Come Live with Me (Heaven 17 song) explained

Come Live With Me
Cover:	Heaven17comelivewithme.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Heaven 17
Album:	The Luxury Gap
B-Side:	Let's All Make a Bomb (New Version)
Released:	June 1983^[1]
Genre:	Synthpop, new wave
Length:	3:35
Label:	Virgin
Producer:	British Electric Foundation Greg Walsh
Prev Title:	We Live So Fast
Prev Year:	1983
Next Title:	Crushed by the Wheels of Industry
Next Year:	1983

"Come Live With Me" is a song by the British synthpop band Heaven 17, which was released in 1983 as the fourth single from their second album The Luxury Gap.^[2] It was written by Glenn Gregory, Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware, and produced by Marsh and Ware (British Electric Foundation) and Greg Walsh. "Come Live with Me" peaked at number 5 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for eleven weeks. It would be the band's last UK top 10 hit until the Brothers in Rhythm remix of "Temptation" in 1992.^[3]

Critical reception

On its release, Helen Fitzgerald of Melody Maker felt "Come Live with Me" failed to better the band's previous hit "Temptation", but added that the "moody and sad" song "is still sublime". She described it as "mature", "strong" and "an emotionally wistful relinquishment of lost youth".^[4] Max Bell of Number One described it as "an extraordinary choice of single" and added, "After the sublime 'Temptation' this begging letter from an older man to a younger girl seems far too reflective and lyrically top-heavy to strike a common chord."^[5] John Shearlaw of Record Mirror felt the single, despite their recent success with "Temptation", "proves that Heaven 17 aren't really in the big league at all". He described the song as "a fine idea (as usual) but one that gets lost entirely with some incredibly clumsy phrasing and unnecessary frippery".^[6] Robin Eggar of the Daily Mirror felt the song was not as strong as "Temptation" but predicted "it's good enough to make the top ten".^[7]

Formats

7-inch single

1. "Come Live with Me" - 3:35 (remixed version)
2. "Let's All Make a Bomb" (New version) - 5:05

12-inch single

1. "Come Live with Me" (Extended version) - 4:25
2. "Let's All Make a Bomb" (New version) - 5:09
3. "Song With No Name" (New version) - 4:14

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[8]

Heaven 17

• Glenn Gregory - vocals
• Martyn Ware - synthesizers, Linn LM-1 programming, backing vocals, producer
• Ian Craig Marsh - synthesizers, producer

Additional personnel

• Greg Walsh - producer, engineer
• Ray Russell - guitars, guitar synthesizer
• John Barker - orchestral arrangement and conductor

Charts

Chart (1983)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[9]	100
Irish Singles Chart^[10]	7
UK Singles Chart	5

Notes and References

1. Web site: Heaven 17 - Come Live With Me / Let's All Make A Bomb (New Version) - Virgin - UK - VS 607 . 45cat . 2018-03-20.
2. Web site: Heaven 17 - The Luxury Gap at Discogs . Discogs.com . 2012-06-23.
3. Web site: Heaven 17 - Full Official Charts History. Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. 2016-01-19.
4. Fitzgerald . Helen . 18 June 1983 . Singles . . 26.
5. Bell . Max . 18 June 1983 . Singles . . 37.
6. Shearlaw . John . 18 June 1983 . Singles . . 16.
7. News: Eggar . Robin . 14 June 1983 . Rob's Top Tips . . 23.
8. The Luxury Gap . . . 1983 . V2253 . liner notes.
9. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 137. 0-646-11917-6.
10. Web site: Jaclyn Ward. The Irish Charts - All there is to know . Irishcharts.ie . 2012-06-23.