"Radar Love" is a song by the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Golden Earring Golden Earring (originally known as The Tornados) was a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as The Golden Earrings. They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on th ...

. The

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

version of "Radar Love" reached #10 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100 and #13 in ''

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 ...

'' in the

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. It also hit the Top 10 in many countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Spain.

Lyrics

The song is written from the point of view of a truck driver who says he has some sort of psychic connection with his girlfriend — "radar love". He senses that she urgently wants him to be with her, and it makes him reckless. His recklessness causes him to have a fatal accident, but even in the afterlife the song's narrator and his lover still have radar love.

Composition

Like other famous songs of the era (" Highway Star", "

Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album (often titled ''Led Zeppelin IV'') ...

", "

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack ...

"), "Radar Love" is composed as a suite with several distinctive and quite different sections (although the tonality remains similar throughout). The intro starts with a guitar riff in four movements. The first movement is up from C# minor with three power chords slightly reminiscent of

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

's "

Smoke on the Water "Smoke on the Water" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple, first released from the band's sixth studio album ''Machine Head'' (1972), which chronicles the 1971 fire at Montreux Casino. In a 2004 publication by ''Rolling Stone'' magaz ...

". The second movement heads down, the third is up again, higher than the previous, and the fourth leads all down to E major. According to bass player

Rinus Gerritsen Marinus Gerritsen (born 9 August 1946 in The Hague) is a Dutch bassist. Best known for being founding member of Dutch group Golden Earring, he is also a producer of artists like Herman Brood. Steve Harris of Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an ...

the intro was inspired by

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

. During the chorus, starting in C# minor at 1:20, the band is joined by a brass section and the drum beat is doubled to give the impression that the tempo has speeded up. The song references

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...

's " Coming On Strong" from 1967 as a "forgotten song".

Impact

According to Rustyn Rose at ''Metalholic'', the song "is a rock masterpiece, from its hooky chugging bassline, to its simple but unmistakable riffs, to its catchy anthemesque chorus. Even the jam which rides the song out is note for note classic". The song has been chosen by many magazines and websites as a Top 10 driving song. Often it ranked in the top three. In polls it was chosen as the best radio song by readers of the newspaper

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

in November 2001. It resulted the #1 driving song in Australia (Australian Musician Magazine, November 2005), beating two

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

-songs, and in Canada (

BBC Canada BBC Canada was a Canadian English language specialty channel that mostly broadcast television series originally produced by the BBC, the public-service broadcaster of the United Kingdom. The channel was owned by Corus Entertainment (80% & manag ...

, March 2006). In 2011 it received a vast number of votes as the ''"Ultimate Driving Song"'' in a poll at PlanetRock and "finished well ahead of its nearest rival, Deep Purple's Highway Star". The bassline, guitar improv and drum solo riff was used in the late 1970s and early 1980s as part of the opening credits and theme to the long running Australian current affairs programme

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

produced by

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before it segues into the official theme, Robert Maxwell's "Lost Patrol".

Cover versions

According t
https://radar-love.net/
the song has been covered more than 500 times, among others by

Tribe 8 Tribe 8 was a LGBTQ punk rock band from San Francisco, considered one of the first queercore groups. The band took their name from the practice of tribadism, with "tribe eight" being a play on the word ''tribade'', a sexual practice sometimes a ...

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

Omen An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient times, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages fr ...

, U2,

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

Ian Stuart Donaldson Ian Stuart Donaldson (11 August 1957 – 24 September 1993), also known as Ian Stuart, was an English neo-Nazi musician. He was best known as the front-man of Skrewdriver, a Punk band which, from 1982 onwards, he rebranded as a Rock Against ...

Sun City Girls Sun City Girls were an American experimental rock band, formed in 1979 in Phoenix, Arizona. From 1981, the group consisted of Alan Bishop (bass guitar, vocals), his brother Richard Bishop (guitar, piano, vocals), and Charles Gocher (drums, voc ...

, Dutch group

Centerfold The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait. In saddle-stitched magazines (as opp ...

White Lion The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest r ...

Blue Man Group Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, bot ...

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

James Last James Last (, ; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015), also known as Hansi, was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist (Last won the award for "best bassist" in Germany in each of ...

NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...

band Aragorn,

Nine Pound Hammer Nine Pound Hammer is an American cowpunk band formed in 1985 by vocalist Scott Luallen and guitarist Blaine Cartwright in their hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky. Nine Pound hammer was one of the first rural hardcore punk bands to substantially i ...

, Oh Well,

Joe Santana Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * Joe (1970 film), ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * Joe (2013 film), ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * Joe (TV series), ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from ...

, the Space Lady and the Pressure Boys. White Lion's version charted at #59 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

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-pop band

Ghost Dance The Ghost Dance ( Caddo: Nanissáanah, also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) was a ceremony incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the teachings of the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka (renamed Jack Wilso ...

recorded a cover of the song on the B-side of their "

Heart Full of Soul "Heart Full of Soul" is a song recorded by English rock group the Yardbirds in 1965. Written by Graham Gouldman, it was the Yardbirds' first single after Jeff Beck replaced Eric Clapton as lead guitarist. Released only three months after "Fo ...

" single, itself a cover of the Yardbirds track. A pre-

Mercyful Fate Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen, formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Influenced by progressive rock and hard rock, and with lyrics dealing with Satan and the occult, Mercyful Fate w ...

band featuring

King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...

on vocals recorded a cover of the song. It is featured on '' King Diamond & Black Rose 20 Years Ago''.

WaveGroup Sound WaveGroup Sound is a music production company known for its creation of music for numerous video games. Since 2014, WaveGroup has been the official sound design team for Facebook. History WaveGroup Sound was originally co-founded by engineer Jame ...

covered the White Lion version of the song on '' Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s''.

In popular culture

The song was featured heavily in the

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episode "Love, Bullets and Blacktop", the name of a fictional movie. The song was said to be on the movie's soundtrack. The song is featured in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' episodes "

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" and "

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", the 2017 movie ''

Baby Driver ''Baby Driver'' is a 2017 action film written and directed by Edgar Wright. It stars Ansel Elgort as a getaway driver seeking freedom from a life of crime with his girlfriend Debora (Lily James). Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Eiza González, Jamie ...

'', and at the beginning of

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

's 2021 film '' The Tender Bar''. It is sung in the closing credits of the ''

Bob's Burgers ''Bob's Burgers'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard that premiered on Fox on January 9, 2011. The show centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise—who r ...

'' episode "Bobby Driver" by Bob and Edith. It also appears in 1993

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

's game version

Rock n' Roll Racing ''Rock n' Roll Racing'' is a vehicular combat-based racing video game developed by Silicon & Synapse (now known as Blizzard Entertainment) and published by Interplay Productions for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993 and the Mega Dri ...

by Silicon & Synapse (now known as

Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the company was founded on February 8, 1991, under the name Silicon & Synapse, Inc. by three graduat ...

Chart history

Weekly charts

Radar Love White Lion Oh Well

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Official "Radar Love" website
{{Authority control 1973 singles 1974 singles Songs about cars Songs about radio Songs written by Barry Hay Songs written by George Kooymans Golden Earring songs 1989 singles 1973 songs Polydor Records singles Track Records singles MCA Records singles Atlantic Records singles