"Blood and Honey" is a song performed by French singer

Amanda Lear Amanda Lear (; born 1939) is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress, and former model. She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s, and went on to model for Paco Rabanne, Ossie Clark, and ...

, released as a single in 1976 by

Ariola Records Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomera ...

and later included on her debut album '' I Am a Photograph''. The song was a chart success in Europe and now remains one of Lear's trademark hits.

Background

The song was composed and produced by

Anthony Monn Anthony Monn (also known as Tony Monn, born March 17, 1944) is a German singer, composer, and record producer. Biography Monn started his career as a singer in the German schlager genre in the early 1970s. Among his best-known songs from tha ...

, who would remain Amanda Lear's musical partner for the next five years. The lyrics were written by Amanda Lear herself and were inspired by

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...

's 1927 painting ''Honey Is Sweeter Than Blood'' (''La miel es más dulce que la sangre''). "Blood and Honey" was released in December 1976. The B-side of the 7" single was "She's Got the Devil in Her Eyes", in fact an instrumental version of "Blood and Honey" and a line taken from the chorus of the song. On the 12" version, released in the English-speaking countries, an extended, almost 9 minute-long mix of "Blood and Honey" was included. An alternative extended version was released in the USA and received a positive review from '' Billboard''. Amanda Lear promoted the song by numerous TV performances, among others ''

Discoring ''Discoring'' was a music show broadcast by Rai 1 from 1977 to 1989, created by Gianni Boncompagni, aired mainly on Sunday. The program could be considered analogous to the English show ''Top of the Pops''. History The first episode was broadc ...

'' in Italy. The single was met with a chart success in 1977, becoming Lear's first notable hit and one of her most popular songs of the disco era. The song was then included as the opening track on her debut album '' I Am a Photograph''. In 1998 the song was re-recorded for the album ''

Back in Your Arms ''Back in Your Arms'' is an album by French singer Amanda Lear, released in 1998 by Dig It Int'l, consisting mostly of re-recordings of her greatest hits from the 1970s. Originally released on the Italian market, the album was subsequently re-laun ...

''. The original song was subsequently remixed and released on a single to promote the compilation ''Amanda '98 – Follow Me Back in My Arms'', in fact a re-worked edition of ''Back in Your Arms''. In the same year, the 7" single cover picture was used on the cover of ''The Collection'' album. In 2000, the song inspired the title of the compilation ''Made of Blood & Honey''.

Music video

Amanda Lear shot a

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Blood and Honey" for a German TV show ''

Musikladen ''Der Musikladen'' (german: The Music Shop) was a West German music television programme that ran from 13 December 1972 to 29 November 1984. The show continued the 1960s '' Beat-Club'' under a new name, and in turn was replaced by ''Extratour' ...

''. It pictures the singer dancing and performing the title song against a big painting. Two

backup dancer A backup dancer also known as background dancer is a performer who dances with or behind the lead performers in a live musical act or in a music video. Their movements (especially where there are many moving together) improve the visual aesthetic ...

s accompany her, with their faces painted white. The music video was released on a 3-DVD box set ''Das beste aus dem Musikladen Vol. 1'' in 2012, together with ten other videos that Lear made for ''Musikladen''.

Track listing

*7" Single (1976) :A. "Blood and Honey" – 4:45 :B. "She's Got the Devil in Her Eyes" – 3:05 *UK 7" Single (1977) :A. "Blood and Honey" – 3:10 :B. "Blood and Honey" – 4:50 *UK/Australian 12" Single (1977) :A. "Blood and Honey" – 8:58 :B. "Blood and Honey" – 4:50 *Canadian 12" Single (1977) :A. "Blood and Honey" – 8:58 :B. "She's Got the Devil in Her Eyes" – 3:05 *US 12" Single (1977) :A. "Blood and Honey" – 7:14 :B. "Blood and Honey" – 7:14 *CD Maxi-Single (1998) #"Blood and Honey" (New Remix Version) – 3:59 #"Blood and Honey" (Club Mix) – 4:21 #"Rien ne va plus" – 3:41

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

* German artist

Fancy Fancy may refer to: Places * Fancy, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a settlement * Fancy River, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Music Albums * ''Fancy'' (Bobbie Gentry album), 1970 * ''Fancy'' (Idiot Flesh album), 1997 * ''Fancy'' (video ...

covered the song on his 1985 album ''Get Your Kicks''. * In 2006, Spanish singer

Pedro Marín Pedro Marín (born 22 November 1961) is a Spanish pop singer. Biography Pedro Marín is one of the most emblematic Spanish pop singers. Since his beginnings during the 80s as the pop superstar to his mysterious retirement during years and his l ...

covered the song on his record ''Diamonds'', a

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

including interpretations of Amanda Lear's tracks.

References

{{authority control 1976 singles 1976 songs Amanda Lear songs Ariola Records singles Songs written by Amanda Lear Songs written by Anthony Monn