The Night You Murdered Love Explained

The Night You Murdered Love
Cover:	The Night You Murdered Love.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	ABC
Album:	Alphabet City
B-Side:	Minneapolis
Released:	^[1]
Recorded:	1987
Studio:	Marcus Recording Studios (London)
Genre:	Sophisti-pop^[2] blue-eyed soul^[3]
Length:	4:53
Label:	Mercury Neutron PolyGram Vertigo
Producer:	Martin Fry Mark White Bernard Edwards
Prev Title:	When Smokey Sings
Prev Year:	1987
Next Title:	King Without a Crown
Next Year:	1988

"The Night You Murdered Love" is a song by English band ABC, released in August 1987 by Mercury as the second single from their fourth studio album, Alphabet City (1987). It peaked at No. 31 on the UK Singles Chart.

Music video

The music video shows a homicidal fashion model carrying a slingshot and a skateboard stalking the band across the city of Paris.

Critical reception

Jerry Smith of British magazine Music Week described "The Night You Murdered Love" a "glamorous and dramatic number" and noted "its Chic-style funky guitar and sweeping strings".^[4] In a review published in Smash Hits, Sylvia Patterson described the song as being "desperately dreary, flimsily tinkling, half-hearted puff of a record that makes you want to be instantly sick on Martin Fry's expensive breeks".^[5]

Track listing

7" single

1. "The Night You Murdered Love" – 4:53
2. "Minneapolis" – 2:57

US 12" single

• A1 "The Night You Murdered Love" (Sheer Chic Mix) – 6:31

Mixed by – The Funky Sisters, Pete Hammond

• A2 "Minneapolis" – 2:57
• B1 "The Night You Murdered Love" (The Whole Story) – 8:14

Rap [Featuring] – Contessa Lady V

• B2 "The Night You Murdered Love" (The Reply) – 4:50

Rap [Featuring] – Contessa Lady V

• B3 "The Night You Murdered Love" (Bonus Beats) – 4:53^[6]

Charts

Weekly-chart performance for "The Night You Murdered Love"

Chart (1987)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart^[7]	31
UK Dance (Music Week)^[8]	17
US Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs Chart^[9]	3
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales Chart	33
West Germany (Official German Charts)^[10]	20

Notes and References

1. 22 August 1987 . Index: ABC . . 6 . 0144-5804.
2. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/bluffer/sophisti-pop.htm Stylusmagazine.com
3. http://www.allmusic.com/album/alphabet-city-mw0000188973 AllMusic
4. Singles . Jerry . Smith . . 29 August 1987 . 22 . World Radio History . 11 September 2023.
5. Singles reviewed by Sylvia Patterson . . 9 . 17 . 26 August – 8 September 1987 . Patterson . Sylvia . 55 . 0260-3004 . World Radio History . 21 November 2023 . Sylvia Patterson.
6. Web site: ABC - The Night You Murdered Love at Discogs . discogs.com. 2016-11-09.
7. Web site: The Official Charts Company – The Night You Murdered Love by ABC Search . 6 May 2013. The Official Charts Company.
8. Top Dance Singles . . 3 October 1987 . 17 . World Radio History . 11 September 2023.
9. Web site: ABC . ABC – Awards . AllMusic . 2012-06-23.
10. Web site: charts.de . charts.de . 2012-06-23.