BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1981

“Love Action (I Believe in Love)” is a song by the British synthpop group The Human League, released as a single in the UK in July 1981. It became the band’s first Top 10 success, peaking at number three in the UK Singles Chart.

The song was written jointly by lead singer Philip Oakey and keyboard player Ian Burden. It features a lead vocal by Oakey, female backing vocals by Susanne Sulley and Joanne Catherall, and analog synthesizers by Jo Callis, Philip Adrian Wright, and Ian Burden. Drum machines, sequencing, and programming were provided by producer Martin Rushent and his then engineer and programmer David M. Allen. One of the most notable synths sounds on the recording makes use of the pitch-to-voltage converter and envelope shaper on the Roland System 700 modular synth. Jo Callis’ guitar strumming was fed into the synth and used to shape and trigger the sounds, producing an unusual choppy, strumming synth patch.

“Love Action (I Believe in Love)” was the second of three songs from the Dare album to be released in advance of the album itself in 1981. It was released as a double A-side single with the non-album track “Hard Times”. In the US, “Love Action (I Believe in Love)”/”Hard Times” made the dance charts twice: in 1981, the tracks first peaked at number thirty-seven, and one year later, re-entered the dance chart and peaked at number fifty-seven.

The release of the single was widely advertised in the music press in early August 1981 with prominence given also to the B-side “Hard Times” as well as the A-side, and to the fact that a “limited” 12″ single would also be made available as “Hard Times/Love Action” in “Disco Mix and Odd Mix” although these names were not used for the actual release. The single was designated ‘Red’ on the Human League’s short-lived self-imposed labeling system of ‘Blue’ for pop songs and ‘Red’ for dance tracks.

The single made number 3 in the UK charts and placed The Human League at the forefront of media attention. It also renewed Virgin Records’ faith in the band and guaranteed the release of the album that was to become Dare, just four months later.

The song was ranked at number 5 among the top ten “Tracks of the Year” for 1981 by NME.

SIDE A:
Hard Times/Love Action (I Believe In Love) 10:10

SIDE B:
Hard Times/Love Action (I Believe In Love) (Instrumental) 11:04

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1981	Hard Times/Love Action (I Believe In Love)	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#37

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin ‎– VSX-1134, Virgin ‎– VSX 1134
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Limited Edition
Country: Canada
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Coordinator, Layout – Ken*
Design [Cover], Photography By – Adrian*, Philip*
Lacquer Cut By – Al*
Producer – Martin Rushent, The Human League

NOTES:
Made in Canada.

Artistic subtitle/descriptor for this release is “Red” as indicated on jacket and labels.

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.