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"Love Won't Wait" is a song by English singer
Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, having writ ...
from his debut studio album, '' Open Road'' (1997). It was released as the second single from the album on 9 April 1997 by
BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations Music publishing companies * Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 ** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that was pur ...
and
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
. The song was written by
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
and
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 ...
, and was an unreleased demo from her '' Bedtime Stories'' (1994) studio sessions. Barlow came by the demo in 1997, while looking to record more songs for ''Open Road''. He changed the lyrics to represent a male point of view rather than Madonna's, and recorded the track with
Stephen Lipson Stephen J. Lipson is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter. As a record producer, he has worked with many artists including Annie Lennox, Propaganda, Act, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Simple Minds, Will Young, Geri ...
as producer. Barlow was apprehensive about releasing the track, but due to contractual obligations he had to release it. The song became Barlow's second consecutive number-one release on the UK Singles Chart, following " Forever Love", and was certified silver by the
British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI). It also reached number one in Spain, and the top ten in Denmark, Ireland, Italy and Taiwan. A music video for the song was directed by
Rocky Schenck Rocky Schenck (born April 18, 1955) is an American photographer and music video director. Schenck has photographed several album covers and has written and directed numerous music videos and short films. He has shot fashion, editorial and portra ...
and showed Barlow singing "Love Won't Wait" across different locations. He also performed the song at the 1997 pre-
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
party, where his performance was negatively received.


Background

Following the release of her fifth studio album, ''
Erotica Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erot ...
'' (1992),
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
and her producer
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 ...
continued writing more songs in the same vein as present in the album. However, she later abandoned the project and collaborated with
record producers A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, and film producer from Columbus, Georgia. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfir ...
and
Nellee Hooper Paul Andrew "Nellee" Hooper (born 15 March 1963) is a British record producer, remixer and songwriter known for his work with many major recording artists beginning in the late 1980s. He also debuted as a motion picture music composer with Scot ...
to create '' Bedtime Stories'', her sixth studio album, released in 1994. Many of the songs from the writing sessions with Pettibone were not included and remained as
demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...
. In the meantime,
Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, having writ ...
wanted to release his debut album, '' Open Road'', to coincide with his first single, " Forever Love". However, he wanted to continue recording songs for the album. He came across one of Madonna's demos called "Love Won't Wait" and decided to record it, after shortening the lyrics. Barlow's manager,
Simon Fuller Simon Robert Fuller (born 17 May 1960) is a British entrepreneur, artist manager, and film and television producer. He is the creator of the Idols (franchise), ''Idols'' TV format, including the British series ''Pop Idol'' and the American ser ...
, chose
Stephen Lipson Stephen J. Lipson is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter. As a record producer, he has worked with many artists including Annie Lennox, Propaganda, Act, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Simple Minds, Will Young, Geri ...
to produce the song, seeing his success with 1980s artists like
Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...
and
Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English pop band that formed in Liverpool in 1980. They comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Mark O'Toole (bass), Brian Nash (guitar) and Peter Gill (drums). Johnson and Ruther ...
. Although the song did not sound like what Barlow would usually record, he nevertheless explained in an interview: "It took me a while to get my interpretation right because Madonna had written from a female point of view. It's not the kind of song I would write myself. But as soon as I heard it, I thought 'This is a hit'." A
dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
song, "Love Won't Wait" is set in the
time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...
of common time with a tempo of 120
beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...
. Barlow's voice spans between the nodes of Cm and A3 and has a basic
chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...
of C–A–B–Cm in the pre-chorus and E–B–D–A–C–E–A–Cm in the chorus.


Release and promotion

Barlow had arrived in the United States in February 1997 for recording the track, where
Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...
, who was managing his career in the United States, played him a "poppier" version of the song, remixed by
Junior Vasquez Junior Vasquez (born Donald Gregory Mattern; August 24, 1949) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He has been referred to as one of the only DJs of his time to gain international attention. Career Mattern moved to New York City a ...
. He also requested Barlow to perform "Love Won't Wait" at the 1997 pre-
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
party. However, the singer did not have any time to rehearse or memorize the lyrics, resulting in the performance receiving negative reviews from critics and audience alike. With ''The Times'' Barlow recounted the evening saying, "I don't remember the words. I came in at all the wrong times. I can see people drifting off to the toilet in droves. Talk about dying on your arse!" The combination of the negative review towards his performance and contractual obligations led to Barlow release "Love Won't Wait" as his second single on 9 April 1997 in Japan and on 24 April 1997 in the United Kingdom. The
CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...
consists of the single version along with the Vasquez remix and two other tracks from ''Open Road'', "Meaning Of A Love Song" and "Always". Another song, "Cuddly Toy", was released on the
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
of another CD single for the song, released in May 1997. An accompanying music video was directed by
Rocky Schenck Rocky Schenck (born April 18, 1955) is an American photographer and music video director. Schenck has photographed several album covers and has written and directed numerous music videos and short films. He has shot fashion, editorial and portra ...
and was released on 28 April 1997. It features Barlow performing the song in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, walking down a highway littered with stage props and crew members actively changing the scenes as he walks forward. As he performs the chorus, he jumps off the set and walks towards his stage chair, where he sits and observes his surroundings. The video ends with Barlow running away from a woman down a country road, as the video fades from view.


Critical and commercial reception

While the album received mostly negative reviews, songs like "Love Won't Wait" were considered a stand-out by ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
''. The ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' noted it as a "classic track you've known all your life". A reviewer from ''
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 We ...
'' rated it four out of five, adding, "There's something vaguely reminiscent of those cheesy Seventies pop tunes about this
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 ...
-penned taster for Barlow's debut solo album. It's a killer all the same and the ex-
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 singer ...
crowd will lap it up." The magazine's Alan Jones commented, "The
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
-penned track sounds like an inferior
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
record, with Barlow making a bizarrely accurate facsimile of Sir Cliff's
falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ...
. None of which will prevent it from being a big hit, of course." ''
The Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marked ...
'' gave it seven out of ten, and cautioned that "Take That fans will lap up another smooth one from Gary, but I can't help thinking he's trying to turn into
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
far too soon." In the United Kingdom, "Love Won't Wait" became Barlow's second solo number one single on the UK Singles Chart, following " Forever Love". It was number one for one week, and was present for a total of nine weeks within the top 100 of the chart. The
British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI) certified it silver, for shipment of 200,000 copies of the single. The song also reached number one in Lithuania and Spain, and the top-ten of the charts in Denmark, Ireland and Taiwan. In Australia, "Love Won't Wait" peaked at number 16 on the
ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
.


Track listing and formats

* UK CD1 # "Love Won't Wait" (radio edit) – 4:18 # "Love Won't Wait" (Junior Vasquez mix) – 4:25 # "Meaning of a Love Song" – 3:37 # "Always" – 3:31 * UK CD2 # "Love Won't Wait" (radio edit) – 4:18 # "Cuddly Toy" (Lush vocal radio edit) – 3:44 # "Cuddly Toy" (Full On Retro vocal) – 8:51 # "Cuddly Toy" (Dumb & Funky dub) – 7:45 * UK cassette single # "Love Won't Wait" (radio edit) – 4:18 # "Always" – 3:31 * Japanese CD single # "Love Won't Wait" # "Always" # "Meaning of a Love Song"


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


See also

*
List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1990s The UK Singles Chart is a record chart compiled on behalf of the British record industry. Until 1 February 1994, the chart was compiled each week by Gallup poll, Gallup – after this date, it was managed by Kantar Group, Millward Brown, wh ...
* List of number-one singles of 1997 (Spain)


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1994 songs 1997 singles Bertelsmann Music Group singles Gary Barlow songs Music videos directed by Rocky Schenck Number-one singles in Spain RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Stephen Lipson Songs written by Madonna Songs written by Shep Pettibone UK singles chart number-one singles