When The Outfield’s debut Play Deep was first released in August 1985, its initial single “Say It Isn’t So,” despite being a catchy, upbeat song about dealing with romantic instability, failed to make much of a buzz. It was the follow-up single and ode to (potential) cheating, “Your Love,” that became the British band’s signature song. Fun fact: It was actually conjured in about 20 minutes one day when guitarist John Spinks, the band’s principal songwriter, was sitting down with frontman/bassist Tony Lewis.
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A Quick Hit
Like many famous songs that were conjured quickly, its immediacy and energy helped “Your Love” blow up into a mega hit, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart by mid-1986. But what is most fascinating is how the song struck a nerve given its subject matter—a young man invites over a girl he likes while his own girlfriend is not in town. (And the use of “love” in the ‘80s was often the equivalent to casual sex, not deep love.)
Josie’s on a vacation far away
Come around and talk it over
So many things that I want to say
You know I like my girls a little bit older
I just want to use your love tonight
I don’t want to lose your love tonight
Let’s face it—plenty of people have been in that situation. Temptation abounds, particularly when you’re young. And the tale within the song does not cross the line. The other woman decides to leave, with the potential cheater wishing she would stay. Crisis averted. For now.
The music was also catchy as hell, from its opening riff to the way Tony Lewis with his high tenor compellingly delivered the lyrics. He and Spinks had a rich, vibrant quality to their vocal harmonies in the chorus. The band had a radiant energy that manifested itself early on in their career through other songs like “All the Love in the World,” “For You,” “My Paradise,” and other tracks.
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20 Minutes to Love
As mentioned, “Your Love” only took John Spinks about 20 minutes to write. “I was in John’s flat, and it was in the corridor and he had a tiny little cupboard where he had a Portastudio and an amplifier,” recalled Lewis to The Professor of Rock in 2020. “I sat on the amplifier, and he said, “Write this down—Josie’s on a vacation far away.’ I’ve still got the original lyric sheet. I’ve still got that paper with all the marks on it and all the words. And I sung it. … ‘You know what? That’s a good little pop song.’ We didn’t know that it was going to be as big as it is now, and it was written so quickly.”
But the original direction of the song was shaped during the recording process. “We had a pre-production thing with producer Bill Wittman, and we recorded it as a demo as a pop song, and he made it a bit tougher,” Lewis further explained. “But it’s getting back to [when] we’d grown up in the ’60s. We were very influenced by The Who and their sonic attack. John loved The Cars as well.”
As he was syncing his bass part with the drums, Lewis knew they had a hit on their hands. The lyrics immediately drew people in, as did the song’s hooks. The video, which replicated the album artwork on a multi-panel backdrop in a New York soundstage, featured the band performing while both Lewis and Spinks exchanged glances and flirtations with a young lady painting what turns out to look like the Play Deep album cover. Then she departs with her finished work while the band plays on, echoing the song’s lyrics.
An Enduring Legacy
“Your Love” was a Top 10 in America and Top 20 in the Netherlands, although it was not nearly as big in their native England where it stalled at No. 83. Many years later, it had racked up 200,000 in sales there. The follow-up song “All the Love in the World” fared well, hitting No. 19 on the U.S. Hot 100, and it has accumulated 110 million YouTube views and 117 million Spotify streams. The album Play Deep went Platinum in June 1986 and Double Platinum in February 1989. The follow-up album, Bangin’, would go on to sell a half-million copies in less than four months of release. Even though the band’s commercial fortunes would not remain as strong, they continued to release good music.
“Your Love” is an enduring ‘80s power pop anthem that was Lewis’ favorite Outfield song. It has received resurgent interest in the 21st century. It was used in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002); as Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon’s walk-up song; in the opening scene of the Melissa McCarthy comedy Tammy (2014); and was parodied in a 2020 episode of Family Guy. But wait, there’s more! Whenever the NFL Patriots are leading at the end of the fourth quarter of a home game, the song gets played and their fans sing along.
Further Impact
Katy Perry has covered “Your Love,” and Bruno Mars uses it as his go-to song to jam on. It has also inspired hundreds upon hundreds of covers on YouTube, and no doubt plenty of bar bands have covered it as well. Its Spotify stream tally has surpassed 700 million, and its YouTube views are above 670 million.
What makes “Your Love” so subversively fun is the fact that so many songs in pop music deal with being in love, falling in or out of love, wanting somebody back, or needing someone in their life. This song is about temporary passion and just having fun when the opportunity arises, as long as no one else knows. It fit the ‘80s pretty well, but it wasn’t a common topic of songs, at least not the way it was tackled. It remains a power pop classic of its era that has not lost any of its charm after more than 35 years in existence.
Photo: Still image from YouTube, “The Outfield – Your Love (Official HD Video)” by TheOutfieldVEVO
