"Love Like Blood"
Single by Killing Joke
from the album Night Time
B-side"Blue Feather (Version)"
ReleasedJanuary 1985 (1985-01)
Genre
Length6:50 (album)
4:14 (single/video)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Killing Joke singles chronology
"A New Day"
(1984) 		"Love Like Blood"
(1985) 		"Kings and Queens"
(1985)
Love Like Blood (Gestalt Mix)
Love Like Blood (Gestalt Mix) Side A Inner Sleeve

"Love Like Blood" is a song by English rock band Killing Joke. It was released in January 1985 as the second single from their fifth studio album, Night Time (1985). Produced by Chris Kimsey, the song is characterised as gothic rock[1][2] and new wave.[3] It was a top 10 hit in the Netherlands, Belgium and New Zealand and peaked at number 16 in the United Kingdom.

"Love Like Blood" was originally released by E.G. Records in January 1985 as a 12" in the UK, and a 12" maxi single in Germany. The 7" single on E.G. was released in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany. Polydor also released a 12" single in the Netherlands and a 12" maxi single in France.

"Love Like Blood" remains very fondly remembered in the Netherlands, as it has appeared on the country's annual Top 2000 songs of all time countdown every year since 2011. Its highest position was No. 554 in 2000.[4]

Track listings

The single release was a shorter edit of "Love Like Blood" than the full album track. The 12" single featured an extended mix, titled "Love Like Blood (Version)" as its A-side. An alternative 12" release, limited to 2000 copies, replaced this with a dub remix, known as the "Gestalt Mix".[5] "Blue Feather (Version)" was featured as the B-side; an instrumental mix of a song that was otherwise unreleased, until the complete version was included on the re-issue of Night Time in 2008.

In 1998, "Love Like Blood" was reissued as a live remix 12" single by Butterfly Records, alongside a remix of the song "Intellect" from Killing Joke’s 11th studio album, Democracy.

7" vinyl single

Side A
  1. "Love Like Blood" – 04:14
Side B
  1. "Blue Feather (Version)" – 04:09

12" vinyl single

Side A
  1. "Love Like Blood (Version)" – 06:42
Side B
  1. "Love Like Blood" – 04:14
  2. "Blue Feather (Version)" – 04:09

Limited Gestalt Mix 12" single

Side A
  1. "Love Like Blood (Gestalt Mix)" – 05:05
Side B
  1. "Love Like Blood" – 04:14
  2. "Blue Feather (Version)" – 04:09

Charts

Covers

"Love Like Blood" was covered by several bands, and the German gothic rock band Love Like Blood took their name from this song.

Dead by April version

"Love Like Blood/Promise Me"
Single by Dead by April
from the album Stronger
Released10 May 2010
Recorded2010
GenreAlternative metal, pop rock
Length3:40
LabelUniversal Records
Songwriter(s)
Dead by April singles chronology
"Angels of Clarity"
(2009) 		"Love Like Blood/Promise Me"
(2010) 		"Dance in the Neon Light with Lena Philipsson"
(2011)

In 2010, Swedish alternative metal band Dead by April released a cover version of "Love Like Blood" as a stand-alone single on 10 May 2010 on iTunes and as a double A-side single alongside previously released track "Promise Me" from their eponymous debut album. No music videos were made for either of the tracks. "Love Like Blood" was the first track recorded by the band with their new singer Zandro Santiago,[17] and was later included on their compilation album Stronger, released on 24 January 2011.

Digital single
No.TitleLength
1."Love Like Blood"3:40
2."Promise Me"3:35

Other versions

Band Album Year
Blacklight Dream Dance, Vol. 25 2002
Iva Davies Berlin Tapes 1996
Icehouse 1996, 1999, 2002
Love Like Blood Love Like Blood EP 1998
Technoir Love Like Blood 2002
Out Unik 2003
Blackmail Friend or Foe? (Japanese edition) 2004
Sybreed The Pulse of Awakening 2009

References

  1. ^ Manuel, Garreth. "Killing Joke – Perth, 9th June 2013". Caught in the Mosh. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  2. ^ Soghomonian, Talia (5 March 2009). "Release The Bats – It's The 20 Greatest Goth Tracks". NME. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  3. ^ Pehling, Dave (2 May 2013). "KTVU.com talks to Killing Joke's Jaz Coleman". KTVU. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2017.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ Top 2000. "Love Like Blood van Killing Joke uit 1985 in Top 2000" (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 January 2022.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Love Like Blood". Discogs. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 166. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "Killing Joke – Love Like Blood" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  8. ^ Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 19 December 2008)
  9. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 14, 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Killing Joke – Love Like Blood" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Killing Joke – Love Like Blood". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Killing Joke: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Killing Joke – Love Like Blood" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1985". Ultratop. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1985". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1985". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  17. ^ "iTunes - Music - Love Like Blood / Promise Me - Single by Dead By April". Itunes.apple.com. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2013.

External links

Killing Joke
Dead by April
Authority control databases
Categories