| Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls | |
| Cover: | BOLPBAPG.jpeg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Book of Love |
| Album: | Lullaby |
| B-Side: | Tubular Bells |
| Released: | May 24, 1988 |
| Recorded: | 1987–1988 |
| Genre: | Synth-pop, new wave |
| Length: | 4:26 (album version) 4:48 (single version) |
| Label: | Sire Records |
| Producer: | Flood and Ted Ottaviano |
| Prev Title: | Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes) |
| Prev Year: | 1987 |
| Next Title: | Lullaby |
| Next Year: | 1989 |
"Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" is the fifth single released by the American synth-pop band Book of Love. The song was the first single released prior to the band's second album Lullaby in 1988.
"Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" became the band's highest-charting single at no. 90 in the Billboard Hot 100, and their only track that crossed over into mainstream pop. In the dance clubs, the song was a smash, and made it to no. 5 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, spending 11 weeks on the chart.
"Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" became one of the first songs ever to address the issue of the AIDS epidemic, featuring the lyrics of "strangers in the night exchanging glances, but sex is dangerous, I don't take my chances...safe sex, safe sex."
The B-side to the single is a cover of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells", originally became famous as the theme song in popular horror movie The Exorcist. For the track, the band sampled band member Lauren Roselli crying "Mother, make it stop!", channeling Linda Blair's role as Regan from the movie.[1] For the 12" release of the single, "Tubular Bells" and "Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" were mixed together as a fourteen-minute medley by Scott Blackwell and Bob Brockmann. The album Lullaby also begins with a shorter version of "Tubular Bells", which flows seamlessly into "Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls", the second track on the album.[1]
A promotional video was shot and released for "Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls"; an alternate version of the video was also released using the medley edit of "Tubular Bells/Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls”.
Side A:"Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" (7" Edit) - 4:30
Side B:"Tubular Bells" (7" Mix) - 4:23
Side A:"Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" (7" Edit) - 4:30
Side B:"Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" (7" Edit) - 4:30
Side A:"Tubular Bells/Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" (Medley Edit) - 4:25
Side B:"Tubular Bells/Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" (Medley Edit) - 4:25
Side A:
Side B:
"Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" written by Theodore Ottaviano. "Tubular Bells" written by Mike Oldfield. All instruments arranged, programmed, and performed by Book of Love.
12" Sleeve Credits
| Year | Version | Length | Mixed/Remixed by | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Album version | 4:26 | Alan Meyerson | Found on all formats of the album Lullaby.* |
| 1988 | 7" Edit | 4:30 | Alan Meyerson | A slightly shorter edit of the 7" Mix/Single version. Found only on the 7" vinyl single (Sire Records 7–27858) and 7" promo vinyl single (Sire Records 7–27858). |
| 1988 | 7" Mix/Single version | 4:48 | Alan Meyerson | Found on the 12" vinyl single and the CD .* |
| 1988 | Extended Mix | 7:19 | Scott Blackwell and Bob Brockmann | Found on the 12" vinyl single, CD promo single, and the 2009 reissue CD of Lullaby (Noble Rot). |
| 1988 | "Tubular Bells/Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" (Regan's House Medley) | 14:24 | Scott Blackwell and Bob Brockmann | A super extended remix combining the two as a medley. Found on the 12" vinyl single, CD promo single, and the 2009 reissue CD of Lullaby (Noble Rot). |
| 1988 | "Tubular Bells/Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" (Medley Edit) | 4:25 | Alan Meyerson | Found only on the 7" vinyl promo single (Sire Records 7-27858-A). |
Official versions of B-side "Tubular Bells"
| Year | Version | Length | Mixed/Remixed by | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Album version | 3:00 | Alan Meyerson | Found on all formats of the album Lullaby.* |
| 1988 | 7" Mix | 4:23 | Alan Meyerson | Found on the 7" and 12" vinyl singles of "Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls". |
| 1988 | 7" Edit | 4:09 | Alan Meyerson | A shorter edit of the 7" Mix. Found only the CD of .* |
" * " denotes that version is available as digital download