"Hot Love" is a song by English

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

band T. Rex, released as a standalone single on 12 February 1971 by record label

Fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

. It was the group's first number one placing 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 ...

, where it remained at the top for six weeks beginning on 20 March 1971. The two performances of the song on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' in March 1971, which saw

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...

dressed for the first time on television in shiny satin stagewear and glittery make-up (the latter at the suggestion of his stylist Chelita Secunda) were a crucial trigger for the

movement. In a UK poll in 2015 it was voted eleventh on the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

special '' The Nation's Favourite 70s Number One''.

Background and recording

"Hot Love" was recorded at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...

on 21 and 22 January 1971. The single's B-sides, "Woodland Rock" and "The King of the Mountain Cometh", were recorded onto the same 16-track tape. The A-side, along with B side track "Woodland Rock", marks the first time a full drum kit appeared on a T. Rex song, after Bill Fifield participated in the session at

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

's suggestion. The single was issued and, due to its success, Fifield was invited to audition to join the band, adopting the stage name Bill Legend. "King of the Mountain Cometh" was the only track ever on record by the Bolan/ Finn/ Currie trio, although officially they were the whole band for all three tracks on this record.

Personnel

Permanent band members: *

– lead vocals, guitar *

Steve Currie Steve Currie (19 May 1947 – 28 April 1981) was an English musician who was best known as the bass player and a long-term member of the English glam rock band T. Rex. While working for the local Tax office, Currie played with local Grims ...

– bass guitar * Mickey Finn – handclaps Other: * Bill Fifield – drums *

– string arrangement *

Howard Kaylan Howard Kaylan (born Howard Lawrence Kaplan, June 22, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with bandmate and friend Mark Volman, a member of th ...

and

Mark Volman Mark Randall Volman (born April 19, 1947) is an American vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with his bandmate and friend Howard Kaylan, a member of the 1970s rock duo ...

– backing vocals

Release

“Hot Love” was released as a single on 12 February 1971 by record label

. It became the group's first number one placing on the

, where it remained at the top for six weeks beginning in March 1971. The single, however, did not fare as well in the US, where it peaked at number 72 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

'' and at number 54 on the ''

Cash Box Top 100 The Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles (also known as the Cash Box Top 100) was a record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Cash Box'' magazine, which began publication in 1942. As a close competitor to ''Billboard A billb ...

''. The song reached number 47 in Canada in June 1971, number 4 in Australia and number 12 in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Use in advertising and films

“Hot Love” featured in the 1996 film ''

Breaking the Waves ''Breaking the Waves'' is a 1996 psychological drama film directed and co-written by Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier and starring English stage actress Emily Watson as her feature film acting debut. Set in the Scottish Highlands in the early 197 ...

'' and the 1998 film ''

The Acid House ''The Acid House'' is a 1994 book by Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written ...

''. The song featured in the Christmas 2020 advertising campaign for the on-line retailer Very.

References

Other sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hot Love (T. Rex song) 1971 singles 1971 songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles T. Rex (band) songs Songs written by Marc Bolan Fly Records singles