"Love Is the Law" is the debut single of

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

band

the Seahorses The Seahorses were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1996 by guitarist John Squire, following his departure from The Stone Roses. The band released their debut album ''Do It Yourself (The Seahorses album), Do It Yourself'' in 1997, a ...

, released as the first single from their only studio album, ''

Do It Yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

'' (1997). Written by ex-

Stone Roses In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

guitarist John Squire, the song contains a lengthy guitar solo at the end that was edited out for a single release. The cover artwork features a painting by Squire, also called ''Love Is the Law'', that he created in 1996. "Love Is the Law" is the Seahorses' biggest hit and their only song to gain popularity outside the United Kingdom. It debuted and peaked at number three 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 ...

in May 1997 and topped the

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

the same week. The song also reached number 11 in Ireland and number 38 in Sweden. Outside Europe, "Love Is the Law" received some airplay on North American radio, and its music video aired on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and VH1. This exposure allowed the song to reach number three on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Alternative 30 chart.

Track listings

UK, Japanese, and Australian CD single # "Love Is the Law" – 3:42 # "Dreamer" – 3:31 # "Sale of the Century" – 3:50 UK 7-inch single :A. "Love Is the Law" – 3:42 :B. "Dreamer" – 3:31

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the UK 7-inch single sleeve and the ''

'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded and mixed at Royaltone Studios (

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

, California) * Mastered at Gateway Mastering (

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, US) Personnel * John Squire – writing, artwork painting (1996) *

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 ...

– production * Rob Jacobs – recording, mixing * Jeff Thomas – assistant engineer *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

– mastering * Matt Squire – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1997 debut singles 1997 songs Geffen Records singles Number-one singles in Scotland Song recordings produced by Tony Visconti Songs written by John Squire The Seahorses songs