"Who Needs Love Like That" is the debut single of British

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

duo

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

. The song was released in the UK on

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

in 1985 as a prelude to their debut album, '' Wonderland'' (1986). The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was directed by John Scarlett Davies and produced by Nick Verden for Aldabra. While the original 1985 release enjoyed only minor success, the later "Hamburg Mix" version (issued in 1992 to promote the ''

Pop! Pop! were a British pop group consisting of Glen Ball, Hannah Lewis, Jamie Tinkler, and Jade McGuire. The group was formed in the summer of 2003 when they were signed by Pete Waterman. They released three singles on the Sony BMG record label, ...

'' compilation) reached the top 10 in both the UK and Ireland.

History

"Who Needs Love Like That" is an uptempo pop song written by Vince Clarke. The lyrics are a cast-off to a destructive love relationship, in which the protagonist asks "who needs love like that?" The music video takes place in a mock Western, with Clarke, Andy Bell and various extras dressed as cowboys. Both Bell and Clarke appear in dual roles, the others being woman's drags. Upon its release, the song spent two weeks in 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 ...

, peaking at number 55. In 1992, the song was

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed and tacked on to the end of Erasure's greatest hits collection '' Pop! - the First 20 Hits'' (although in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

it only appears on the cassette release). The "Hamburg Mix" (slightly retitled to put "Like That" in parenthesis) was released as a single and became a Top 10 UK hit, peaking at number ten.

Critical reception

Ned Raggett 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 ...

said that songs like "Who Needs Love Like That" "aren't quite as strong but work in the general formula quite well regardless." Howard Cohen from ''

Knight-Ridder Newspapers Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, it was the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspaper bran ...

'' described it as "frothy

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

". Chris Gerard from ''

Metro Weekly ''Metro Weekly'' is a free weekly magazine for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Washington, D.C., United States. It was first published on May 5, 1994. ''Metro Weekly'' includes national and local news, interviews w ...

'' wrote that it is "a little simple and raw compared to their later work (and the video is hilariously campy), but it has a classic dance groove and keyboard riff that beams the listener back nearly 30 years, and its hard to play without smiling and singing along." On the release of the 1992 remix, ''

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 W ...

'' commented, "It was a brilliant introductory single, and its lack of success first time out – it peaked at number 55 – is baffling. A straightforward reissue would have been preferable, as the song has very strong melodic verses, which are exorcised completely from the remix, but its dancefloor sensibilities are more than sufficient to ensure it becomes a major success." A reviewer from ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

'' stated that

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a popular surname i ...

"has not lost his ability to make his music-box synth-sound pulse, as he does in such songs" as "Who Needs Love Like That". Darren Lee from ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

'' said it "bears Yazoo's unmistakeable imprint, with Andy Bell content to mimic

Alison Moyet Geneviève Alison Jane Ballard ( ; born 18 June 1961) is an English singer noted for her powerful bluesy contralto voice. She came to prominence as half of the duo Yazoo (also known as Yaz), but has since mainly worked as a solo artist. Her ...

's dulcet vocals." Mark Frith from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' described it as "

Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

-esque".

Track listings

Original release (1985)

* 7-inch single (MUTE40) # "Who Needs Love Like That" # "Push Me Shove Me" * 12-inch single (12MUTE40) # "Who Needs Love Like That" (Legend Mix) # "Push Me Shove Me" (Extended as Far as Possible Mix) # "Who Needs Love Like That" (Instrumental Workout Mix) * Limited 12-inch single (L12MUTE40) # "Who Needs Love Like That" (Mexican Mix) # "Push Me Shove Me" (Tacos Mix) * 12-inch US single (SIRE 0-20404) # "Who Needs Love Like That" (The Love That Mix Version / Mexican Mix) 6:08 # "Push Me Shove Me" (That Rough And Tumble Mix / Tacos Mix) 5:46 # "Heavenly Action" (A Divine Mix / Yellow Brick Mix) 6:43 # "Who Needs Love Like That" (Single Edit) 3:03 * CD single (CDMUTE40) # "Who Needs Love Like That" # "Push Me Shove Me" # "Who Needs Love Like That" (Legend Mix) # "Push Me Shove Me" (Extended as Far as Possible Mix) # "Who Needs Love Like That" (Instrumental Workout Mix)

Hamburg Mix (1992)

* 7-inch single (MUTE150) / Cassette single (CMUTE150) # "Who Needs Love (Like That)" (Hamburg Mix) # "Who Needs Love (Like That)" (Single Edit) * 12-inch single (12MUTE150) # "Who Needs Love (Like That)" (Phil Kelsey Mix) # "Ship of Fools" ( Orbital Southsea Isles of Holy Beats Mix) # "Sometimes" (

Danny Rampling Danny Rampling (born 15 July 1961) is an English house music DJ and is widely credited as one of the original founders of the UK's rave/club scene. His long career began in the early 1980s playing hip-hop, soul and funk around numerous bars an ...

Mix) * CD single (CDMUTE150) # "Who Needs Love (Like That)" (Hamburg Mix) # "The Soldier's Return" # "Don't Say No" # "The Circus" (Gladiator Mix) * Limited CD single (LCDMUTE150) # "Who Needs Love (Like That)" (Phil Kelsey Mix) # "Ship of Fools" (Orbital Southsea Isles of Holy Beats Mix) # "Sometimes" (Danny Rampling Mix)

Charts

Original version

Hamburg Mix

References

{{Authority control 1985 debut singles 1992 singles Erasure songs Songs written by Vince Clarke Song recordings produced by Flood (producer) Mute Records singles 1985 songs Sire Records singles