The Love Parade (song) explained

"The Love Parade" is the fourth single released by The Dream Academy. It was a more "edgy" song than their previous singles, made so by the inclusion of implied themes of adultery and erotic temptation in the lyrics,^[1] and was arranged to a brisk bossa nova-esque beat which was in stark contrast to the style of the group's first single Life In A Northern Town . There were two additional singles released in the UK by Blanco y Negro, a 7" shaped picture disc and a second limited edition release.

Background

The Love Parade is the only song on The Dream Academy's eponymous album not to be produced by David Gilmour. Instead, the band recruited Alan Tarney to work with them on the track. Tarney was brought in at the suggestion of Rough Trade Records founder Geoff Travis to work on "The Love Parade". "What happened was, we had a pretty good demo for “Love Parade,” and we loved it, and when we made the record with David, somehow we never got 'round to it". Lead vocalist Nick Laird-Clowes noted that Tarney brought some "real special techniques" to the table: he tracked the vocals "12 or 15 times" during certain portions of the song.^[2]

There were high hopes for the single, especially from Warner, and there was some degree of promotion of the song (such as a live performance on American Bandstand). The single became the band's second song to reach the top 40 in the US, peaking at number 36. It also charted in Belgium, Canada, and the UK.

When asked in a 2024 interview if there were any songs by The Dream Academy that deserved to receive resurgence in popularity similar to Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill", Laird-Clowes picked "The Love Parade" as one of his selections.^[3]

Track listing

7" version

1. "The Love Parade" - 3:50
2. "Girl in a Million" (for Edie Sedgwick) - 3:50

Chart performance

Chart (1985–1986)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4]	76
Canadian RPM Top 100 Singles[5]	41
UK Singles (OCC)[6]	68
US Billboard Hot 100[7]	36
US Adult Contemporary[8]	13

Notes and References

1. News: Holden . Stephen . 2 April 1986 . THE POP LIFE; FROM DREAM ACADEMY, BEATLES-STYLE ART ROCK . 10 August 2024 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
2. Web site: Harris . Will . 7 July 2015 . Interview: Nick Laird-Clowes of The Dream Academy Rhino. 16 August 2020. www.rhino.com.
3. Web site: Page. Andy . 15 March 2024 . In Conversation: The Dream Academy’s Nick Laird-Clowes - God Is In The TV . 10 August 2024 . en-US.
4. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. St. Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. Illustrated. 96. 0-646-11917-6. N.B. the Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
5. Web site: RPM100 Singles. RPM. 5 July 1986. 10 August 2024.
6. Web site: The Love Parade. officialcharts.com. June 19, 2023.
7. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn

   . Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 . Joel Whitburn . 2013 . Record Research . 257.

8. Web site: Billboard Adult Contemporary: The Week of June 14, 1986 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201130050739/https://www.billboard.com/charts/adult-contemporary/1986-06-14 . 30 November 2020 . 10 August 2024 . Billboard.