Book of Love (band)

American synth pop band

Book of Love is an American synth pop and electronic band, formed in 1983 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and later based in New York City. Led by vocalist Susan Ottaviano, the band also includes keyboardists Ted Ottaviano (no relation to Susan), Lauren Roselli and Jade Lee. The band gained its first exposure as the opening act for two Depeche Mode tours in 1985 and 1986.

Their biggest success came on the US dance charts, placing seven singles in the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart between 1985 and 1993. The group's largest exposure on pop radio was with the song "Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls", one of the first songs to openly address the AIDS epidemic. Book of Love's music has been featured in various films and television over the years. The band's song "Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)" was featured in the 1987 John Hughes film Planes, Trains & Automobiles as well as in the Miami Vice episode, "God's Work". Also, the song "Enchanted," from the band's Lovebubble album, appeared on the soundtrack to the 1993 film Naked in New York, and the song "I Touch Roses," was featured in the 2000 movie "American Psycho." Since their active years, Book of Love's songs "Boy" and "I Touch Roses" have been rediscovered by new audiences. Both their original versions and subsequent remixes are heard in both dance clubs and on alternative radio stations. In February, 2001—sixteen years after its first dance chart entry—Book of Love had its first #1 hit on the US dance chart when "Boy," a track originally from its debut album, was remixed and re released as the lead single from their greatest hits collection, I Touch Roses: The Best of Book of Love. A 7" record was released on Burn Potential Records including three songs, A sides: "Teenage Idol" and "Non Melodic", and B side "Jungle Jam", which has been described as "an offbeat love song to the city of Philly." Ted Ottaviano, a commuting member of Head Cheese, was one of the executive producers, co wrote "Non Melodic" with Susan, and also did photography for the record sleeve. Book of Love was officially formed in May 1983. The band name Book of Love is taken from the song "The Book of Love" by The Monotones. Book of Love's contribution to the compilation was the song "Henna", becoming their first song released. bubblegum, The Psychedelic Furs, Reflecting on that time, Ted Ottaviano stated, "I was fascinated with Altered Images and other bands that were incorporating bells and chimes into their music. Long brass chimes, tubular bells, whatever. It sounded right, for the time." After having a hit with "Boy", the band quit their day jobs. Upon returning from the Depeche Mode tour, the band went straight into the recording studio to record "Happy Day" for inclusion on the UK single of "Boy". The remainder of the summer was spent on a small club tour of the southern states that the Depeche Mode tour had skipped over, and recording the songs "I Touch Roses" and "Lost Souls" for the next single. "I Touch Roses" was then released in September 1985. Daniel Miller, founder of Mute Records and producer of Depeche Mode, remixed the song as a single remix and an extended 'Full Bloom Version' for the European single that was released in early 1986. "I Touch Roses" became a big club hit, peaking at no. 8 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. "We were the little choo choo train. We didn't know it at the time, but thankfully with "I Touch Roses", it was not preordained that Sire was developing us at the time. There was no grand scheme. It was more a la carte. But then people started picking up on 'Roses' and then the album happened," recalled Ted Ottaviano in 2009. Following the success of "I Touch Roses", the band resumed work on the album in September 1985 at Unique Recording and Sigma Sound Studios in New York City, recording the seven new songs that would make up the rest of their debut album. Recording of the album was finally finished in January 1986. The eponymous debut album Book of Love was finally released on April 1, 1986, during the peak of synthpop in the 1980s. "You Make Me Feel So Good" was released as the first official single from the record on July 31, 1986, and became Book of Love's first CHR radio hit. The song was remixed for the single by Jellybean and Ivan Ivan. Album track "Lost Souls", was also remixed and extended by Mark Kamins and included on the 12 inch single. In April 1986, a music video was filmed on location in New York City for "You Make Me Feel So Good" and released in late July along with the single to promote the album. In 1986, Depeche Mode once again asked the band to be their opening act. Finally with an album to promote, Book of Love toured as the opening act on the massive Depeche Mode Black Celebration Tour, joining the band's first European leg on April 29, 1986, in Hanover, West Germany, and playing 48 shows in twelve weeks throughout the full North American leg which ended on July 15, 1986, in Irvine, California. Once the Depeche Mode tour was through, the band set out on their own headlining tour of clubs, beginning in Boston on August 8, 1986, and ending in Albion, Michigan in March 1987. "Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)" is an ode to Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani. The track was penned by Jade Lee, Susan and Ted Ottaviano, who had been inspired by the Italian painter's works and history. and both the original single and 'Requiem Mass' remix were used in the 1987 film Planes, Trains and Automobiles. In 1987, Philadelphia based satirical punk rock band The Dead Milkmen released a single ironically titled "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)", which hurled insults about the fans of then current popular club artists, calling them "pathetic", "art fags", "boring bisexuals", and "Danceteria types". Book of Love was specifically named with other bands The Smiths, Depeche Mode, and Public Image Ltd. with the line, "you'll dance to anything by Book of Love". The end of the song effectively lumped the bands together as "a bunch of stupid Europeans who come over here with their big hairdos intent on taking our money instead of giving your cash, where it belongs, to a decent American artist like myself." The new CD edition included five bonus remixes. In a 2009 interview, Ted Ottaviano stated, "It's the classic story. We weren't quite sure where the first album would take us, and it ended up taking us on a ride. But then we had to turn right around and write and record songs for the follow up. I'm not sure we had enough distance, enough time, to fully grasp what this meant or entailed." In late September 1987, the band eventually convened at D+D Recording and Unique Recording Studios in New York to record with esteemed producer Mark Ellis, aka Flood (Depeche Mode, Erasure, Nitzer Ebb, Nine Inch Nails), who had just produced Erasure's The Circus the previous year, along with engineering on U2's The Joshua Tree. Flood co produced the record with Ted Ottaviano. Reflecting on the recording in 2009, Susan Ottaviano stated, "It was great to be part of some of Ted's Cecil B. DeMille styled productions. We had a full orchestra and a bagpipe player wearing a kilt for the song "Lullaby". We also recorded the organ at Cathedral of St. John the Divine (NYC) for "With a Little Love". It was such an amazing experience." Recording in New York ended on December 18, 1987, with the band reuniting with Flood on January 1, 1988 to record vocals at the Great Hall at Hansa Tonstudio Berlin. The song peaked at no. 27 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart and spent seven weeks on the chart. The band had intended to tour in the fall of 1988, but the illness of a band member delayed the tour until 1989. In late December 1988, the band played several warm up shows including N. Y. C., five dates in Texas, and Norman, Oklahoma on January 2, 1989. The band took two weeks out of their tour schedule in mid April to remix the track "Witchcraft", and another week in May to edit the song for the next single. The third and final single taken from the album was "Witchcraft" and released July 15, 1989. It was the only single from the album that failed to make the Billboard charts. The songs for Candy Carol were written and recorded in 1989 and 1990, and were "musically based on the late 60s pop idiom". The band's intent was to record a modern album recreating the style of late 1960s pop. The band spent time recording the album at three different studios in New York City with Ted Ottaviano co producing the record with Ben Grosse. Lauren Roselli, for the first time, contributed creatively as a songwriter, and co wrote two songs, "Flower Parade" and "Counting the Rosaries". Another album track titled "Wall Song", a semi instrumental piece, was inspired by the breakdown of the Berlin Wall, and features spoken word sections of Jade Lee reading a German version of the poem "Autumn" by Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. After the taking a break in early March to pursue individual projects, they reconvened on April 16, 1990 at The Hit Factory to record vocals until mid May. The remixing of "Alice Everyday" took producer Ben Grosse a couple extra weeks, causing the label to push the release back. The first single taken from the record was "Alice Everyday", released before the album in January 1991, and features sing song vocals and a refrain consisting of a laundry list of girls' names. The title of the song "Alice Everyday" is an actual real name of a woman from the 1800s that Ted Ottaviano came across while collecting girls names in a notebook. The album sleeve, designed by Jade Lee and photographed by Marc David Cohen, is of a crafted snow globe with miniatures of the band members performing amid falling snowflakes. In 2000, the band worked away at Sound Umbrella studio in New York City, preparing new songs for the release. Another new production on the compilation was a reworking of the song "Sunny Day". Ted Ottaviano produced the new version which included guitar from Lori Lindsay, who would later collaborate with Ted Ottaviano and Lauren (Roselli) Johnson as lead vocalist and guitarist in The Myrmidons. I Touch Roses: The Best of Book of Love was released on March 13, 2001, with sixteen tracks spanning the group's entire catalog. The compilation album failed to chart on the Billboard charts. The only singles omitted from the collection were "Witchcraft" and "Boy Pop", along with fan favorite album cuts such as "With A Little Love", "Turn The World", and "Sound and Vision". In additional support of the greatest hits collection, the band temporarily reunited to play a small scale club tour visited cities spanning coast to coast in 2001. Following the small tour, the band went their separate ways once again. In a March 2001 interview, Ted Ottaviano explained how the band attracted a gay audience. "Even with our first hit, 'Boy', the song was really about a bigger idea. It was about feeling different, wanting to be a part of something, and making your own way in spite of that." The band's second album Lullaby was remastered and reissued as a single disc containing five bonus tracks, including the 14:25 minute medley of "Tubular Bells/Pretty Boys And Pretty Girls" and the hard to find B side "Enchantra". Candy Carol, the band's third album, was also remastered and reissued on a single disc with four bonus tracks, including the industrial tinged remix of "Alice Everyday" (Sam the Butcher Mix). The band's final album Lovebubble was remastered and reissued as a single disc with four bonus tracks, including two remixes of the dance smash "Boy Pop". In celebration of the reissued albums and 25 years since recording "Boy", the quartet came together yet again for a one night only show on September 27, 2009 at the Highline Ballroom in New York City.

On April 27, 2013 Book of Love once again reformed to play a one off show in Houston, Texas at Numbers Night Club. Ted Ottaviano, Lauren Johnson (formerly Roselli) and singer Susan Ottaviano performed the show as a trio, as keyboardist Jade Lee was unable to attend. Most all of the hits were played with some new samples and instrumentation. In a 2013 podcast interview, Ted Ottaviano explained Jade's absence, "Jade is creatively involved with us whenever we work on any new material. She's still a Book of Love band member. This is something from when we first disbanded in the '90s, this was the thing she basically didn't really feel as interested in pursuing with us. And on select shows, if she can be there, she will." "All Girl Band" was released as a single to promote the compilation, as well as a lyrics video of the song featuring different shots of the single's artwork. On January 19, 2018, Notefornote Music and Rhino Records released The Sire Years: 1985 1993, a CD anthology of newly remastered fan favorites culled from the band's first four albums. Earlier that month, the band announced a North American tour in support of the project.

In 1993, Ted Ottaviano began collaborating with vocalist Basil Lucas on a dance music project called Doubleplusgood, a term meaning "excellent" or "splendid", taken from George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty Four. Doubleplusgood released a total of five songs from 1993 through 1997: "Conga Té", "Theme From Doubleplusgood", "Sunny Day" (w/Lambert Moss on lead vocals), "The Winding Song", and "Boogala". Doubleplusgood had a couple significant dance club hits with "Conga Té" reaching no. 12 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1993, and "The Winding Song", reaching no. 2 in 1996. Throughout the rest of the 1990s, Ted Ottaviano continued work doing the following remixes for other artists: The Heads' "Damage I've Done" (Sound Bisquit Vocal Mix) in 1996, Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" (3 Remixes) in 1997, David Byrne's "Wicked Little Doll" (Valley of the Doll Parts Dub Mix) in 1997, and two remixes of Hole's "Malibu" in 1999. In the mid 2000s, he also produced the New York City band Dangerous Muse's The Rejection EP and Give Me Danger EP, as well as the group The Ones, and many other local dance bands. She is a respected and sought after food stylist and recipe developer that is known for "her creative and painterly approach to food." Lauren Roselli married and became Lauren Johnson. Jade Lee is a graphic designer and artist, and still contributes creatively to Book of Love while preferring not to tour with the band. They recruited former singer and guitarist of The Prissteens, Lori Lindsay, an acquaintance of Lauren (Roselli) Johnson, because she was a "musical kindred spirit." On September 29, 2015, a compilation titled: THE GOLDEN TOYS, The Myrmidons compiled (2005 2015) was released digitally as a 10 song retrospective, and included one new track "Happy Together".