I'm Not in Love

This article is about the 10cc song. For the Talking Heads song, see More Songs About Buildings and Food.

"I'm Not in Love"
Single by 10cc
from the album The Original Soundtrack
Released	31 May 1975
Format	7"
Recorded	1975
Genre	Art rock
Length	6:02 (LP) 3:40 (single)
Label	Mercury Records (U.K.) Mercury Records (U.S.A.)
Writer(s)	Eric Stewart Graham Gouldman
10cc singles chronology
"Life is a Minestrone" (1975) "I'm Not in Love" (1975) "Art for Art's Sake" (1975)

I'm Not in Love is a song written by Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman of the English group 10cc, from the album The Original Soundtrack. The lyric reveals a narrator in denial about the title's ostensible theme. The song on the b-side "Good News" also appeared as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the album.

The 10cc version

A collaborative effort built around a title by Eric Stewart, "I'm Not in Love" is notable for its innovative production, especially its choral backing.

The song was originally written around a Bossa nova beat, but group member Lol Creme suggested slowing the tempo, while another group member, Kevin Godley, suggested replacing the beat with a built-up wall of voices.

The ethereal sound was created by laboriously building up multiple overdubs of the voices of Stewart, Graham Gouldman, Godley and Creme singing a single note in unison. This multi-track was then mixed and dubbed down onto 16-track tape. This process was repeated across all 16 tracks to create a lush 256-voice "virtual" choir that could "sing" chromatic chords. A number of these prepared multi-tracks were then cut into several endless loops, each of which contained the basic notes of the main chords used in the song. The chorus loops could then be played by using the mixing desk rather like a keyboard -- each chord could be sounded by bringing up the fader for that loop. The instrumental break featured the repeated spoken phrase, "Be quiet, big boys don't cry...", spoken by Kathy Warren, the receptionist of their own Strawberry Studios where the band recorded the track. These whispered lyrics would later serve as the inspiration for the name of the 1980s band, Boys Don't Cry.

In this pre-sampler period, the group was able to simulate a large polyphonic choir, creating a dramatic tonal effect similar to that produced by the well-known choir sounds of the Mellotron and Birotron, but with a far richer sound, and in full stereo. Godley and Creme's "Gizmo" (also known as "Gizmotron") guitar effects device invention also is used to create a bowed cello effect that surfaces in the middle and closing sections of the song under the endless looped voices.

The same voice loop effect was used in Billy Joel's ballad "Just the Way You Are", released two years later.

Released in May 1975, "I'm Not In Love" became the band's second number-one single and stayed on the top spot in the UK for two weeks from June 28. The record peaked at number two in the US for three weeks, shut out of the top spot by a different number-one song each week: (Van McCoy's "The Hustle", The Eagles "One Of These Nights", and the Bee Gees' "Jive Talkin'").

In a BBC interview, Eric Stewart told how the song began as a bossa nova version, but was ditched by the band after Kevin Godley and Lol Creme dismissed it as "crap". Although the band moved on to record "One Night in Paris", they noticed that studio staff were still walking around singing "I'm Not in Love". Stewart recalled: "I looked at Graham (Gouldman), and I said that song's a hit, you know. I don't know what's going on here, but I think we got to try it again. And blow me down, Kevin came up with the idea. He said, 'Let's do something very different. Now let's do a whole track and the whole backing track is voices.'"

The song, once complete, became instrumental in 10cc's launch to international fame. According to Stewart, the band was already being courted by Phonogram to leave Jonathan King's UK Records label and sign a new deal. He said: "I rang them. I said come and have a listen to what we've done, come and have a listen to this track. And they came up and they freaked, and they said, 'This is a masterpiece. How much money, what do you want? What sort of a contract do you want? We'll do anything.' On the strength of that one song, we did a five-year deal with them for five albums and they paid us a serious amount of money."

Preceded by "Whispering Grass" by Windsor Davies and Don Estelle

UK number-one single 28 June 1975 (2 weeks)

Succeeded by "Tears on My Pillow" by Johnny Nash

Cover versions

"I'm Not in Love"
Single by Olive
from the album Trickle
Released	27 June 2000
Format	12", CD
Recorded	1999
Genre	Dance
Length	4:39
Label	Maverick
Olive singles chronology
"Outlaw" (1997) "I'm Not in Love" (2000)

One of the most covered songs in pop/rock history, "I'm Not in Love" has been recorded by Petula Clark, Hervé Vilard (French and Spanish versions in 1975), Richie Havens, Dee Dee Sharp-Gamble, Amy Grant, Grandaddy, Stanley Turrentine, Chris Standring, Johnny Logan, Richard Clayderman, Krisma, Undercover, George Monroe, with a more danceable cover version, in 1989, Will to Power (whose version peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1991), Deborah Blando - whose version in Portuguese, Somente O Sol (Only the Sun), was a huge hit in Brazil thanks to its inclusion on the soundtrack of the soap opera "Corpo Dourado" (Golden Body), The Pretenders, Mike Francis, Brotherhood of Man, Red Red Meat, John O'Banion, Outrageous Cherry, Chyp-Notic, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Päivi Kautto-Niemi, The BB Band, Olive, Geb.el, Gloritone, Tori Amos, Unfinished Thought, Donny Osmond, Rick Springfield, Deni Hines, Queen Latifah, Lazlo Bane, Tex Perkins & His Ladyboyz, Rozz Williams (Accept the Gift of Sin), Juice, F. R. David, and Japanese singer Ryohei. Former Supreme Scherrie Payne had a club hit with her version of the song in 1982 on Megatone Records.

In 1990, french singer Roé released a spanish language version of this song called "Soledad(Viejecita)".

In 1992, saxophonist Richard Elliot performed a cover for his album "Soul Embrace."

In 2010, Rock Sugar (band) made a remix-cover of this song and Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law" called "Breaking the Love" on their album "Reimaginator".

Also in 2010, brazilian singer and actress Marisa Orth recorded it for her debut album "Romance Volume II".

Olive version

Following their debut album, the English trip hop band Olive recorded a cover of the song. At the cusp of their new record contract with Maverick Records at the time, the band debuted the song on the label's soundtrack for the Madonna film The Next Best Thing before releasing it as the debut single from their second album, Trickle.

Fronted by the lone vocals of singer Ruth-Ann Boyle, the song simulated the backing tracks of the original; the most audible modification made to the song is a percussion track in the style of drum and bass, turning the song into an upbeat dance track.

Accompanied by dance-oriented remixes on the single release, the song gained sufficient nightclub play to reach number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart (on the week of 1 July 2000), as well as airplay on dance-hits format radio.

Preceded by "Flash" by Green Velvet

Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single 1 July 2000

Succeeded by "Don't You Want My Love" by Rosabel featuring Debbie Jacobs-Rock

Ultrabeat version

British scouse house band Ultrabeat recorded a dance version of the song in 2006 with All Around the World records. The song is taken from their debut album called Ultrabeat - The Album and it appeared on Clubland 10 as "I'm Not in Love 2006". It is available to listen to on AATW.com.

Included in soundtracks

1. Hotel de Love (1996)
2. Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)
3. That 70's show, episode Prom Night (1999)
4. The Virgin Suicides (2000)
5. The Office, episode "Judgement" (2001)
6. Cherish (2002)
7. Hope Springs (2003)
8. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004)
9. Blackpool (2005)
10. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)
11. Big Love, episode Dating Game (2007)
12. Medium, episode "To Have and To Hold" (2008)
13. Franklin & Bash, episode "Pilot" (2011)

See also

• Number-one dance hits of 2000 (USA)

External links

• I’m Not In Love – Tori Amos [Song Review & Lyrics] on ICELIA | Music & Media