"We Could Be Sweet Lovers" is a 1985 song written by
Bill Withers
William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...
from his final studio album ''
Watching You, Watching Me''.
The song is best known in New Zealand as a 1988
one-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...
by New Zealand band
Holidaymakers
Holidaymakers was a New Zealand musical group from Wellington. The band scored two top ten hits in New Zealand in 1988, including the number-one single "Sweet Lovers", a cover of the Bill Withers song "We Could Be Sweet Lovers".
"Sweet Lovers" was ...
, who released their version of the song under the title "Sweet Lovers". This version charted at number one in the New Zealand singles chart and held that position for six weeks.
[
]
Holidaymakers version
In 1988, Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
band Holidaymakers released a cover of the song in New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. The single was a huge success in New Zealand, staying at number one for six weeks,
Music video
New Zealand director Fane Flaws
Fane Michael Flaws (16 May 1951 – 17 June 2021) was a New Zealand musician, songwriter, and artist.
Career
Flaws was a member of bands including Blerta, Spats, and The Crocodiles. Until joining Blerta he was known by his second name Michael: ...
was a friend of the band and did the shoot with no budget. The lampshades in the video all belonged to the band members, who were all asked to bring one along on the day.
Awards
The band was awarded Best Single, Most Promising Group, Most Promising Male Vocalist and Most Promising Female Vocalist of the year at the 1988 New Zealand Music Awards for "Sweet Lovers", while the song's producer Nigel Stone was awarded both Best Producer and Best Engineer of the year. Music video director Fane Flaws rounded off the group's dominance of the 1988 awards by receiving Best Video.
References
External links
Sweet Lovers
New Zealand on Screen
Sweet Lovers
NZ Film Archive
NZ Music Awards
{{Bill Withers
1988 singles
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Songs written by Bill Withers
1985 songs