Love Comes Quickly

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title: "Love Comes Quickly" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1986-songs", "1986-singles", "music-videos-directed-by-andy-morahan", "music-videos-directed-by-eric-watson-(photographer)", "parlophone-singles", "pet-shop-boys-songs", "song-recordings-produced-by-stephen-hague", "songs-written-by-chris-lowe", "songs-written-by-neil-tennant", "songs-written-by-stephen-hague", "synth-pop-ballads"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Comes_Quickly" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]

FieldValue
nameLove Comes Quickly
coverPSB Love Comes Quickly.jpg
caption7-inch single cover
typesingle
artistPet Shop Boys
albumPlease
B-sideThat's My Impression
released24 February 1986
recorded1985
genreSynth-pop
length4:19
labelParlophone
producerStephen Hague
prev_titleWest End Girls
prev_year1985
next_titleOpportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)
next_year1986
misc
::

| name = Love Comes Quickly | cover = PSB Love Comes Quickly.jpg | alt = | caption = 7-inch single cover | type = single | artist = Pet Shop Boys | album = Please | B-side = That's My Impression | released = 24 February 1986 | recorded = 1985 | studio = | genre = Synth-pop | length = 4:19 | label = Parlophone | writer =

"Love Comes Quickly" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the second single from their debut studio album, Please (1986). It peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart in March 1986.

Composition and recording

"Love Comes Quickly" was written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant in early 1985, near the end of their time at Ray Roberts' Camden studio where they'd done much of their work. The duo considered it one of their most mature compositions at that point.

During the recording sessions for Please, producer Stephen Hague used a Roland MSQ-700 sequencer, which accidentally shifted the bassline off the beat, and he incorporated that into the track.{{cite magazine|last=Bradwell|first=David|date=March 1988|title=Talking Shop: Stephen Hague |url=https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/talking-shop/1060/|magazine=Music Technology|access-date=24 December 2024|quote=The bassline of that is interesting because, originally, it was going to be a down-beat set up as it is in the intro. I had programmed it on an MSQ700, but something got screwed up when it came back sync'd from tape and the whole thing was delayed by exactly half a beat. I thought it sounded really cool so I had to re-write the bass sequence with that in mind.}} Hague suggested adding a middle eight and received a co-writing credit for its first two chords.

"Love Comes Quickly" features handclaps, inspired by Sharon Redd's "Never Give You Up" (1982), and the first appearance of a high string line, which became a trademark of their songs. Andy Mackay of Roxy Music plays the saxophone parts towards the end.

Release

"Love Comes Quickly" was released on 24 February 1986 as the follow-up to the number one hit "West End Girls". The single only reached number 19 on the UK chart and fell out of the top 100 six weeks later, prompting concerns that they might be a one-hit wonder. A special 10-inch edition that came in a bag with a poster was released in an effort to boost sales.{{cite magazine|last=Peel|first=Ian|date=28 February 2009|title=Good Old Boys |url=https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/good-old-boys|magazine=Record Collector|access-date=25 December 2024|quote=Love Comes Quickly's got a weird 10" in just a plastic bag with a poster. It's actually not designed. We weren't very happy about it at the time, but we were all in a panic because it had charted low.}}

As with "Opportunities", the 12-version of the single contains remixes by 1980s producer Shep Pettibone. The remixes of "Love Comes Quickly" and "That's My Impression" reached the top ten on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in October 1986. Later, in 2003, new remixes by Blank & Jones were produced for the promotion of the singles collection PopArt.

Pet Shop Boys sampled "Love Comes Quickly" for their song "Somebody Else's Business", which appeared on the Disco 3 album in 2003.

Artwork

The cover, featuring Chris Lowe in a baseball cap emblazoned with "BOY" in block letters, has become an iconic Pet Shop Boys image. Neil Tennant later recollected that he had expected the image of the cap to be the group's coming out moment, calling it "incredibly gay".

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for *Billboard'''s "Dance Trax" column, Brian Chin wrote that "Pet Shop Boys' "Love Comes Quickly" (Parlophone U.K.) is even more a tribute to drifting Italian disco-pop than the team's current hit. Once "West End Girls" has concluded what will undoubtedly be a hugely successful run, this will follow nicely. The flip, "That's My Impression," deserves double A-rank, with its jittery hi-NRG beat and petulant lyric." Dave Henderson of *Sounds'' noted that the "mellow" song is "not as immediately striking" as "West End Girls", but added the Pet Shop Boys "know their onions when it comes to massaging the correct ear lobes".

In a 2023 interview with Greatest Hits Radio, Noel Gallagher stated that "Love Comes Quickly" is the song he wished he'd written.

Music video

Directed by Andy Morahan and Eric Watson, the video to the song is very simple, utilising facial shots of Tennant singing, interposed with blurry montages of the faces of various other people; at points, shots of Lowe, lying on top of a construction of a square grid, are superimposed over these shots. Watson would later call it a "complete disaster".

Live performances

Pet Shop Boys performed "Love Comes Quickly", along with "West End Girls", at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, accompanied by singer Ava Cherry.{{cite magazine|last=Mills|first=Simon|date=24 September 1986|title=Pet Shop Boys: Weird Tales from America |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Smash-Hits/1986/Smash-Hits-1986-09-24.pdf|magazine=Smash Hits|volume=8|issue=20|pages=55–56|access-date=25 December 2024}} The song was on the setlist of their first tour in 1989. More recently, "Love Comes Quickly" has been performed on the Super Tour in 2016–2017 with Tennant on keyboards and on the Dreamworld tour in 2022–2024.{{cite magazine|last=Earls|first=John|date=25 July 2024|title=Online Exclusive: Live Review - Pet Shop Boys at London's Royal Opera House |url=https://www.classicpopmag.com/2024/07/online-exclusive-live-review-pet-shop-boys-at-london-royal-opera-house/|magazine=Classic Pop|access-date=25 December 2024}}

Track listings

7": Parlophone / R 6116 (UK)

  • A. "Love Comes Quickly" – 4:18
  • B. "That's My Impression" – 4:45

12": Parlophone / 12 R 6116 (UK)

  • A. "Love Comes Quickly" (Dance Mix) – 6:50
  • B. "That's My Impression" (Disco Mix) – 5:18
    • also released on 10" (10 R 6116)

12": EMI America / V-19218 (US)

  • A1. "Love Comes Quickly" (Shep Pettibone Mastermix) – 7:34
  • A2. "Love Comes Quickly" (Dub Mix) – 6:55
  • B1. "Love Comes Quickly" (Dance Mix) – 6:50
  • B2. "That's My Impression" (Disco Mix) – 5:18

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes for Please: Further Listening 1984–1986 and "Love Comes Quickly".

Pet Shop Boys

Additional musicians

Technical

Artwork

Charts

::data[format=table title="Chart performance for "Love Comes Quickly""] | Chart (1986) | Peak position | Australia (Kent Music Report) | Europe (European Hot 100 Singles) | Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) | Spain (AFYVE) | US Cash Box Top 100 Singles | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 54 | | | | | | | | 15 | | | | | | | | 12 | | | | | | | | 6 | | | | | | | | 56 | | | | | | | ::

Cover versions

As early as 1986, a Japanese-language cover version of the song was recorded by pop singer Hidemi Ishikawa.

UK hardcore rave group Ultrabeat covered the song in 2005 with additional production and writing from fellow hardcore producer Hixxy.

References

References

  1. (June 16, 2023). "Best Pet Shop Boys Songs: 30 Synth-Pop Hits Always On Our Mind".
  2. "Love Comes Quickly by Pet Shop Boys".
  3. Heath, Chris. (2018). "Introspective: Further Listening 1988–1989". Parlophone Records.
  4. Heath, Chris. (2018). "Please: Further Listening 1984–1986". Parlophone Records.
  5. Raggett, Ned. "Love Comes Quickly by Pet Shop Boys - Song Review".
  6. Harrison, Ian. (August 2013). "Pet Shop Boys Interviewed: We prefer not to be fake".
  7. [[Joel Whitburn. Whitburn, Joel]] (2004). ''Hot Dance/Disco 1974–2003'', (Record Research Inc.), page 201.
  8. Sinclair, Paul. (6 June 2016). "Blank & Jones on curating so80s".
  9. Pet Shop Boys (April 2003). "Disco 3". ''Literally'', issue 26.
  10. Silcott, Mireille. (1999). "The Pet Shop Boys, obsessively". [[Montreal Mirror]].
  11. Chin, Brian. (15 March 1986). "Dance Trax".
  12. Henderson, Dave. (8 March 1986). "Singles".
  13. Taylor, Tom. (5 December 2023). "'It's just to die for': The melody Noel Gallagher wishes he had written".
  14. Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - Pet Shop Boys - "Love comes quickly"". Music Video DataBase.
  15. (May 1992). "Interview with Eric Watson". Literally (Pet Shop Boys fanclub magazine).
  16. Heath, Chris. (2020). "Pet Shop Boys, Literally". William Heinemann.
  17. . (23 February 2017). ["Review: Pet Shop Boys - Super Tour"](https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/review-pet-shop-boys-super-tour-605261). *Edinburgh Evening News*.
  18. Pet Shop Boys. (2018). "Please: Further Listening 1984–1986". [[Parlophone]].
  19. Pet Shop Boys. (1986). "Love Comes Quickly". [[Parlophone]].
  20. Kent, David. (1993). "Australian Chart Book 1970–1992". Australian Chart Book.
  21. (19 April 1986). "European Hot 100 Singles".
  22. Pennanen, Timo. (2006). "Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972". [[Otava (publisher).
  23. Salaverrie, Fernando. (September 2005). "Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002". [[Sociedad General de Autores y Editores.
  24. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending October 4, 1986". [[Cashbox (magazine).
  25. {{in lang. ja [http://idolep.hp.infoseek.co.jp/80s/hidemi-ishikawa/hidemi.htm Hidemi Ishikawa discography page] {{Webarchive. link. (12 March 2009)
  26. (2007-12-17). "Hixxy + Recon - Love Comes / Get Hard".

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1986-songs1986-singlesmusic-videos-directed-by-andy-morahanmusic-videos-directed-by-eric-watson-(photographer)parlophone-singlespet-shop-boys-songssong-recordings-produced-by-stephen-haguesongs-written-by-chris-lowesongs-written-by-neil-tennantsongs-written-by-stephen-haguesynth-pop-ballads