"The Love Parade" is the fourth

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

released by

The Dream Academy The Dream Academy was a British Indie pop, alternative pop band consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist and primary songwriter Nick Laird-Clowes, woodwinds player and pianist Kate St John, and keyboardist Gilbert Gabriel. The band is most no ...

. It was a more "edgy" song than their previous singles, made so by the inclusion of implied themes of

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

and

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

in the lyrics, and was arranged to a brisk bossa nova-esque beat which was in stark contrast to the style of the group's first single "

Life in a Northern Town "Life in a Northern Town" is the debut single by British band the Dream Academy, released in March 1985. It appears on the band's debut studio album, ''The Dream Academy''. Written by Nick Laird-Clowes and Gilbert Gabriel, the song was produc ...

". There were two additional singles released in the UK by

Blanco y Negro Blanco y Negro Records (Spanish: "White and Black"), a subsidiary of WEA Records Ltd., was established in 1983 by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records and Mike Alway of él Records. Michel Duval of Les Disques du Crépuscule was also involve ...

, a 7" shaped picture disc and a second limited edition release.

Background

''The Love Parade'' is the only song on The Dream Academy's eponymous album not to be produced by

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...

. Instead, the band recruited

Alan Tarney Alan Tarney (born 19 November 1945) is an English record producer and musician. He was born in Northside, Workington, Cumberland, but spent his teenage years in Adelaide, Australia, where he met his songwriting and musical partner Trevor Spenc ...

to work with them on the track. Tarney was brought in at the suggestion of

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

founder

Geoff Travis Geoff Travis (born 2 February 1952) is the founder of both Rough Trade Records and the Rough Trade chain of record shops. A former drama teacher and owner of a punk record shop, Travis founded the Rough Trade label in 1976. Biography Travis wa ...

to work on "The Love Parade". "What happened was, we had a pretty good demo for “Love Parade,” and we loved it, and when we made the record with David, somehow we never got 'round to it". Lead vocalist Nick Laird-Clowes noted that Tarney brought some "real special techniques" to the table: he tracked the vocals "12 or 15 times" during certain portions of the song. There were high hopes for the single, especially from

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in '' Shatter M ...

, and there was some degree of promotion of the song (such as a live performance on

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

). The single became the band's second song to reach the top 40 in the US, peaking at number 36. It also charted in Belgium, Canada, and the UK. When asked in a 2024 interview if there were any songs by The Dream Academy that deserved to receive resurgence in popularity similar to

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

's "

Running Up That Hill "Running Up That Hill" (also titled "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)") is a song by the English singer-songwriter Kate Bush. It was released in the UK as the lead single from Bush's fifth studio album, '' Hounds of Love'', on 5 August 19 ...

", Laird-Clowes picked "The Love Parade" as one of his selections.

Track listing

7" version #"The Love Parade" - 3:50 #"Girl in a Million" (for Edie Sedgwick) - 3:50

Chart performance

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Love Parade, The The Dream Academy songs 1985 songs 1986 singles Songs written by Nick Laird-Clowes Blanco y Negro Records singles Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Alan Tarney