The album was recorded following the departure member of founder member Andrea Heukamp, who had played on the band's early singles. Her only appearance on the album was playing guitar and singing backing vocals on the song "Christine". Although the split was amicable, Chadwick would later comment "Losing Andrea Heukamp was a massive, massive blow for me: I loved her voice and I loved her playing, she was easily as important as Pete, Terry or Chris." Despite the loss of Heukamp, the remaining four members continued with the recording of the debut album. The only single which would make it onto the album was "Christine": surprisingly, neither of the band's first two singles were included. Instead the band drew on other songs which Chadwick had built up. These included "Touch Me", which was the first song that Chadwick had ever written, "Man to Child" and "Road". "Love in a Car" was based on "an affair which went on too long" while "Hope" and "Sulphur" drew on Chadwick's failed first marriage Although the recording sessions for the album were completed in just over a week, the mixing sessions - allegedly fuelled by copious use of LSD - proved more problematic, with producer Pat Collier dealing with the final mix after disagreements within the band. The album was preceded by the release of "Christine" as a single in May 1988, which reached No. 1 in the independent charts. The album itself was released later in May. As with the band's previous early singles compilation, the album lacked a title and featured only the band's name on the record sleeve: consequently the album became known simply as The House of Love. A subsequent non-album single, "Destroy The Heart", was eventually voted single of the year in John Peel's Festive Fifty and was added to the end of the next pressing of The House of Love. In 2007 the reformed House of Love performed the album live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series.
Title confusion
The first three long-form House of Love releases - this album, the previous German-market early singles compilation, and the band's 1990 album on Fontana Records - would all lack of an evident title. To avoid confusion, the three untitled releases would be distinguished by informal titles: The German Album, the 1988 album remains referred to as The House Of Love or as Creation, and the 1990 album is often referred to as either Fontana or The Butterfly Album.
Andrea Heukamp - guitar and backing vocals on "Christine"
Deluxe Reissue
In November 2012Cherry Red reissued House of Love in a deluxe 3-CD package, remastered by Simon Murphy, with liner notes by Guy Chadwick and Alan McGee, and including rare band photos by band photographer, Suzie Gibbons. The package compiles all of the band's recordings while with Creation Records in 1987-88.
Track listing, disc 1: ''The House of Love''
"Christine"
"Hope"
"Road"
"Sulphur"
"Man to Child"
"Salome"
"Love in a Car"
"Happy"
"Fisherman's Tale"
"Touch Me"
"Shine On"
"Christine"
All tracks composed by Guy Chadwick.
Tracks 11 and 12 were released on a 7" bonus disc that accompanied the first 3,000 copies of the album in 1988. Andrea Heukamp appears on these two tracks, in addition to track 1.
Remastered from original tapes except 11, 12 from vinyl.
Track listing, disc 2: "Singles and B-Sides & Rarities"
Tracks 1-3 are from the "Shine On" 12"-single, and 3-6 from the "Real Animal" 12"-single ; tracks 7 and 8 are the b-sides from the "Christine" 12"-single. These early singles were first compiled on the German-release, House of Love, known as the "German Album". Tracks 9 and 10 were first released on the German Album in 1987. Andrea Heukamp appears on these recordings and sings lead vocals on "The Hill". In addition to "Shine On", both "Blind" and "Hedonist" would be re-recorded for the House of Love album.
Tracks 11-13 are the 1988 12"-single, "Destroy the Heart"
Track 14 was formerly available on the Creation Records compilation American Pensioners on Ecstasy
Track 15 was distributed as a free, single-sided flexi disc at House of Love concerts, and later made available on the Creation Records compilation Pensioners on Ecstasy. It is a solo acoustic performance by Guy Chadwick.
Tracks 16-19 are previously unreleased.
All tracks remastered from original tapes, except 15.
All songs written by Chadwick, except "Flow", "Mr Jo", and the cover of The Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog"
