Valentine (T'Pau song)

"Valentine" is a song by British band T'Pau, which was released in 1988 as the fifth single from their debut studio album Bridge of Spies. It was written by Ronnie Rogers and Carol Decker, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker.[2] It reached No. 9 in the UK and remained on the charts for eight weeks.[3]

"Valentine"
Single by T'Pau
from the album Bridge of Spies
B-side"Giving My Love Away"
Released18 January 1988[1]
Recorded1987
GenrePop rock
Length3:53
LabelSiren Records, Virgin Records
Songwriter(s)Ronnie Rogers, Carol Decker
Producer(s)Roy Thomas Baker
T'Pau singles chronology
"Bridge of Spies"
(1988)		 "Valentine"
(1988)		 "Sex Talk (Live)"
(1988)

A promotional video was filmed to promote the single, directed by Brian Grant.[4][5] The single's B-side, "Giving My Love Away", was exclusive to the single.[6] For the 12" vinyl and CD versions of the single, a bonus cover version of "I'm a Believer" was included, which featured Rogers on lead vocal.[7]

Speaking to Songfacts in 2015, Decker revealed of the song: "I wrote it about an ex of mine. We would bump into each other after we split and he'd moved on and had a nice girlfriend. We'd smile and say "Hi," but I was still crazy about him so I always had to hide how I felt, and be cool and casual."[8]

In 1993, the song re-entered the charts and reached No. 53 when it was re-issued to promote the compilation Heart and Soul – The Very Best of T'Pau.[3]

When the parent album, Bridge of Spies, was released in 1987, the inner sleeve incorrectly contained the lyrics to the substantially different demo of "Valentine", instead of the eventual recorded version included on the album and released as a single.

Critical reception

Upon release, Karen Swayne of Number One wrote: "This is classic T'Pau – epic, dramatic and incredibly important sounding – and shouldn't harm their career one little bit."[9] Tom Hibbert of Smash Hits commented: "There were some irritating number ones in 1987, but T'Pau's "China in Your Hand" took the biscuit, didn't it? This is not much better. In fact, it's almost entirely the same, though, thankfully, a little less hysterical. Quite bad."[10]

Formats

Original release
7" single
  1. "Valentine" – 3:53
  2. "Giving My Love Away" – 3:10
12" single
  1. "Valentine" – 3:55
  2. "Giving My Love Away" – 3:19
  3. "I'm A Believer" – 3:24
CD single
  1. "Valentine" – 3:53
  2. "Giving My Love Away" – 3:10
  3. "I'm A Believer" – 3:24
  4. "China in Your Hand (Live)" – 5:49

1993 re-issue
7" single
  1. "Valentine"
  2. "China in Your Hand (Live)"
Cassette single
  1. "Valentine"
  2. "China in Your Hand (Live)"
CD single
  1. "Valentine"
  2. "Heart and Soul (Live)"
  3. "China in Your Hand (Live)"
  4. "Sex Talk (Live)"

Chart performance
Original release
Chart (1988) Peak
position
Belgian Singles Chart[11] 16
Dutch Singles Chart[12] 17
German Singles Chart[13] 37
Irish Singles Chart[14] 10
Swiss Singles Chart[15] 21
UK Singles Chart[3] 9
(UK) North East Top 20[16] 5
1993 re-issue
Chart (1993) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[3] 53

Personnel
T'Pau
  • Carol Decker – lead vocals
  • Dean Howard – lead guitar
  • Ronnie Rogers – rhythm guitar
  • Michael Chetwood – keyboards
  • Paul Jackson – bass guitar
  • Tim Burgess – drums, percussion
Production
  • Roy Thomas Baker – producer of "Valentine"
  • Jerry Napier – engineer on "Valentine"
  • Ronnie Rogers, Tim Burgess – producers of "Giving My Love Away" and "I'm a Believer"
  • Norman Goodman – engineer on "Giving My Love Away"
Other
  • Mark Millington – design
  • Simon Fowler – photography
  • MI5 – management

References
  1. "Releases". Record Mirror. 9 January 1988. p. 12.
  2. "T'Pau – Valentine / Giving My Love Away – Siren – UK – SRN 69". 45cat. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  3. "T'PAU | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  4. "T'Pau – "Valentine"". mvdbase.com. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  5. "T'Pau – Valentine". 1 September 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2018 – via YouTube.
  6. "T'Pau – Valentine (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  7. "T'Pau – Valentine (CD) at Discogs". Discogs. 29 October 1987. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  8. "Carol Decker of T'Pau : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  9. Number One magazine – Singles – Karen Swayne – 23 January 1988 – page 42
  10. Smash Hits magazine – Review singles – Tom Hibbert – 13–26 January 1988 – page 41
  11. "T'Pau – Valentine". ultratop.be. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  12. Steffen Hung. "T'Pau – Valentine". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  13. Steffen Hung. "germancharts.com – T'Pau – Valentine". Germancharts.de. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  14. Jaclyn Ward. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  15. Steffen Hung. "T'Pau – Valentine". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  16. "North East Top 20, compiled by MRIB for Metro Radio. Published 20th February 1988".
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