"House of Love" is a song by British

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

East 17 East 17 are an English pop boy band started by Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy, and Terry Coldwell in 1991. As of 2020, the group consists of Coldwell, Robbie Craig, and Joe Livermore. East 17 have undergone multiple lineup changes, ...

, released from their first studio album, ''

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

'' (1993), as their debut single in August 1992. It became a number-one hit in Finland, Israel, and Sweden and was a top-40 hit in several other countries between 1992 and 1994.

Background

Initially conceived by former

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

manager Tom Watkins as a tougher version of

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singe ...

, East 17 decided that their first single—like

's debut—should be an upbeat dance number that would sell to both teenagers and to clubs. Inspired by current dance groups like

The KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing ...

and

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 ...

Tony Mortimer Anthony Michael Mortimer (born 21 October 1970 in Stepney, London) is a British singer, songwriter and record producer from London. He is a former member of the boy band East 17, who were originally active from 1991 to 1997 and sold over 20 mill ...

wrote "House of Love" as a mock 'rave' anthem, complete with a 'harmony' rap performed by Brian Harvey. Mortimer rapped the main verses with the entire band singing the chorus. The Pedigree Mix of the song, complete with an explosion and then a dog barking at the beginning and the end, was released as the single, complete with a low-budget video. "House of Love" shot to No. 10 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 ...

, establishing East 17 as a premier pop act. It was included on their first album, ''Walthamstow'', and their 1996 greatest hits compilation. On 15 April 2011,

T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic (T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland (T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobile ...

uploaded a video parody of the JK Wedding Entrance Dance portraying the

wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. The groom was second in the line of succession to the British throne. The couple had been in a relationship since ...

weeks before the actual Royal Wedding using choreography with the group's song.

Critical reception

Tom Doyle from ''

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 ...

'' gave the song four out of five, commenting, "Looking a bit like a cross between

and

Flowered Up Flowered Up were an English indie pop- alternative dance band, formed in Camden Town, London in 1989, active during the Baggy movement. Their 13-minute single " Weekender" reached the UK top 20. The band split up in 1994 amid drug problems. Fo ...

in their trendy Essex techno gear, E17 iccome up with this well catchy tune with background barking supplied by their dog". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' ranked the song at number 75 in their list of ''75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time'' in 2020.

Music video

There were made two different

music videos 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 the song: a European and an American version. The latter was directed by Scott Kennedy.

Track listings

* UK CD and cassette single # "House of Love" (Pedigree mix) # "House of Love" (Son of a Bitch mix) # "House of Love" (Glossy Coat mix) # "House of Love" (Wet Nose mix) * UK 7-inch single, French and Japanese single :A. "House of Love" (Pedigree mix) – 4:37 :B. "House of Love" (The Expedient demo) – 7:43 * UK 12-inch single :A1. "House of Love" (Son of a Bitch mix) :A2. "House of Love" (Glossy Coat mix) :B1. "House of Love" (Wet Nose mix) * US 12-inch single # "House of Love" (Son of a Bitch mix) — 9:02 # "House of Love" (Wet Nose mix) — 6:04 # "House of Love" (Murk's main mix) — 6:41 # "House of Love" (Oscar G's Dope dub) — 6:45 * US cassette single :A. "House of Love" (Pedigree mix) — 4:37 :B. "House of Love" (Son of a Bitch mix) — 9:02 * Australian CD and cassette single # "House of Love" (Pedigree mix) # "House of Love" (Wet Nose mix)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

House of Love music video
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Alternate House of Love music video
on

{{Authority control 1991 songs 1992 debut singles East 17 songs Hip house songs London Records singles Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in Sweden Songs written by Tony Mortimer