This article is about the Bryan Ferry song. For other uses, see Slave of Love (disambiguation). For the unrelated song of the same name by Willy DeVille, see Crow Jane Alley.
Slave to Love
single
CoverSlave To Love.jpg
ArtistBryan Ferry
AlbumBoys and Girls
Released3 May 1985[1]
GenreSophisti-pop
Length
  • 3:59 (7" mix)
  • 5:56 (12" extended mix)
  • 4:26 (album version)
LabelE.G.
WriterBryan Ferry
Producer
Prev year1978
Next year1985

"Slave to Love" is a song by the English singer and songwriter Bryan Ferry, released as the first single from his sixth solo studio album, Boys and Girls (1985). The song is one of Ferry's most popular solo hits. The single was released on 3 May 1985 and spent nine weeks in the UK singles chart in 1985, peaking at number 10. He performed the song at Live Aid in the London concert at Wembley Stadium on 13 July 1985. It also appears in the American erotic romantic drama film, 9½ Weeks (1986), and features on the movie's soundtrack album.[citation needed]

The song features Neil Hubbard, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and Keith Scott on lead guitar,[2] Dire Straits' Guy Fletcher on keyboards, Omar Hakim on drums, and Tony Levin on bass guitar.

Music video

A music video directed by French fashion photographer and video director Jean-Baptiste Mondino and featuring the Swedish model Christine Bergström, the French model Laurence Treil, the Dutch model Marpessa Hennink, Jillian King, Fabrice Langlade, Olivier Poivre and Richard Teophile was shot to promote the single. The cinematographer was Pascal Lebegue.

Critical reception

Writing for AllMusic, Bill Janovitz called "Slave to Love" an "achingly beautiful ballad" which "clearly has a 1980s aura to it, yet 'Slave to Love' was not a slave to the gimmicks of the era, sounding more timeless and classic than other radio hits from the mid-'80s."[3] Writing for The Guardian, Jeremy Allen likened it to Roxy Music's 1979 single "Dance Away", saying that Ferry had "hit on a formula to write the same oleaginous ballad over and over again to handsome remuneration (play 'Dance Away' and 'Slave to Love' back to back and you'll see what I mean)."[4]

Track listing

  • 7"
  1. "Slave to Love"
  2. "Valentine" (instrumental)
  • 12" UK single: E.G. Records / FERRx 1 881873-1
  1. "Slave to Love" (special 12" re-mix) – 5:56
  2. "Slave to Love" (instrumental) – 4:23
  3. "Valentine" (instrumental) – 4:00

Charts

Chart (1985)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5]29
Italy (Musica e dischi)[6]9
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[7]109

References

  1. ^ "Music Week". p. 14.
  2. ^ "Roxy Music - Songs". Vivaroxymusic.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  3. ^ Janovitz, Bill. "Slave to Love Review by Bill Janovitz". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  4. ^ Allen, Jeremy (25 February 2015). "Roxy Music: 10 of the best". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  5. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated ed. St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ^ "Classifiche" (in Italian). Musica e dischi Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Bryan Ferry".
  7. ^ "Bubbling Under". Billboard. 15 June 1985. p. 72. Retrieved 5 June 2022.