just when you thought all was lost, along comes a record to restore your faith in pop music." Pan-European magazine '' Music & Media'' deemed it a "sugary ballad", adding, "let's see if Marti Pellow can shake his hips like

Chart performance

On 15 May 1994, "Love Is All Around" entered the

at number four. After climbing to number two the following week, it reached number one on 29 May. It then remained there for 15 weeks, the joint third-longest UK chart reign of all time (beaten only by Frankie Laine's " I Believe" which clocked up 18 weeks at the top during the 1950s and

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

' song from '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'', "

(Everything I Do) I Do It for You "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. Written by Adams, Michael Kamen, and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the power ballad was the lead single for both the soundtrack album from the 1991 film '' Rob ...

", which was number one for 16 consecutive weeks in 1991) with

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

's "

One Dance "One Dance" is a song by Canadian rapper and singer Drake from his fourth studio album '' Views'' (2016). It features guest vocals from Nigerian afrobeats artist WizKid and British singer Kyla. The artists co-wrote the dancehall and afrobeats so ...

" which also stayed at the top for 15 weeks in 2016. "Love Is All Around" spent a further 20 weeks in the UK Top 75. Throughout its chart run, some radio stations banned the song, as many listeners were fed up of hearing it for so long. The band themselves eventually took the decision to delete the record from sale, but did not manage to tie with Adams as " Saturday Night" by

Whigfield Whigfield is an Italian dance act fronted by Danish singer, songwriter and record producer Sannie Charlotte Carlson (born 11 April 1970), known by her various stage names including Whigfield, Naan, or simply Sannie. She is best known for her 1993 ...

entered straight at the top on 11 September 1994, with Wet Wet Wet dropping to number two. Reg Presley famously spent some of his songwriting royalties on

crop circle A crop circle, crop formation, or corn circle is a pattern created by flattening a crop, usually a cereal. The term was first coined in the early 1980s by Colin Andrews. Crop circles have been described as all falling "within the range of the ...

research. Pellow also recorded his own version of the song for inclusion on his 2002 album '' Marti Pellow Sings the Hits of Wet Wet Wet & Smile''. In 2004, Pellow told the '' Daily Record'', "We did everybody's head in the summer of 1994." Nevertheless, Pellow said, "I still think it's a brilliant record. Its strength is its sheer simplicity. Any band would give their eye teeth to have a hit record like that. I'm very proud of it." In 2013, the year that Reg Presley died, "Love Is All Around" was named as the number one song in VH1's ''The Ultimate Movie Soundtrack: Top 100''. As of February 2021, it has sold 1.91 million copies in the United Kingdom, making it the country's best-selling love ballad of all time (including download and physical sales only), in front of songs including Bryan Adams's chart topping film theme (number 3 with 1.87 million copies sold) and "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston (number 5 with 1.66 million sales).

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was made to accompany the song, directed by German director

Marcus Nispel Marcus Nispel is a German film director and producer, Fulbright Scholar, best known for several high-profile American remakes such as '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'', as well as an extensive career in television commercials and music videos. ...

. It was published on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

in August 2013. The video has amassed over 46 million views as of September 2021.

Track listings

* UK CD1 # "Love Is All Around" # "I Can Give You Everything" (7-inch Arthur Baker soul remix) # "Ain't No Stoppin'/Le Freak" * UK CD2 # "Love Is All Around" # "Is This Love" (live) # "Love Is All Around" (TV mix) # "I Can Give You Everything" (12-inch house mix) * UK 7-inch and cassette single # "Love Is All Around" # "I Can Give You Everything" (7-inch Arthur Baker soul remix) * US CD single # "Love Is All Around" – 3:59 # "Cold Cold Heart" – 4:13 * US 7-inch single :A. "Love Is All Around" – 3:59 :B. "

Goodnight Girl "Goodnight Girl" is the third single from Scottish band Wet Wet Wet's fourth studio album, '' High on the Happy Side'' (1992). It was released on 23 December 1991 and was the second of the band's three UK number-one singles (the first being a co ...

" – 3:38

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the UK CD1 liner notes and the '' Picture This'' album booklet. Studio * Recorded at The Brill Building (Glasgow, Scotland) Personnel * Wet Wet Wet – production, arrangement ** Graeme Clark –

fretless bass A fretless bass is a bass guitar whose neck does not have any frets. While the instrument is played in all styles of music, it is most common in pop, rock, and jazz. It first saw widespread use during the 1970s, although some players used them befo ...

, assorted basses, production **

Tommy Cunningham Thomas Cunningham (born 22 June 1964, Drumchapel, Glasgow) is a Scottish musician, best known as the drummer for Wet Wet Wet. Biography Cunningham's father, Tom Sr., bought his son his first drum kit in 1977, "down the Social Club for £15 ...

– drums, percussion ** Neil Mitchell – keyboards, piano ** Marti Pellow – vocals * Reg Presley – writing *

Graeme Duffin Graeme Ian Duffin (born 28 February 1956) is a British musician. He has played guitar for the Scottish pop band Wet Wet Wet since 1983.

– all guitars, co-production *

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto (band), Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he ...

– mixing * Ian Morrow – programming * Simon Vinestock – engineering * Andrew Boland – string engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Other cover versions and film uses

Prior to achieving international success with their single "

These Eyes "These Eyes" is a song by the Canadian rock band The Guess Who. The song was co-written by the group's lead guitarist Randy Bachman and lead singer Burton Cummings and originally included on the band's 1969 album '' Wheatfield Soul''. It was firs ...

", "Love Is All Around" was covered by

The Guess Who The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1965. The band originated in 1962 and achieved an international hit single with a cover of " Shakin' All Over" in 1965 under the name Chad Allan and the Expressions. After ...

around 1967/68, and is available on compilation album ''This Time Long Ago''. The song was also covered by Lotta Engbergs orkester as "Du ger mig av din kärlek" with Swedish lyrics written by Peter Stedt in 1994 while the Spanish rendering "El Amor Me Envuelve (Sabes Que Te Amo)" was recorded by

Rocío Banquells Rocío Banquells (; born María del Rocío Banquells Nuñez, 22 June 1960 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico) is a Mexican pop singer and actress, best known for her work on television, the stage and cinema of Mexico and Latin America. Her mezzo v ...

for her 1999 album ''Fuerza Del Amor''. Other covers include an easy-listening version by The

Johnny Mann John Russell Mann (August 30, 1928June 18, 2014) was an American arranger, composer, conductor, entertainer, singer, and recording artist. Career Johnny Mann's began his music career in the late 1940s in his hometown of Baltimore before serving ...

Singers on the 1968 Liberty Records album ''This Guy's in Love With You • The Look of Love''. The song appeared in '' Get Real'' (1998) directed by Simon Shore, screenplay by Patrick Wilde. After its use in ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'', the song appeared in several of Richard Curtis' other projects, including the 2003 film ''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television proje ...

'' (reinvented as the Christmas song "Christmas Is All Around" performed by actor

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he ...

as fictional rock star Billy Mack), and an episode of hit sitcom ''

The Vicar of Dibley ''The Vicar of Dibley'' is a British sitcom which originally ran on BBC One from 10 November 1994 to 1 January 2007. It is set in a fictional small Oxfordshire village called Dibley, which is assigned a female vicar following the 1992 changes ...

'' where it is performed by a church choir. It also played in a season two episode of ''

Orphan Black ''Orphan Black'' is a Canadian science-fiction thriller television series created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett and starring Tatiana Maslany. The series focuses on Sarah Manning, one of several genetically identical ...

'' and included on the TV show's official soundtrack.

also covered "Love Is All Around" for the soundtrack to the 1996 film ''

I Shot Andy Warhol ''I Shot Andy Warhol'' is a 1996 biographical drama film about the life of Valerie Solanas and her relationship with the artist Andy Warhol. The film marked the feature film directorial debut of Canadian director Mary Harron. The film stars ...

''. Australian band

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

covered the song on their 2018 album '' Romance of the Jukebox'', also was covered by American-Scottish new wave

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

References

Background and release

Critical reception

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Wet Wet Wet version

Critical reception

Chart performance

Music video

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Other cover versions and film uses

See also

References