"Colour of Love" is a song by German

Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...

group

Snap! Snap! is a German Eurodance group formed in 1989 by Record producer, producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has been through a number of line-up changes over the years, including American singers, songwriters and rappers Thea A ...

, released in December 1991 as the first single from their second studio album, '' The Madman's Return'' (1992). It features vocals by American singer-songwriter

Thea Austin Thea Tereese Austin (born June 10, 1960) is an American singer/songwriter/composer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is the lead vocalist and co-author of the German Eurodance hit song " Rhythm Is A Dancer" by Snap! Early life and career Austin ...

and rap by

Turbo B Durron Maurice Butler (born April 30, 1967), known as Turbo B, is an American musician, rapper and beatboxer. He was once the frontman of the German electronic music group Snap! After completing a period of service with the United States Army i ...

. The song was quite successful on the charts in Europe, and a top 10 hit in at least 11 countries, as well as on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, where it peaked at number eight. The accompanying music video was filmed in

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...

, California.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

named "Colour of Love" one of the "standout" tracks from '' The Madman's Return''. Ken Capobianco from ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' complimented

's "colorful" voice, describing the song as "a meek but graceful look at interracial love." Clark and DeVaney from '' Cashbox'' picked it as one of two cuts from the album that "stand out", remarking that "the sounds that are offered on this album have a little more depth and variety compared to their last release." A reviewer from '' The Daily Sentinel'' felt that it is "the only track that comes even close to the group's early vigor". Machgiel Bakker from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' wrote that it "pairs a bass-heavy and soothing Massive-type of production to rapper

Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

's firm vocals. The soulful female vocals provided by Thea Austin makes the song an easy add-on for EHR formats." British ''

Newcastle Evening Chronicle The ''Evening Chronicle'', now referred to as ''The Comical'', is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne covering North regional news, but primarily focused on Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding area. The ''Comical'' is published by ...

'' noted that a "slow menacing opening gives way to a mix of soul and Turbo B's rap". They added that the "macho" rap contrasts with the new singer's "catchy" soul vocal. Rozalla Miller reviewed the song for ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'', commenting, "I like the beat a lot, very groovy. Snap are really good. I've liked lots of their records up until now, and this one sounds like one of the best."

Chart performance

"Colour of Love" was successful on the charts in Europe, reaching the top 5 in Austria, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, and the top 10 in Denmark, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Its highest chart position was as number three in Italy and Portugal. In Belgium, it peaked within the top 20, as number 14 in both Flanders and Wallonia. In the UK, the single was less successful, reaching number 54. On ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

s dance singles chart, it climbed to number 23. On the

, "Colour of Love" peaked at number eight in February 1992, and outside Europe, it charted in both Australia and New Zealand, where it made it to number 66 and 36.

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Angel and filmed in

, California. The video begins with

and two others riding on motorcycles through a desert landscape on a bright day.

sings standing on a rocky mantle with a cape. Dancers perform actobats and dance on rocks. Some of them wear masks and has body paint. As the video ends, it has become night in the desert, while Austin still performs.

Track listings

* 7-inch single (Logic 114 678) # "Colour of Love" (Massive 7"/Radio Version) – 3:57 # "Colour of Love" (Smoove 7") – 3:59 * CD maxi (Logic 664 678) # "Colour of Love" (Massive 7") – 3:57 # "Colour of Love" (Massive Version) – 5:30 # "Colour of Love" (String Mix) – 5:05 # "Colour of Love" (Smoove Version) – 5:29

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1991 singles 1991 songs Arista Records singles English-language German songs Logic Records singles Music videos directed by Angel Snap! songs