"Boys Do Fall in Love"
Single by Robin Gibb
from the album Secret Agent
B-side"Diamonds"
ReleasedMay 1984
Recorded1984
Genre
Length3:50
4:35 (Extended Remix)
LabelMirage (US)
Polydor (UK)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Robin Gibb
  • Maurice Gibb
Robin Gibb singles chronology
"How Old Are You"
(1983) 		"Boys Do Fall in Love"
(1984) 		"Secret Agent"
(1984)

"Boys Do Fall in Love" is a song by British singer-songwriter Robin Gibb. It was released as the lead single from his 1984 third solo album Secret Agent.[2]

The single was released on Polydor Records in the UK and Mirage Records in the US. Its B-side is the track "Diamonds", also from Secret Agent. Both songs were written by Robin and Maurice Gibb.[3]

Composition

Gibb wrote "Boys Do Fall in Love" with his brother Maurice along with six other songs on the album Secret Agent. The song was recorded between March and June 1984, and was registered in April that year. The song is memorable for its synthesizer riff played by Rob Kilgore and Maurice Gibb.[3][4]

Release and chart performance

"Boys Do Fall in Love" was released as a single in many countries and became one of Gibb's biggest hits in the United States. In the UK, Canada, Italy, Germany and Spain, the single was titled as "Boys (Do Fall in Love)".[5] It reached the top 40 charts in several countries, including the United States where it peaked at No. 37.[6] In the UK, the song only managed to chart at No. 107, but was more successful in South Africa and Italy, peaking at numbers 7 and 10, respectively. It also reached No. 8 on the Dance/Disco Top 80 chart on July 21, 1984.[7] Mirage pushed the song's promo version, run by Gibb's old friend Jerry L. Greenberg from Atlantic Records.[3] In October 1984, "Boys Do Fall in Love" was certified gold along with Duran Duran's "The Reflex", Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It" and Laid Back's "Sunshine Reggae".[8]

Cash Box said that "the classic Bee Gees sound and knack for a hook is intact though noticeably updated."[9]

Music video

The music video features first the single cover of "Boys Do Fall in Love" then later features a kid talking with his grandfather while Gibb sings the song with his shades on his head; later on in the chorus, he finally wears his shades. The video also features robots.[10]

Charts and certifcations

References

  1. ^ a b Rolling Stone Staff (September 17, 2014). "100 Best Singles of 1984: Pop's Greatest Year". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 30, 2023. The blue-eyed-soul Bee Gee made his New Wave move late, with stuttering, silly synth-pop...
  2. ^ "Robin Gibb – Secret Agent". discogs.
  3. ^ a b c Joseph Brennan. "Gibb Songs: 1984".
  4. ^ "Robin Gibb – Secret Agent". discogs. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  5. ^ "Robin Gibb – Boys Do Fall in Love / Diamonds". discogs.
  6. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Secret Agent – Robin Gibb". AllMusic. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  7. ^ Billboard: Dance/Disco Top 80 (21 July 1984). July 21, 1984. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  8. ^ Billboard 1984. October 13, 1984. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  9. ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 26, 1984. p. 7. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  10. ^ "Robin Gibb – Boys do fall in love". Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2015 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g "Songs Written by the Gibb Family on the International Charts" (PDF). brothersgibb.org. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  12. ^ "Item Display – RPM". Library and Archives Canada. August 25, 1984. Archived from the original on April 13, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  13. ^ "Robin Gibb – Boys Do Fall in Love". officialcharts.de. Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  14. ^ "Robin Gibb Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  15. ^ "Robin Gibb – Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 3, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  16. ^ "Cash Box Top 100". Cashbox Archives. July 14, 1984. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  17. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Robin Gibb – Boys Do Fall in Love". Music Canada.
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