Wikipedia

Be Free with Your Love

"Be Free with Your Love" is a song by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released as the second single from their 1989 album Heart Like a Sky. It received mostly negative reviews and became their second consecutive single that failed to make the top 40 in the UK.

"Be Free with Your Love"
Single by Spandau Ballet
from the album Heart Like a Sky
B-side"Be Free with Your Love (Dance Mix Edit)"
Released14 August 1989[1]
Recorded1988–1989
Length
  • 4:39 (single/album version)
  • 3:56 (Dance Mix Edit)
  • 6:36 (Extended Dance Mix)
  • 5:07 (Dub Mix)
LabelCBS
Songwriter(s)Gary Kemp
Producer(s)
Spandau Ballet singles chronology
"Raw"
(1988) 		"Be Free with Your Love"
(1989) 		"Empty Spaces"
(1989)

Background

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In October 1987 Spandau Ballet lead guitarist and songwriter Gary Kemp serendipitously reconnected with actress Sadie Frost, who had appeared in the band's videos for "Gold" and "Fight for Ourselves". He began a romance with her that replaced his tendency to be cautious with a devil-may-care attitude. The newfound freedom he felt as a result of the relationship recharged his desire to write again, which lead to several songs for their 1989 album Heart Like a Sky, including "Be Free with Your Love".[2]

Kemp and his brother, band bassist Martin Kemp, accepted an offer to portray twin gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray in what became the 1990 film The Krays.[3] Some of their work on the film interrupted the recording of Heart Like a Sky.[4][a] The album's first single, "Raw", was released on 22 August 1988,[5] but the band's manager, Steve Dagger, did not want to release the album until their work on the film was finished. Financial issues prolonged the completion of The Krays, however, which pushed back the release of Heart Like a Sky[6][b] to September 1989.[1]

The music video for "Be Free with Your Love" was filmed in Los Angeles.[7]

Release and commercial performance

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"Be Free with Your Love" was released in the UK on 14 August 1989[1] and peaked at number 42 on the UK Singles Chart.[8] It also reached number 11 in Italy,[9] number 37 in Belgium,[10] number 44 in the Netherlands,[11] number 52 in West Germany[12] and number 110 in Australia.

Critical reception

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"Be Free with Your Love" received mostly negative reviews upon its release. Record Mirror's guest critic Stephen Duffy felt that he'd heard everything the song had to offer in its first minute.[13][c] Smash Hits guest critic Dr. Robert of The Blow Monkeys criticized Gary Kemp's songwriting and found the instruments added during the bridge to be preferrable to Tony Hadley's singing.[14][d]

Track listings

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Charts

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Weekly chart performance for "Be Free with Your Love"
Chart (1989) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[19] 110
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 37
Italy (Musica e dischi)[9] 11
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 33
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 44
UK Singles (OCC)[8] 42
West Germany (GfK)[12] 52

Notes

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  1. ^ "Becoming Ronnie didn't help. I was suddenly looking in two directions outside of the group. More importantly, the process was beginning to infringe upon the band's business. Martin and I were back with Anna Scher and Charles Verrall to do workshops for The Krays, which occasionally meant having to be absent from the recording studio during the making of the album."[4]
  2. ^ "While Martin and I were being the Krays the rest of the band were waiting for us to become two-fifths of Spandau Ballet again. As far as they were concerned the film had disrupted preparations for the forthcoming tour and was probably costing them money. It had also put the album release back several times. Dagger hadn't wanted the record to come out until after we'd finished shooting the movie, but owing to the film's financing problems, that date kept shifting."[6]
  3. ^ "Sounding like a decaffeinated Manassas (old hippy group) at 78rpm, the song is dispensed with in the first minute, leaving the rest of the disk to be filled with areba areba."[13]
  4. ^ "Oh, I'd forgotten how bad Gary Kemp's lyrics were… But I've just been reminded! Something happens halfway through this which is a bit of an improvement—it breaks out with brass and it sounds a lot better because all these girlie-girlies start singing loudly so you can't hear old Tony Hadley!!"[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "I'm Free" (PDF). Record Mirror. Vol. 36, no. 32. 12 August 1989. p. 4. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  2. ^ Kemp 2009, pp. 254–256
  3. ^ Kemp 2009, p. 244
  4. ^ a b Kemp 2009, p. 258
  5. ^ "Raw Power". Record Mirror. Vol. 35, no. 34. 20 August 1988. p. 8. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  6. ^ a b Kemp 2009, p. 273
  7. ^ Hadley 2004, p. 211
  8. ^ a b "Spandau Ballet: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 1 March 2024. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Be Free with Your Love" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
  10. ^ a b "Spandau Ballet – Be Free with Your Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Spandau Ballet – Be Free with Your Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Offiziellecharts.de – Spandau Ballet – Be Free with Your Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  13. ^ a b Duffy, Stephen (19 August 1989). "Spandau Ballet: "Be Free With Your Love"". Record Mirror. Vol. 36, no. 33. p. 29. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  14. ^ a b Dr. Robert (9–22 August 1989). "Spandau Ballet: "Be Free With Your Love"". Smash Hits. Vol. 11, no. 16. p. 66. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  15. ^ Be Free with Your Love (7-inch single liner notes). Spandau Ballet. CBS. 1989. SPANS 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Be Free with Your Love (12-inch single liner notes). Spandau Ballet. CBS. 1989. SPANS T4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Be Free with Your Love (CD single liner notes). Spandau Ballet. CBS. 1989. SPANS C4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Be Free with Your Love (CD single liner notes). Spandau Ballet. CBS. 1989. SPANS P4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ "Spandau Ballet ARIA Chart history (complete 1988-2024)". ARIA. Retrieved 28 July 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  20. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 39, 1989" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 March 2024.

Bibliography

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