"Love Is Holy" is the first single from '' Love Is'', a 1992 album by English singer

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award f ...

. It was written by American songwriting duo

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists Ellen Shipley Ellen Shipley (born March 24, 1949 in New York City, New York, United States) is an American musician and songwriter. Career At sixteen years old, Shipley got a NYC Cabaret license. She performed a duo act in Greenwich Village in the early 70's ...

. Wilde travelled to Los Angeles to do three live tracks with Nowels, and during her time there, he played her "Love Is Holy", and she took to it instantly. They recorded it the following day and released it as a single in April 1992. The single reached the top 20 in several countries. A remix subtitled "Ambient Mix" is included on the 12-inch and CD single formats, and the

B-side 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 compan ...

of the single is a song called "Birthday Song", written by Wilde and her

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

about his new daughter, Scarlett.

Critical reception

Mike DeGagne from

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 ...

described the song as "bright and lively" with a "typical yet congenial" pop melody. ''

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

Wilde Wilde is a surname. Notable people with the name include: In arts and entertainment In film, television, and theatre * ''Wilde'' a 1997 biographical film about Oscar Wilde * Andrew Wilde (actor), English actor * Barbie Wilde (born 1960), Canadi ...

"has given up the bombastic leanings on some of her most recent work in favour of a more direct guitars-upfront approach. They also called it a "poppy and Bangles-like tune". Simon Williams of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' noted that the track sees "Kim go for the shagfrenzy Belinda Carlisle approach".

Track listings

7-inch: MCA / KIM 15 (UK) # "Love Is Holy" – 4:02 # "Birthday Song" – 5:06 12-inch: MCA / KIMT 15 (UK) # "Love Is Holy" – 4:02 # "Love Is Holy" (Ambient mix) – 4:43 # "Birthday Song" – 5:06 CD: MCA / KIMTD 15 (UK) # "Love Is Holy" – 4:02 # "Birthday Song" – 5:06 # "Love Is Holy" (Ambient mix) – 4:43 # "You Came" (

Shep Pettibone Robert "Shep" Pettibone (born 10 July 1959) is an American record producer, remixer, songwriter and club DJ, one of the most prolific of the 1980s. Career Shep Pettibone surfaced after his work with Arthur Baker on Afrika Bambaataa & the Jazz ...

remix) – 7:37 CD: MCD 18636 # "Love Is Holy" – 4:02 # "Birthday Song" – 5:06 # "Love Is Holy" (Ambient mix) – 4:43

Charts

References

Kim Wilde songs 1992 singles 1992 songs Song recordings produced by Rick Nowels Songs written by Ellen Shipley Songs written by Rick Nowels {{1990s-UK-single-stub