Love Pains

"Love Pains"
Single by Yvonne Elliman
from the album Yvonne
B-side"Rock Me Slowly"
Released10 September 1979
Recorded1979
GenreDisco
LabelRSO Records
Songwriter(s)Michael Price, Dan Walsh, Steve Barri
Producer(s)Steve Barri
Yvonne Elliman singles chronology
"Moment by Moment"
(1978) 		"Love Pains"
(1979) 		"Give It to Me All Night Long"
(1982)

"Love Pains" is a dance song written by Michael Price, Dan Walsh and Steve Barri. It was originally recorded by Yvonne Elliman in 1979. Both Hazell Dean and Liza Minnelli covered it and had hits in 1989 and 1990 respectively with their versions. There have also been many other cover versions of this song.

Yvonne Elliman version

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Background

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"Love Pains" was a hit for Elliman in 1979, reaching number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100[1] as well as number 75 on the Hot Dance Club Play,[2] and number 33 on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Love Pains" would be Elliman's final chart single, Elliman's extended hiatus from the music business commencing soon after the release of the track's parent album Yvonne which was the last release of newly recorded music by Elliman until her 2004 EP Simple Needs.

In 1982, Moby Dick Records were in the process of re-releasing remixes of previous hits for their Gold Standard label when Rob Kimbel presented them with a remix of "Love Pains". The remix was released as a single and sales for the Moby Dick 12" single surpassed sales of the original record.[3]

Track listings

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  • 12" vinyl, US 1979 US (RPO 1019)
  1. "Love Pains" – 5:45
  2. "Love Pains" – 5:45
  • 12" Moby Dick Records 1982 US (MDR 1201)[4]
  1. "Love Pains" (Special DJ Edited Version) – 7:56
  2. "Love Pains" – 5:45

Charts

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Chart (1979) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 34
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 33
US Hot Dance Club Play (Billboard) 75

Liza Minnelli version

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"Love Pains"
Single by Liza Minnelli
from the album Results
B-side"Rent"
Released24 February 1990
Recorded1988–89
GenreDance-pop, Euro disco
Length4:10
LabelEpic - ZEE 4
Songwriter(s)Price, Walsh, Barri
Producer(s)Pet Shop Boys, Julian Mendelsohn
Liza Minnelli singles chronology
"So Sorry, I Said"
(1989) 		"Love Pains"
(1990) 		"The Day After That"
(1993)
Music video
"Love Pains" (live) on YouTube

Background

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"Love Pains" is the fourth and final single from American singer and actress Liza Minnelli's ninth album, Results (1989). It was released in the UK in February 1990 by Epic Records.[5] The track was produced by the Pet Shop Boys and Julian Mendelsohn. The single's B-side is Liza's take on the Pet Shop Boys single "Rent", which also features on Results.

Steve "Silk" Hurley was commissioned to create several mixes for "Love Pains" which are spread across the single's various formats. The single almost reached the top 40, stalling at number 41. This was 21 places higher than the last single, "So Sorry, I Said". A performance had been recorded for Top Of The Pops, but was never shown, until a brief clip was shown on Top Of The Pops: The Story Of 1990, which was shown on 2 October 2020.

Critical reception

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Bill Coleman from Billboard wrote, "Inspired remake of the Yvonne Elliman disco/pop nugget deserves a break. Minnelli's vocal prowess charms and the beat still pumps. Try it out."[6] David Giles from Music Week found that in comparison with Hazell Dean's 1989 version, this song "just twitters away behind Minelli, adding little beside a beat. The song itself is, however, strong enough to make this a hit."[7] Edwin J. Bernard from Number One complimented it as "classic gay disco".[8] Joe Brown from The Washington Post commented, "For once, Minnelli is forced to sing against type, in the breathy, clipped phrases required by dance beats. And because she's singing along with an impassioned background choir, it's easy to imagine her singing along with the song on the dance floor at Studio 54 or Regine's or Xenon. Overwhelmed by the ecstatic rushes and multiple crescendos of electrodisco, Minnelli's unalterably earthbound voice gets lost in the mix, and you can't pick her out of the crowd."[9]

Track listings

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Charts

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Chart (1990) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[10] 69
Italy (FIMI) 36
UK Singles (OCC)[11] 41
US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)[12] 40
West Germany (GfK Entertainment Charts)[13] 31

Other notable cover versions

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Hazell Dean's version, produced by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow, peaked at number 48 on the UK Singles chart in August 1989,[14] number 18 in Dutch Tipparade,[15] and number 51 in Dutch Single Top 100.[16] The single release's B-side track is "More Than Words Can Say".

American singer Viola Wills released her own house cover version of the song in 1989 on Music Man Records. She had a hit with it in Belgium where her version peaked at number 27 on the pop charts.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Billboard Top 40 Hits (1979) at cyList". Cylist.com. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 88.
  3. ^ "Moby Dick Records Remembrance". Mobydickrecords.net. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  4. ^ "Yvonne Elliman : Love Pains [Special DJ Edited Version] (Moby 12")". Discomusic.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  5. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 25 February 1990 - 3 March 1990". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  6. ^ Coleman, Bill (May 19, 1990). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 77. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  7. ^ Giles, David (February 24, 1990). "Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 25. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Bernard, Edwin J. (October 11, 1989). "Albums". Number One. p. 43. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  9. ^ Brown, Joe (1989-11-19). "Minnelli, Ronstadt and Zadora: Taking a Different Tack". The Washington Post. p. G06.
  10. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. March 17, 1990. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  11. ^ "Official Charts Company - Love Pains by Liza Minnelli Search". The Official Charts Company. May 6, 2013.
  12. ^ "Liza Minnelli - US - Singles - "Love Pains". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. allmusic.com. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  13. ^ "Liza Minnelli - Germany - Singles - "Love Pains". Bundesverband Musikindustrie (in German). Media Control Charts. charts.de. Retrieved August 8, 2012.[dead link‍]
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 20 August 1989 – 26 August 1989". Official Charts.
  15. ^ "Hazell Dean, 'Love Pains'". Top 40 (in Dutch).
  16. ^ "Hazell Dean – Love Pains". Dutch Charts.
  17. ^ "Viola Wills - Love Pains - hitparade.ch".
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