Love Is Noise


"Love Is Noise" is a song by English alternative rock band The Verve and is the second track on their fourth album, Forth. It was released as the first single from the album on 3 August 2008 as a digital download, with the physical release on 11 August 2008 in the United Kingdom. The song received its first airplay by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on 23 June 2008. The promo video for the song debuted on the band's MySpace on 9 July.
The song reworks lines from William Blake's poem "And did those feet in ancient time", commonly known as 'Jerusalem'. Where Blake begins "And did those feet in ancient time, / Walk upon England's mountains green?", "Love is Noise" asks: "Will those feet in modern times / Walk on soles that are made in China?", and alludes to "bright prosaic malls" in place of "dark Satanic Mills". This is the second time Richard Ashcroft has referenced Blake, following 1995's "History".
"Love Is Noise" derived from "Columbo", another song on the album. While recording that track, Ashcroft created a new loop on a vocoder and added it to the song, which was essentially a jam the band had been working on for a few days. The band continued adding to it until it evolved into a different track.
The song has been played live as early as the late 2007 gigs, but was given different names such as "Modern Times", "Love is Pain", "Love is noise ". The band played it with a huge warm reception at 2008's Coachella as the setlist's closer, something that was repeated in Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage on 29 June.
The video for the song was released on the band's MySpace. The video mixes up shots of the band performing in a dimly-lit room, with frontman Richard Ashcroft sitting on the floor, with montages of other images, including snow-capped mountains, a North Korean choreography, a couple about to kiss, a dancer and a blonde woman with an eagle.
The single debuted in the UK Singles Chart at number five after its first week of release via online download alone. The following week the song peaked at number four and stayed five weeks in the UK top 10, marking a successful return for The Verve, who had their last top 10 hit in 1997 with "Lucky Man". It was their third UK top-five single and their fourth to crack the UK top 10. In Scotland, the song became the band's third number-one single on the Scottish Singles Chart. It also reached the top 10 in Ireland, Italy, and Sweden.

Track listings

On 3 August a digital download of the "album version" of the song was released with the song's video in the iTunes Store. A week later, an exclusive iTunes Store bundle was released featuring a "Freelance Hellraiser" remix at the same time as another bundle featuring the "album version" and the physical format's B-sides. The physical formats were released on 11 August 2008.
UK Promo CD
  1. "Love Is Noise" – 4:04
  2. "Love Is Noise" – 5:30
Digital bundle
  1. "Love Is Noise" – 5:30
  2. "Chic Dub" – 6:11
  3. "Let the Damage Begin" – 4:09
  4. "A Man Called Sun" – 5:19
iTunes Store exclusive bundle
  1. "Love Is Noise"
  2. "Love Is Noise" – 9:10
7" vinyl Gatefold
  1. "Love Is Noise"
  2. "Let the Damage Begin"
7" clear vinyl
  1. "Love Is Noise"
  2. "A Man Called Sun"
CD single
  1. "Love Is Noise"
  2. "Chic Dub"
CDR promo
  1. "Love Is Noise"
  2. "Love Is Noise"
  3. "Love Is Noise"
  4. "Love Is Noise"
  5. "Love Is Noise"
  6. "Love Is Noise"
  7. "Love Is Noise"
  8. "Love Is Noise"
  9. "Love Is Noise"

    Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications