"Addicted to Love" is a song by English rock singer
Robert Palmer released in 1986. It is the third song on Palmer's eighth studio album ''
Riptide
A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal fl ...
'' (1985) and was released as its second
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 ...
. The single version is a shorter edit of the full-length album version.
The song entered the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart the week ending 8 February 1986. The song ended up topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as the ''Billboard''
Top Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in ...
chart. It was one of the last
45 RPM singles to receive a million-selling Gold certification. It also reached number one in Australia and number five 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 ...
. "Addicted to Love" became Palmer's
signature song
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...
, thanks in part to a popular video featuring high fashion models.
Background
Originally intended to be a duet with
Chaka Khan
Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...
, the song was made without her because her record company at the time would not grant her a release to work on Palmer's label, Island Records. Chaka Khan is still credited for the vocal arrangements in the album liner notes.
Andy Taylor of
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
(and a bandmate of Palmer's from
the Power Station) provides lead guitar. The other guitar part on the song is played by
Eddie Martinez, while keyboards were played by
Wally Badarou
Waliou Jacques Daniel Isheola "Wally" Badarou (born 22 March 1955) is a French musician. Born in France with ancestry from Benin, West Africa, Badarou is known for his close association with the English group Level 42, and for his prolific work ...
. As well as producing the song,
Bernard Edwards
Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the ...
also played the bass. The song is also notable for its opening drum solo by
Tony Thompson, another Power Station alumnus.
Noddy Holder
Neville John "Noddy" Holder (born 15 June 1946) is an English musician. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the English band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s. Known for his unique and powerful voice, Holder co ...
(the lead vocalist of English rock band
Slade
Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...
) stated in an interview that this song was the main track he wished he had written himself. "The one main song that I wish that I'd written and recorded is 'Addicted to Love' by Robert Palmer. To me, that's a perfect pop song. Everything about it really hits the nail on the head."
Music video
![Robert-Palmer-Sunset-Strip-(edit)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Robert-Palmer-Sunset-Strip-%28edit%29.jpg)
The
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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
(which uses the shorter single version of this song), directed by English photographer
Terence Donovan, was one of the most noted of the era. The video features Palmer performing the song with an abstract "band", being a group of female models whose pale skin, heavy makeup, dark hair, and seductive, rather mannequin-like expression follow the style of women in
Patrick Nagel
Patrick Nagel (November 25, 1945 – February 4, 1984) was an American artist and illustrator. He created popular illustrations on board, paper, and canvas, most of which emphasize the female form in a distinctive style, descended from Art Dec ...
paintings.
The five models in the video are Julie Pankhurst (keyboard), Patty Kelly (guitar), Mak Gilchrist (bass guitar), Julia Bolino (guitar), and Kathy Davies (drums).
Mak Gilchrist recalled to ''
Q'':
I was 21 and got the part on the strength of my modelling book. We were meant to look and "act" like showroom mannequins. Director Terence Donovan got us tipsy on a bottle of wine but as we were having our make-up retouched, I lost balance on my heels and knocked the top of my guitar into the back of Robert's head, and his face then hit the microphone.
In a 2013 interview, when asked why she was designated the drummer and not given a close-up shot, Kathy Davies jokingly replied, "I guess the naughty ones always get sent to the back." Davies added that she did not mind it because she thought Palmer "had a good bum."
Palmer recycled the video's models concept for the videos of three other songs of his: "
I Didn't Mean to Turn You On
"I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" is the debut single written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and originally performed by Cherrelle in 1984. In 1986, "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" was covered by Robert Palmer. Palmer's cover fared better on the pop c ...
" (also from ''Riptide''), "
Simply Irresistible", and the animated "
Change His Ways" (both from ''
Heavy Nova'').
VH1's ''
Pop-Up Video
''Pop Up Video'' is a VH1 television show that shows music videos annotated via "pop-up" bubbles — officially called "info nuggets" — containing trivia and witticisms relating to the video in question. The show was created by Woody T ...
'' trivia about the video include the fact that a musician was hired to teach the models basic fingering techniques, but "gave up after about an hour and left." The episode also pointed out several choreographic errors, including the models moving out of sync with one another, and moving during points with no back beat, such as the second chorus.
The music video ranked at number 3 on VH1's Top 20 Videos of the 1980s and was the last video shown on long running UK music programme ''
The Chart Show
''The Chart Show'' (also known as ''The ITV Chart Show'' between 1989 and 1998) was a popular weekly syndicated music video programme which ran in the United Kingdom from April 1986 until August 1998, with revivals in 2003 and 2008–2009.
''Th ...
''.
In the romantic comedy 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 ...
'' (2003), written and directed by
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 '' ...
, the video for Billy Mack's song, "Christmas Is All Around", is a tribute to "Addicted to Love".
The "Addicted to Love" models' blank expression is parodied in the "Christmas Is All Around" video, with the latter's models visibly bored to the point of yawning.
The models were also used in the spoof of the video in
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...
's ''
UHF'' wearing glasses and moustaches. The music video was parodied in the videos of
Stardust's "
Music Sounds Better with You,"
Tone Lōc
Anthony Terrell Smith (born March 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Tone Lōc (), is an American rapper, actor, and producer. He is known for his raspy voice, his hit songs " Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina", for which he was nomin ...
's "
Wild Thing,"
Mr Blobby
Mr Blobby is a British fictional character, created by British comedy writer Charlie Adams. His design involves mostly a costume of a bulbous pink figure with yellow spots, a permanent toothy grin, and green jiggly eyes, with performers often us ...
's "
Mr Blobby
Mr Blobby is a British fictional character, created by British comedy writer Charlie Adams. His design involves mostly a costume of a bulbous pink figure with yellow spots, a permanent toothy grin, and green jiggly eyes, with performers often us ...
",
Bowling for Soup
Bowling for Soup (abbreviated as BFS) is an American rock band formed in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1994. The band consists of Jaret Reddick (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Burney (guitar, backing vocals), Gary Wiseman (drums, percussion, backing vo ...
's "
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
,"
Shania Twain
Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...
's "
Man! I Feel Like a Woman!
"Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Shania Twain from her third studio album, ''Come On Over'' (1997). Written by Twain and her longtime collaborator and then-husband Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who also produced th ...
",
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...
's "
Las de la Intuición
"Las de la Intuición" (English language, English: "The Ones with the Intuition") is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira from her sixth studio album ''Fijación Oral Vol. 1'' (2005). It was written and produced by the singer as well as ...
",
Kasey Chambers
Kasey Chambers (born 4 June 1976) is an Australian country singer-songwriter and musician born in Mount Gambier. She is the daughter of fellow musicians, Diane and Bill Chambers, and the younger sister of musician and producer, Nash Chambers. ...
's "
If I Were You",
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...
's "
Forever Your Girl
''Forever Your Girl'' is the debut studio album by American singer Paula Abdul. It was released on June 21, 1988, through Virgin Records. The album was Abdul's breakthrough into the music industry after being a choreographer for high-profile art ...
",
Die Prinzen
Die Prinzen ("The Princes") is a German band, that is made up of former members of the Thomanerchor (the choir of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Germany, where Johann Sebastian Bach was music director for many years) and a former member of the D ...
's "Alles nur geklaut", and
Luca Carboni
Luca Carboni (born 12 October 1962) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He debuted in 1981 as guitarist in the band Teobaldi Rock, publishing his first solo album in 1983. He is also a painter and carpenter.
Biography
Carboni was born in Bologna. ...
's "Luca lo stesso".
Track listing
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Tina Turner version
American singer
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
has made "Addicted to Love" a regular feature of her live shows since 1986, although her version did not make it onto the market until two years later.
A live recording from the 1986/1987 ''
Break Every Rule Tour
Break Every Rule World Tour is the sixth concert tour by singer Tina Turner. The tour supported her sixth solo album '' Break Every Rule'' (1986). It was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola and broke box office records in 13 different countries: England, Ge ...
'' of the track was included on her ''
Tina: Live in Europe'' album in 1988, and was also issued as the
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
to promote the album in certain territories — instead of "
Nutbush City Limits
"Nutbush City Limits" is a semi-autobiographical song written by Tina Turner which commemorates her rural hometown of Nutbush in Haywood County, Tennessee, United States. Originally released as a single on United Artists Records in August 19 ...
" — and was a Top 20 hit in the Netherlands.
The two singles had the same B-sides: live recordings of "Overnight Sensation" and
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...
's "
Legs
A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element ...
" and near identical picture sleeves. The version of "Addicted to Love" issued on the single was in fact an alternate mix of the track; the single mix was later included on the European editions of her 1991 greatest hits album ''
Simply the Best'', as well as ''
All the Best'' in 2004 and ''
Tina!
''Tina!'' is a greatest hits album by American singer Tina Turner, released in North America on September 30, 2008, by Capitol Records and in Germany on October 17, 2008 (the album was released as an "import" in other regions). The album was la ...
'' in 2008. Another live version was included in ''
Tina Live
''Tina Live'' is a live album and video album by Tina Turner, released on September 28, 2009, in Europe by Parlophone and on October 13, 2009, in the United States by Manhattan Records. The tracks were recorded at the GelreDome in Arnhem
Arn ...
'' in 2009.
Official versions
*''Tina Live in Europe'' album mix – 5:22
*Single Mix – 5:10
*''Tina Live'' – 4:54
Peak positions
See also
*
List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s
The following lists the number one singles on the Australian Singles Chart, along with other substantial hits, during the 1980s. The source for this decade is the Kent Music Report (retitled as Australian Music Report in 1987), and the ARIA Char ...
*
List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number ones of 1986
*
List of ''Cash Box'' Top 100 number-one singles of 1986
*
List of ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 1980s
*
Addicted to Spuds
References
External links
*
The Video Models
Julia BolinoPatty KellyJulie PankhurstKathy Davies
{{authority control
1985 songs
1986 singles
1988 singles
Robert Palmer (singer) songs
Tina Turner songs
Capitol Records singles
Island Records singles
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Cashbox number-one singles
Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance
MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video
Number-one singles in Australia
Song recordings produced by Bernard Edwards
Songs written by Robert Palmer (singer)