"Oh L'amour" is a song by English synthpop duo Erasure, released in April 1986 as their third single. It was issued by Mute Records in the UK and Sire Records in the U.S. to herald the June release of Erasure's debut album Wonderland, but became the third consecutive commercial failure for the band in both territories. Despite its low chart placing, "Oh L'amour" has proven to be one of Erasure's signature songs, due to its popularity in dance clubs. It remains a favourite among fans, particularly when performed live. Written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, "Oh L'amour" is a lament from someone experiencing unrequited love . The song is an uptempo, synthpop dance track and its popularity was further fueled in dance clubs by the "Funky Sisters Remix", which appeared on the UK 12 inch single and as a bonus track on the U.S. edition of Wonderland. One of the B-sides is a cover version of "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", the first time Erasure covered a song from the ABBA songbook. In 1986, "Oh L'amour" climbed to number 85 on the UK Singles Chart and became Erasure's first big hit in South Africa, in Germany, in Australia and their only one in France. In the United States, the song's biggest impact was on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, where it hit number three on July 26, 1986. A different mix of the song was submitted for the single release, adding new instrumentation and extra sounds. This version appears on all of the band's compilation albums. "Oh L'amour" was remixed in 2003 and released as a single again to promote the greatest hits package Hits! The Very Best of Erasure. In its remixed form, the song became a UK Top 20 hit, peaking at number 13 in autumn 2003. The original artwork of the "Oh L'amour" single featured illustrations from The Railway Series of characters Percy and Rheneas. As permission had not been given, this cover was withdrawn and replaced with a plain black cover with only the title and band name. A version of the 12" single was included with early copies of the debut LP Wonderland.
In 1987, British pop duo Dollar released a cover version retitled "O L'amour". Chart-wise, this version was more successful in the UK as it reached No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart, with a total of 11 weeks on the chart, and No. 4 in Ireland. It also reached No. 27 in Germany. The single was the duo's last major hit. It was sampled by electronic duo Orbital on their track "Style", which appeared on the 1999 album The Middle of Nowhere.
Track listing
UK 12" single UK 7" single
"O L'amour"
"B-Beat"
Other versions
A Hi-NRG/Eurotrance cover of the song by Spellbound featuring Deejé was released in 2000.
A cover version by DJ Dero featuring Alejandro Sergi was recorded in 2007 and included on the dance music compilation Verano 2008.
A cover version by Czech singer Petr Muk was included on the albumOh L'amour, recorded in 2004.
