I Believe in a Thing Called Love

"I Believe in a Thing Called Love"
Single by The Darkness
from the album Permission to Land
B-side	"Makin Out" "Physical Sex" "Out of My Hands"
Released	March 17, 2003 (U.K.)
Format	CD, DVD and 7" picture disc
Genre	Hard rock, glam metal
Length	3:40
Label	Must Destroy
Writer(s)	Justin Hawkins Dan Hawkins Ed Graham Frankie Poullain
Producer	Pedro Ferreira
The Darkness singles chronology
"Growing on Me" (2003) "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (2003) "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)" (2003)

"I Believe in a Thing Called Love" is a 2003 single by the English rock band The Darkness. This was released as a single twice, the first time in August 2002 with "Love On The Rocks With No Ice" and "Love Is Only A Feeling." In September 2003, it was released as the third single off Permission to Land. It charted the second time reaching number two on the UK Singles Charts, beaten to number one by The Black Eyed Peas' "Where Is the Love?".

Lead singer Justin Hawkins sings much of the song in a falsetto. This was one of ten songs on their debut album, Permission to Land, which was released in July 2003 on the Must Destroy record label and Atlantic Records. In March 2005, Q magazine placed "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" at number 47 in its list of the 101 Greatest Guitar Tracks. It is also placed 493 on The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born on Blender magazine. Most recently, it ranked at 276 of Pitchfork's 500 Top Tracks of the 2000s and was ranked number one for Classic Rock Magazine's list of "The Greatest Rock Songs Of The Noughties".

The song was also featured on The Darkness's single "Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)", a live version from Knebworth House in Knebworth, Hertfordshire in 2003.

The song was named the 94th best hard rock song of all time by VH1 (based on fan voting).

The song went #1 on the iTunes Rock charts in February 2012 after Justin Hawkins appeared in a commercial during Super Bowl XLVI.

Track listings

CD Single

1. "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (Single version)
2. "Makin' Out"
3. "Physical Sex"

DVD Single

1. "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (Single version)
2. "Out of my Hands"
3. "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" Music video
4. Video Clips

Vinyl

1. "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" – 3:36
2. "Makin' Out"

Music video

The music video for the song launched the band into the U.S. market. Directed by Alex Smith, the band is shown on a spaceship performing and battling monsters. Jim Freedlander assisted in designing props and monsters.

Cover versions

• Hayseed Dixie on their 2004 album Let There Be Rockgrass.
• Damien Dempsey on the 2003 charity album Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 1.
• Lemar on the 2007 BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge CD, which includes a short section of All My Life.
• Artist Vs Poet on the 2010 compilation Rockin' Romance II
• Nitritt on their debut 2010 EP "Gallery of Time"
• Johnny Robinson as a contestant on The X Factor in 2011.

Cultural references

This song was featured on the music video games Karaoke Revolution Volume 2 and Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades; as source music in an episode of The Bill; and in the film, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. It was also on the original Singstar. It is also featured in Rock Band 3 as downloadable content.

The song was featured in a 2012 Super Bowl commercial for the Samsung Note. This propelled the song to the number one spot on U.S. download charts—a higher spot than it had ever held previously.

Chart performance

Chart (2003–2004)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	40
Dutch Singles Chart	12
German Singles Chart	47
Irish Singles Chart	5
New Zealand Singles Chart	10
Norwegian Singles Chart	14
Swedish Singles Chart	8
UK Rock Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	2
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	9