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"Modern Love"
Single by Peter Gabriel
from the album Peter Gabriel (Car)
B-side	"Slowburn"
Released	17 June 1977
Recorded	1976
Genre	Rock power pop
Length	3:38
Label	Atco Charisma
Songwriter(s)	Peter Gabriel
Producer(s)	Bob Ezrin
Peter Gabriel singles chronology
"Solsbury Hill" (1977) "Modern Love" (1977) "D.I.Y." (1978)

"Modern Love" is a song written and performed by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel. It was released in 1977 as the second single released from his 1977 self-titled album, although it failed to chart. The song was also performed live on the album's accompanying tour.

Background

During the vocal sessions for Modern Love, producer Bob Ezrin thought that Gabriel's delivery of the line oh the pain, modern love can be strain sounded "too polite", so he offered the singer three more attempts to sing the line. Once this proved unsuccessful, Ezrin asked engineer Brian Chistian to hoist Gabriel up a ladder and duct-taped his armpits to one of the pillars in the studio. "We rolled the tape and he was up there arms flailing and screaming 'Ahh, the pain, Modern Love' and we got it."

The lyrics include sexual innuendos and references to Roman mythology and classical art, including Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. The music video was directed by Peter Medak, who Gabriel selected after watching The Ruling Class. Parts of the music video were filmed at a shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush on moving escalators, which Gabriel thought were "of the future at the time."

When asked by Melody Maker why the single failed to match the commercial performance of "Solsbury Hill", the previous single, Gabriel posited that most of the people who would have otherwise purchased "Modern Love" already had the song on the album, adding that the label was unwilling to promote the single despite a willingness for some commercial stations to play it. He also stated that he would have preferred to release "Modern Love" as the lead single instead of "Solsbury Hill". The artwork on the disc featured Gabriel nude in a Vitruvian Man pose with the spindle hole obscuring his crotch.

The idea was when you put the record on the turntable the little thing in the center gave me generous endowments. I was quite pleased with the idea at the time but it didn't go down very well. I think it joined the long list of misses from my single releases, of which there have been many."

Critical reception

Alan Jones of Melody Maker described "Modern Love" as a "rousing and highly enjoyable" power pop song. He also stated that "Modern Love" was the only song on the album that evoked the previous production work of Bob Ezrin, an observation that Gabriel agreed with. In its review of Gabriel's debut album, AllMusic characterised Modern Love as a "surging rocker". NME complimented the guitars and keyboards on "Modern Love", and quipped that the riff was "strong enough to land Concorde on."

Track listing

7" single

1. "Modern Love." – 3:06
2. "Slowburn" – 4:20

Personnel

• Peter Gabriel – lead vocals
• Robert Fripp – electric guitar
• Tony Levin – bass guitar
• Jozef Chirowski – keyboards
• Larry Fast – synthesizers
• Allan Schwartzberg – drums
• Jimmy Maelen – percussion

References

1. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 44.
2. Charone, Barbara (26 March 1977). "On the Road: Gabriel Knows What He Likes". Sounds. p. 40. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
3. Tom Power (1 July 2021). "From Pink Floyd to Peter Gabriel, producer Bob Ezrin reflects on the highlights of his career". CBC (Podcast). Event occurs at 32:52. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
4. Scarfe, Graeme (2021). Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song. United Kingdom: SonicBond. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-78952-138-2.
5. ^ "Modern Love". PeterGabriel.com. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
6. Welch, Chris (1 October 1977). "Gabriel Comes of Age". Melody Maker. p. 42. Retrieved 1 June 2024 – via The Genesis Archive.
7. "Modern Love". PeterGabriel.com. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
8. Bright, Spencer (1988). Peter Gabriel: An Authorized Biography. London, UK: Sidgwick & Jackson. pp. 196–197. ISBN 0-283-99498-3.
9. Jones, Allan (26 February 1977). "Gabriel: On the Side of the Angels". Melody Maker. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
10. Jones, Allan (12 February 1977). "Peter Gabriel interview – Melody Maker - 12 February". Melody Maker. Archived from the original on 31 March 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
11. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Peter Gabriel [1] – Peter Gabriel". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
12. Humpries, Patrick (26 February 1977). "Master Gabriel and the Priestly Egg". NME. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

• 1977 songs
• 1977 singles
• Peter Gabriel songs
• Songs written by Peter Gabriel
• Song recordings produced by Bob Ezrin