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Love Song for a Vampire

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"Love Song for a Vampire"
Single by Annie Lennox
from the album Bram Stoker's Dracula: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
A-side"Little Bird"
Released1 February 1993 (1993-02-01)[1]
GenrePop
Length4:17
Label
Songwriter(s)Annie Lennox
Producer(s)Stephen Lipson
Annie Lennox singles chronology
"Cold"
(1992) 		"Little Bird" / "Love Song for a Vampire"
(1993) 		"No More 'I Love You's"
(1995)
Music video
"Love Song for a Vampire" on YouTube

"Love Song for a Vampire" is a song composed and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Lennox. It was recorded for Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film, Bram Stoker's Dracula based on the 1897 gothic horror novel, where it plays during the end credits. Produced by Stephen Lipson, it was released in February 1993 by RCA and BMG as a double A-side with "Little Bird" in Ireland, the United Kingdom and several other countries in Europe. The single was a hit, peaking at number three on the UK and Irish Singles Charts. "Love Song for a Vampire" by itself reached number four in Spain and number ten in France. The music video for the song was directed by Sophie Muller, featuring footage from Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Background and recording

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When Lennox was approached to contribute vocals for the Bram Stoker's Dracula soundtrack, she had claimed she had "little interest in Bram Stoker’s book". Instead, Lennox had claimed that she had developed a fondness of a new series of novels including The Vampire Chronicles, by Anne Rice. Rice published the first installment, Interview With The Vampire, in 1978, and its sequel in 1985, The Vampire Lestat.[2] Lennox and Rice were also united in tragedy, with Rice’s daughter Michele passing away with leukemia at age six, before she began writing Interview With The Vampire. In 1988, Lennox’s son Daniel was stillborn, a trauma that later drove Annie to become a campaigner for women’s healthcare, and ultimately united Lennox and Rice together leading to Lennox to contribute vocals to "Love Song for a Vampire".[3]

It is claimed that the trauma and emotion faced by Rice and Lennox contributes to the tender heart of “Love Song for a Vampire”. The song is described as "a vulnerable song about loss, and the feeling of a grief that might go on forever".[4]

Critical reception

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In their review of the soundtrack for Bram Stoker's Dracula, Billboard wrote, "The highlight and probable single is the only vocal entry on the album, Annie Lennox's haunting, romantic 'Love Song for a Vampire'."[5] Mike Ragogna from HuffPost noted that in the song, "Lennox sings the poem, Once I had the rarest rose that ever deigned to bloom, cruel winter chilled the bud and stole my flower too soon, slyly transporting us from Bram Stoker's world to that of Anne Rice's without our realizing."[6] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton declared it as a "gorgeous contribution" to the movie.[7] Alan Jones from Music Week named it Pick of the Week, describing it as "a simple, mournful, relentless and (appropriately?) haunting song."[8]

Music video

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The accompanying music video for "Love Song for a Vampire" was directed by British director Sophie Muller.[9] It features Annie Lennox, seen in a dark garden at night very similar to Lucy Westenra's in the film, and wearing a similar white dress. As she sings, several excerpts from the film are shown, and the video ends as what appears to be holy light shines upon her, very similar to what happens during Dracula's death at the film's end. David Sinclair from Rolling Stone complimented it as an "extraordinary video", and "a striking display of sinister melancholia by Lennox intercut with a tour de force of special culled from the movie."[10]

Release

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In the UK, the song was the bigger hit of the double-A sided single with Lennox's track "Little Bird" from her album Diva. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart in early 1993, while in the US, it reached number 24 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

It reappeared in 1995 on the UK CD single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", alongside Lennox's covers of the Psychedelic Furs' "Heaven" and Blondie's "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear".

Track listings

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All tracks were written by Annie Lennox unless otherwise noted.

CD: Arista / 07822 12522 2 (US)

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Little Bird" (Edit) 4:32
2."Love Song for a Vampire" (from Bram Stoker's Dracula) 4:16
3."Why" 5:04*
4."The Gift"Lennox/Buchanan, Bell, Moore4:36*
5."You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart"Lennox/Stewart4:06*

CD: BMG / 74321 13383 2 (UK)

No.TitleLength
1."Little Bird"4:39
2."Love Song for a Vampire" (from Bram Stoker's Dracula)4:17
3."Little Bird" (Utah Saints Version)6:35
4."Little Bird" (N'Joi Version)4:46

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Silver 200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 30 January 1993. p. 23. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  2. ^ "1993". Thisweekinthe90s.com. This Week in the 90s. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  3. ^ "1993". Thisweekinthe90s.com. This Week in the 90s. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  4. ^ "1993". Thisweekinthe90s.com. This Week in the 90s. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Album Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. 5 December 1992. p. 53. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  6. ^ Regogna, Mike (27 March 2009). "HuffPost Reviews : The Annie Lennox Collection". HuffPost. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  7. ^ Masterton, James (7 February 1993). "Week Ending February 13th 1993". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  8. ^ Jones, Alan (30 January 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream – Singles – Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 10. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Annie Lennox: Love Song for a Vampire". IMDb. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  10. ^ Sinclair, David (4 March 1993). "The turning point: Annie Lennox finds life after Eurythmics". Rolling Stone.
  11. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 12. 20 March 1993. p. 55. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  12. ^ "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 12. 20 March 1993. p. 26. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Annie Lennox – Love Song for a Vampire" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  14. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Little Bird / Love Song for a Vampire". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  15. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 19. 8 May 1993. p. 24. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 11. 13 March 1993. p. 24. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  17. ^ Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  18. ^ "Annie Lennox – Little Bird / Love Song for a Vampire". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  19. ^ "Annie Lennox: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  20. ^ "Top 50 Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. 6 March 1993. p. 12. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Annie Lennox Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  22. ^ "1993 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 51/52. 18 December 1993. p. 15. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  23. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1993". Music Week. 15 January 1994. p. 24.
  24. ^ "British single certifications – Annie Lennox – Little Bird / Song for a Vampire". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
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