(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna

1976 song by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel May 2020 February 2015 (I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna Steve Harley I Believe (Love's a Prima Donna) Single Cover 1976.jpg single Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel Love's a Prima Donna Sidetrack 1 1 October 1976 Pop, rock 4:11 EMI Steve Harley Steve Harley Here Comes the Sun 1976 (Love) Compared with You 1977 "(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released on 1 October 1976 as the second single from their fifth studio album Love's a Prima Donna.Brown David 1 October 1976 Newsdesk: Gary's greatest EP Record Mirror 3 The song was written and produced by Harley. It reached number 41 in the UK Singles Chart and would be the band's last charting single before their split in 1977. Background Following the UK Top 10 success of the lead single "Here Comes the Sun" during Summer 1976, "(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" was chosen as the second single from Love's a Prima Donna. Released in October, it peaked at number 41 on the UK Singles Chart, remaining in the top 50 for four weeks. The song debuted at number 48 in early November.https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/18068/steve-harley/ STEVE HARLEY full Official Chart History Official Charts Company Officialcharts.com 11 April 2021 Like the entire Love's a Prima Donna album, the song was recorded at Abbey Road Studios during sessions between June and September 1976.Love's a Prima Donna - sleeve notes - original vinyl album - EMI Records - ST11596 Release "(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" was released by EMI Records on 7-inch vinyl in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Japan.http://www.harleyfanzone.com/Discs/Prima.html Love's A Prima Donna Harleyfanzone.com 2013-06-29 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20141121021956/http://harleyfanzone.com/Discs/Prima.html 21 November 2014 The B-side, "Sidetrack 1", was written and produced by Harley, and has remained exclusive to the single ever since. The follow-up, "Sidetrack 2", appeared as an album track on Love's a Prima Donna. Following its original release as a single and on Love's a Prima Donna, the song has since appeared on the 1987 Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel compilation Greatest Hits,https://www.allmusic.com/song/i-believe-loves-a-prima-donna-mt0034163381 (I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna - Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Steve Harley : Listen, Appearances, Song Review AllMusic 2001-07-10 2012-12-06 and the 2006 compilation The Cockney Rebel – A Steve Harley Anthology.https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Cockney-Rebel-Harley-Anthology/dp/tracks/B000GPI2O0/ref=dp_tracks_all_1#disc_1 The Cockney Rebel: A Steve Harley Anthology: Amazon.co.uk: Music Amazon.co.uk 2012-12-26 Promotion No music video was filmed to promote the single. On 21 October 1976, the band appeared on the UK music show Top of the Pops to perform the song.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXBApgRnMec Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Love's A Prima Donna YouTube 2012-12-06 Harley also performed the song, minus the band, on ITV's Supersonic show during the same period.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkVrH-AN7F4 Steve Harley - Love's A Prima Donna (ITV Supersonic) YouTube 2016-07-27 The song has been performed during the band's live concerts on many occasions. A version was included on the band's 1977 live album Face to Face. In 1989, the band's concert at Brighton, which included the song, was released on the VHS The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Steve-Harley-Cockney-Rebel-VHS/dp/B00004CK2T Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel: Greatest Hits [VHS]: Steve Harley: Amazon.co.uk: Video Amazon.co.uk 1989-10-20 2012-12-07 Critical reception Upon its release as a single, Sue Byrom of Record Mirror described the song as one with "a lot of changes of rhythm and tempo" and a "quick burst of Queen-type backing". She felt the song was "fairly complex", which "might put its chances at risk".Byrom Sue 15 October 1976 Singles Record Mirror 10 Harborough Mail commented, "They've tried hard and the effort should pay off. Meaty, commercially-structured beat blast, full of chunky keyboard and neat pace changes."BP Discs: Singles in short https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005210/19761111/099/0008 Harborough Mail 11 November 1976 8 British Newspaper Archive subscription 12 January 2024 The Lincolnshire Standard called it "an instantly commercial offering".Pop Spot https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005169/19761029/033/0002 Lincolnshire Standard 29 October 1976 2 British Newspaper Archive subscription 10 July 2024 Mike Pryce of the Worcester Evening News praised it as the band "at their best" and continued, "Faster and fuller than some of their singles, it has a good hook in the way he sings the title line and the rest just flows."Pryce Mike Records: Single spins... https://www.newspapers.com/image/1209977795/ Worcester Evening News 12 November 1976 11 Newspapers.com subscription 11 July 2025 Terry Kirby, writing for the Alcester Chronicle, described it as a "magnificent return to form", with Harley "sing[ing] superbly on top of one of the year's most memorable choruses".Kirby Terry Terry Kirby's platter chatter https://www.newspapers.com/image/1211114693/ Alcester Chronicle 7 January 1977 4 Newspapers.com subscription 14 July 2025 Caroline Coon of Melody Maker called it an "instantly catchy pop song" that "will leave everyone speechles until it makes the chart – or not". However, she was not a fan of Harley's "ornate [self-]production", which she described as an "attempt at sound-melodrama" and "richness overflow". She wrote, "All the Harley-hooks are out, but, egomania raging, Mr Psychomodo attempts to produce himself like Mahler, Wagner and King Ludwig of Bavaria on a massive trip together. The effect is gross rather than interesting or elaborately deep."Coon Caroline New singles Melody Maker 23 October 1976 3 0025-9012 In a 1976 issue of the EMI Records Weekly News magazine Music Talk, Rex Anderson compared the song with "(Love) Compared with You": "'(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna' is a brilliant contrast. The guy has been through all the different pangs of adolescent love and comes to the realisation that 'love' is a prima donna." Later in the review, Anderson also praised Tony Rivers for his vocal arrangements on the song.http://www.harleyfanzone.com/70/Scrapbook/Reviews/Prima_Donna/music_talk_read.htm Love's A Prima Donna Harleyfanzone.com 2013-06-29 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192802/http://www.harleyfanzone.com/70/Scrapbook/Reviews/Prima_Donna/music_talk_read.htm 4 March 2016 dead In a review of the album, American magazine Billboard picked the song, along with "(Love) Compared with You", as the album's best cuts.Billboard Top Album Picks https://books.google.com/books?id=7kQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT82 29 January 1977 Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 82 In a retrospective review, Donald A. Guarisco of AllMusic commented that the song was one of "Harley's finest songs". He described it as "a bracing song that features the writer waxing comical about the pitfalls of love over a briskly paced pop tune that fleshes out its pub-piano melody with flamenco guitar and a choir".Guarisco Donald A. https://www.allmusic.com/album/loves-a-prima-donna-mw0000844439 Love's a Prima Donna - Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards AllMusic 2012-12-06 Track listing 7-inch single "(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" – 4:11 "Sidetrack 1" (Group Version) – 2:46 7-inch single (alternative release) "(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" – 4:11 "Sidetrack 1" – 2:46 Personnel Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel Steve Harley – vocals, guitar Jim Cregan – guitar, backing vocals Duncan Mackay – keyboards George Ford – bass, backing vocals Stuart Elliott – drums Lindsay Elliott – percussion Additional musicians Tony Rivers – backing vocals, backing vocal arrangement John G. Perry – backing vocals Stuart Calver – backing vocals Production Steve Harley – production Tony Clark – sound engineer Pat Stapley – assistant sound engineer Ken Perry – mastering Charts Chart (1976)PeakpositionUKsinglesbyname 41 Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel Love Is a Prima Donna 15241 true 29 November 2024 References Category:1976 songs Category:1976 singles Category:EMI Records singles Category:Songs written by Steve Harley Category:Song recordings produced by Steve Harley