Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" is a song by British
dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...
act
Sub Sub Sub Sub were an English dance music, dance act from Handforth, Cheshire composed of Jimi Goodwin and twin brothers Andy Williams (Doves), Andy and Jez Williams. The threesome met at school in 1985 and became regulars at The Haçienda while co ...
, released on 29 March 1993 by independent label
Rob's Records Rob's Records was a British, Manchester-based independent record label founded by Rob Gretton, former manager of Joy Division and New Order, and a co-director of Factory Records. Their first release in 1989 was the single "Security" by the US- ...
as the second single from their debut album, ''Full Fathom Five'' (1994). It features Temper Temper's Melanie Williams on vocals. The song was the act's biggest single, reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart and number one on the
UK Dance Singles Chart The Dance Singles Chart and the Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synth-pop) in record stores ...
; it became one of many dance singles in 1993 to cross over into mainstream popularity in the UK. In the accompanying music video,
Jimi Goodwin Jamie Francis Alexander Goodwin (born 28 May 1970) is a British musician who is the bassist, vocalist and guitarist for Doves. Before their incarnation as Doves, the three members were in a house music group, Sub Sub. Goodwin is best known as ...
plays bass,
Jez Williams Jeremy Francis Williams (born 18 February 1970) is a British musician who is the guitarist/songwriter of Doves. He was born in Manchester, England, and is the twin brother of bandmate Andy and the son of noted modernist architect Desmond W ...
plays keyboards and percussion, and Jez' twin brother
Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...
plays
keytar A keytar (a portmanteau of ''keyboard'' and ''guitar'') is a keyboard instrument similar to a synthesizer or MIDI controller that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is held. Overview Though the ...
. After struggling to repeat the success of the single, and after a fire destroyed the band's
Ancoats Ancoats is an area of Manchester, England, next to the Northern Quarter, the northern part of Manchester city centre. Historically in Lancashire, Ancoats became a cradle of the Industrial Revolution and has been called "the world's first ind ...
studio in 1996, the group eventually reformed with a radically different sound as
Doves Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...
in 1998.


Background and release

The song features a sample of " Good Morning Starshine" by Revelation, a record Andy Williams owned because he won it at a fair as a teenager. Jimi Goodwin learned to play the bassline on a Roland Juno-106 keyboard, and the whole track came together quickly. There is also another well-known sample on there, but it has never been officially known what it is, only that it is a sound, rather than a song. Seeking a vocalist, the band contacted singer Melanie Williams (no relation to the band members) from the soul band Temper Temper, who was dating Jimi's best friend, Joe Roberts. Melanie Williams also wrote the third verse for the song. The track was then recorded at Revolution Studios in Manchester. Sub Sub's manager Dave Rofe,
Rob's Records Rob's Records was a British, Manchester-based independent record label founded by Rob Gretton, former manager of Joy Division and New Order, and a co-director of Factory Records. Their first release in 1989 was the single "Security" by the US- ...
' Pete Robinson and North South's promoter Karen Hampton were targeting
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
DJ
Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...
to give the song a listen, which resulted in the song having a major boost in popularity. The band and Williams also performed the song on the British music chart television programme ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
'' after they were the highest new entry at number ten on the UK Singles Chart. The single sold in 700,000 copies and peaked at number three in April 1993.


Critical reception

Tom Ewing of
Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2 ...
complimented the song as "excellent" and "tune-heavy, hands-high
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 ...
". Katrine Ring from Danish ''
Gaffa ''Gaffa'' (stylized as ''GAFFA'') is a free Nordic music magazine with local editions in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''Gaffa'' is Denmark's largest and oldest music magazine. It has been published since 1983 and has 320,000 print readers and 75 ...
'' felt that "it is almost like hearing
Deee-Lite Deee-Lite was an American House music, house and Dance music, dance music group formed in New York City. The group's Single (music), single "Groove Is in the Heart", which was released in 1990 from their debut studio album, ''World Clique'' (19 ...
. Grooovey!" In his weekly UK chart commentary,
James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...
said, "A hit almost before it had ever started, this track popular not only in the clubs but also extremely radio friendly. A timely piece of production as well with the
Philly Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
-sounding strings and wah-wah guitar making the track sound as if it is straight out of the 1970s.
Disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
returns with a 90s flavour I suppose and Top 3 is almost guaranteed." Chris Roberts from ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' wrote, "Slim volume of metropolitan soul, slick as a Ming vase, graced by the Gold Blends ads-scripted-by-Mishima voice of Melanie Williams, previously with the criminally underrated Temper Temper. Trembles becomingly in the slipstream of
Candi Staton Canzetta Maria "Candi" Staton (, ) (born March 13, 1940) is an American singer–songwriter, best known in the United States for her 1970 cover of Tammy Wynette's " Stand by Your Man" and her 1976 disco chart-topper " Young Hearts Run Free". In E ...
and
the Source The Source may refer to: Film and television * ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford * ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation * ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...
's '
You Got the Love "You Got the Love" is a song by British songwriting team the Source featuring American singer-songwriter Candi Staton. Originally released in 1986, the song was remixed and re-released in 1991, 1997, and 2006. It has reached number three on the ...
'." A reviewer from ''The Mix'' praised it as "great". Pan-European magazine ''
Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...
'' commented, "The arrangements are smoothly funky and combined with a voice that soothes like honey and rings like a bell, you can feel that real party enthusiasm which is so reminiscent of late '70s disco." The song was also described as "70s disco in a trendy club style". Andy Beevers 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 ...
'' said it "is something of a revelation – a fresh, funky and very different disco-influenced track with excellent catchy vocals. It has been generating a huge buzz in the clubs and should be a big hit." Ian McCann from ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' wrote, "So: this is nicked from an old Evelyn 'Champagne' King record, it is disco, right down to the fast string breaks separating one section from the other, but my, is this a spendid item? Well, yes it is. Funky, irresistibly dancesational, terrific vocal .. with a suitably empty lyric, and the ''Hey, what's happenin bits just make it all the more marvellous. Top disco stretch satin boob tube of the week, and no mistake." Another ''NME'' editor, Mandi James, felt the track "grinds to a
P-Funk Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American musical collective, music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament (band), Parliame ...
hustle, replete with creamy guitars and hot, hot vocal courtesy of Temper Temper's Melanie Williams."
James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...
from the ''
Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...
'' Dance Update described it as a "smash-bound jaunty leaper like Deee-Lite combining Eric Burdon & War's '
Spill the Wine "Spill the Wine" is the debut single by singer Eric Burdon and the band War, released in May 1970. It was backed by the non-album track " Magic Mountain", and was War's first ''Billboard'' chart hit.''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990'' ...
' with
Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
's '
Got to Give It Up "Got to Give It Up" is a song by American music artist Marvin Gaye. Written by the singer and produced by Art Stewart as a response to a request from Gaye's record label that he perform disco music, it was released in March 1977. Upon its rele ...
'". Siân Pattenden from '' Select'' wrote, "Deny that Sub Sub's 'Ain't No Love' was one of the best records of the couple of years and we shall be forever consigned to the Devil's cloakroom duty when it comes to come-uppances."


Chart performance

"Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" reached top five in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number three during its third week on the UK Singles Chart, on 18 April 1993. The single spent six weeks inside the UK top 10. On both the ''
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 ...
'' Dance Singles chart and ''Record Mirror'' Club Chart, it was even more successful, reaching the number one position. It was a top-20 hit in Ireland and the Netherlands, as well as on the
Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...
, where it peaked at number 11 in May 1993. "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" was also a hit in Belgium, where it reached number 47. Outside Europe, it charted in Australia, peaking at number 11. The single earned a silver record in the UK, after 200,000 units were shipped there.


Impact and legacy

'' The Face'' ranked "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" number eight in their list of "Singles of the Year". ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' ranked it number 23, while '' Select'' ranked it number 25 in their "Singles of the Year" lists. Robert Dimery featured it in his 2015 book, ''1,001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die, and 10,001 You Must Download''. Australian music TV channel
Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...
included "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2012.


Track listings

* UK and Australian CD single, Australian cassette single # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (radio edit) # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (original mix) # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (Parkside mix) # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (On the House mix) * UK 7-inch and cassette single # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (original edit) # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (Parkside mix) * UK 12-inch single :A1. "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (original mix) :B1. "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (Parkside mix) :B2. "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (Parkside raw dub) * UK 12-inch single—On remixes # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (On the Floor) # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (On the House) # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (On Yer Face) * French CD single # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (radio edit) – 2:46 # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (Parkside mix) – 7:43 * Australian CD and cassette single—remixes # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (Rubber Band mix) # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (original 12-inch mix) # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (Parkside raw dub mix) # "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (radio edit)


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1993 singles 1993 songs British dance songs Melanie Williams songs Music Week number-one dance singles Songs written by Andy Williams (Doves) Songs written by Jez Williams Songs written by Jimi Goodwin Sub Sub songs UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles