The song's composers, Valerie Avon and Harold Spiro, had worked together as staff writers for Belwin Mills Publishing since 1970 and had placed songs with several artists: Newton-John had recorded the Avon/Spiro composition "Don't Move Away" as a duet with Cliff Richard, the track serving as B-side to Richard's 1971 hit "Sunny Honey Girl".
"Long Live Love" was the third bid Avon and Spriro had made to have a song of their composing be the UK Eurovision entrant, having finished 4th in a field of six at A Song For Europe 1970 with "Can I Believe" while at A Song For Europe 1971 the Avon/Spiro composition "In My World of Beautiful Things" had finished 6th in a field of six. Newton-John introduced one of each of the six nominated songs on a broadcast of Jimmy Savile's Clunk ClickTV show; on 23 February 1974 a TV broadcast entitled A Song For Europe 1974 announced the tally of viewers' mailed-in ballots, with "Long Live Love" the clear victor at 27,387 votes. The runner-up, "Angel Eyes" - which was Newton-John's favourite - gained 18,018 votes. Newton-John made recorded versions of all the songs she had performed for UK Eurovision 1974 consideration, these tracks making up half of Long Live Love, a December 1974 Olivia Newton-John album release, with "Angel Eyes" being utilized as the B-side of the single release of "Long Live Love."
At Eurovision
Considered a strong contender for Eurovision 1974, "Long Live Love" was performed second on the night of the final. The conductor for the number was Nick Ingman and Newton-John was backed by a five-woman chorale which included the Ladybirds, the trio who had sung backup for Sandie Shaw on her victorious performance of "Puppet on a String" at Eurovision 1967. At the close of voting "Long Live Love" had received 14 points to place in a three-way tie for 4th in a field of 17, "Bye Bye I Love You" by Ireen Sheer singing for Luxembourg and "Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va" by Romuald singing for Monaco also having accrued 14 points. Newton-John admitted post-contest: "I was never really happy with the song I had to sing." "Long Live Love" was succeeded as British representative at the 1975 contest by The Shadows "Let Me Be the One". Olivia Newton-John would be the last solo act to represent the UK at Eurovision until Eurovision 1985.
Chart performance
In the British Isles "Long Live Love" charted in the UK with a #11 peak and reached #9 in Ireland: the track also afforded Newton-John a #11 hit in her adopted homeland of Australia. In anticipation of a boost from its expected strong Eurovision showing, "Long Live Love" was widely released throughout mainland Europe with the track having its highest global impact in Norway with a three-week chart peak tenure at #3, being kept from #1 by the chart-topping 1974 Eurovision victor "Waterloo" with first "Devil Gate Drive" and then "Seasons in the Sun" at #2. However "Long Live Love" did not afford Newton-John widespread European success, otherwise charting only on Belgium's Dutch chart and in Finland. Newton-John herself recorded a German-language version of "Long Live Love", while renderings in Norwegian and Finnish were recorded by respectively Gluntan and Päivi Paunu.
