"Love's Got a Hold on My Heart" is a song by British

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

group Steps. It was written and produced by Andrew Frampton and

Pete Waterman Peter Alan Waterman (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, and television personality. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman production and songwriting team, he co-wrote and co-produced many UK hit singles. An av ...

, and released in July 1999 by Jive and

Ebul Pete Waterman Entertainment (PWE) is the production company one-time pop and dance record label owned by British pop mogul Pete Waterman. The label, originally PWL (Pete Waterman Limited), is most famous for being the home of hit record produ ...

as the lead single from the band's second album, ''

Steptacular ''Steptacular'' is the second studio album by British pop group Steps, released in the United Kingdom on 25 October 1999, through Jive Records. The album was accompanied by five singles; "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart", " After the Love Has Gon ...

'' (1999). It features group members

Faye Tozer Faye Louise Tozer Smith (born 14 November 1975) is an English singer and actress, best known as a member of the pop group Steps. Career Music Steps are a pop group that have had a series of charted singles between 1997 and 2020. Their name ...

and

Claire Richards Claire Richards (born 17 August 1977) is an English singer and member of the pop group Steps. As a solo artist, Richards has released two studio albums: her debut, '' My Wildest Dreams'', was released in 2019 and ''Euphoria'', a covers album, ...

on lead vocals. The single peaked at number two in the United Kingdom and became a top-20 hit in Finland,

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, Ireland, and New Zealand. Its accompanying music video was directed by

Dani Jacobs Dani Jacobs (born April 16, 1963) is a British music video director and editor. Background Jacobs was born in London, United Kingdom. He went to University of Manchester to study physics but left to pursue his interests in film. He worked at T ...

and filmed in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, France.

Critical reception

Can't Stop the Pop stated that "the one thing that immediately jumps out with this single – from that first keyboard whizz in the intro – is how summery it sounds. The track is not without a trademark hint of melodrama, but on the whole, it’s a much lighter production which exudes sunshine and warmth." They added that the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

is "deceptively – and enduringly – catchy." Scottish newspaper '' Daily Record'' said it is "their best tune yet. A

Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

sound,

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

-tinged melody and they even supply the dance moves on the CD box". They also wrote, "This song sounds like the band looks - cheesy. The tune pops along using all the right ingredients to make sure you're tapping your feet."

Chart performance

The single missed out at number one on the UK Singles Chart, losing out to

Latin pop Latin pop () is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. It originates with List of countries where Spanish is an official language, Spanish-speaking ...

singer

Ricky Martin Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography incorporati ...

, who spent a second week at the top with " Livin' La Vida Loca". Spending 12 weeks on the British charts, this single is the group's only single to fall off the charts for two consecutive weeks and then re-enter. The song did reach number one on 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, ...

, conversely preventing "Livin' la Vida Loca" from reaching the top spot. "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart" also peaked at number nine in Finland and Ireland, number 14 in the

region of Belgium, number 18 in New Zealand, and number 29 in Australia.

Music video

The music video for "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart", shot in

in the South of France, was directed by British music video director and editor

. The main plot sees the group chase a man who has stolen the film reel for the fictitious "Steps: The Movie", interspersed with clips of the band performing the dance routine on a jetty dressed in yellow outfits.

Track listings

* UK CD1 # "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart" – 3:19 # "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart" (W.I.P. Off the Wall mix) – 6:12 # "To Be Your Hero" – 3:49 * UK CD2 # "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart" – 3:19 # "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart" (instrumental) – 3:20 # " Last Thing on My Mind" (Wip't Up in the Disco mix instrumental) – 5:41 * UK cassette single # "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart" – 3:19 # "To Be Your Hero" – 3:49 * Australian, New Zealand, and Japanese CD single # "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart" – 3:19 # "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart" (WIP Off the Wall mix) – 6:12 # "To Be Your Hero" – 3:49 # "Last Thing on My Mind" (WIP't UP the Disco mix instrumental) – 5:41 # "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart" (instrumental) – 3:20

Credits and personnel

A-side: "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart"

Credits are adapted are from the liner notes of ''

''. Recording * Recorded at PWL Studios (London and

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England) * Additionally recorded at The Workhouse Studios and Sarm East (London, England) * Mixed at PWL Studios (London and Manchester, England) * Mastered at Transfermation (London, England) Personnel * Songwriting – Andrew Frampton, Pete Waterman * Production – Dan Frampton, Pete Waterman * Mixing – Dan Frampton * Engineering – Dan Frampton * Drums – Pete Waterman * Keyboards – Andrew Frampton * Guitar – Dan Frampton * Bass – Andrew Frampton

B-side: "To Be Your Hero"

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart". Recording * Recorded at PWL Studios (London and

, England) * Mixed at PWL Studios (London and Manchester, England) * Mastered at Transfermation (London, England) Personnel * Songwriting – Dan Frampton, Pete Waterman * Production – Dan Frampton, Pete Waterman * Mixing – Dan Frampton, Paul Waterman * Engineering – Dan Frampton

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Love's Got A Hold On My Heart 1999 singles 1999 songs Avex Trax singles Jive Records singles Music videos directed by Dani Jacobs Music videos shot in France Number-one singles in Scotland Pete Waterman Entertainment singles Songs written by Andrew Frampton (songwriter) Songs written by Pete Waterman Steps (group) songs UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles