"Burning in the Heat of Love" is a song by the British 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 ...

, released in 1977 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist

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 ...

and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by

Chas Chandler Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...

. The song failed to make an appearance in the UK charts.

Background

Having returned to the UK from the United States in 1976, Slade found themselves out-of-favour at the time of the UK's Punk rock explosion. The band's 1977 album ''

Whatever Happened to Slade ''Whatever Happened to Slade'' is the seventh studio album by the British rock group Slade. It was released on 21 March 1977 by Barn Records, but did not enter any national album chart. By the time of the album's release, Slade's popularity was ...

'' proved a commercial failure while their tour that spring had shown that they could no longer fill large venues. Slade's waning success soon led to the band playing small gigs after that, including universities and clubs. "Burning in the Heat of Love" was released as a non-album single in April 1977, less than a month after ''Whatever Happened to Slade''. It had been recorded in March, and was released prior to the band's upcoming UK tour in May. "Burning in the Heat of Love" failed to chart.

Release

"Burning in the Heat of Love" was released on 7" vinyl by Barn Records in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Italy. The B-side, "Ready Steady Kids", was exclusive to the single and would later appear on the band's 2007 compilation ''

B-Sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

''.

Promotion

In Germany, the band performed the song on the TV show ''Szene 77''. The song also appeared in the band's set-list around the time and a version appear on the band's 1978 live album '' Slade Alive, Vol. 2''.

Critical reception

Upon release, ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'' gave the single three out of five stars for what they described as the ""

You Really Got Me "You Really Got Me" is a song written by Ray Davies for English rock band the Kinks. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy. Two versions of the song wer ...

" guitar riff." In a review of one of the band's 1977 live concerts, Sheila Prophet of ''Record Mirror'' said the song was a "reasonable number", but "not a patch on their old stuff".

Formats

;7" Single #"Burning in the Heat of Love" - 3:50 #"Ready Steady Kids" - 3:57

Cover versions

*During 1979-80, Jim Lea would record his own version of the song with his brother Frank as part of his side-project

The Dummies The Dummies was a musical project formed by Slade bassist Jim Lea (musician), Jim Lea and his brother Frank Lea in 1979. Between 1979 and 1981, they released three singles and recorded a number of original and Slade songs, which were collected on t ...

. This version of the song, credited only to 'Jim Lea', would first surface in 1985 on the UK/German various artists compilation ''Metal Killers Kollection''. The version would also later be included on the 1992 album ''

A Day in the Life of the Dummies ''A Day in the Life of the Dummies'' is a compilation album by The Dummies, which was a musical project of Jim Lea of Slade and his brother Frank. The album was released in March 1992 and gathers all of the 1979-80 recordings produced by the pair. ...

'', which gathered The Dummies' recordings. *In 1983, British heavy metal band

Girlschool Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 yea ...

released their own version of the song on their fourth studio album ''

Play Dirty ''Play Dirty'' is a 1969 British war film starring Michael Caine, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green and Harry Andrews. It was director Andre DeToth's last film, based on a screenplay by Melvyn Bragg and Lotte Colin. The film's story is inspired by ...

''. The entire album was produced by Holder and Lea, and another Slade cover, "High and Dry", was also included on it. Girlschool would release their version of "Burning in the Heat" as a single in January 1984 but it failed to chart.

Personnel

;Slade *

- lead vocals, guitar *

Dave Hill David John Hill (born 4 April 1946) is an English rock musician. He is the lead guitarist, a backing vocalist and the sole continuous member in the English band Slade. Hill is known for his flamboyant stage clothes and hairstyle. Early life B ...

- lead guitar, backing vocals * Jim Lea - bass, backing vocals *

Don Powell Donald George Powell (born 10 September 1946) is an English musician who was the drummer for glam rock and later hard rock group Slade for over fifty years. Early life As a child, Powell joined the Boy Scouts where he became interested in the ...

- drums ;Additional personnel *

- producer

References

{{authority control 1977 singles 1977 songs Slade songs Songs written by Noddy Holder Songs written by Jim Lea Song recordings produced by Chas Chandler Song recordings produced by Noddy Holder Song recordings produced by Jim Lea