25 Greatest Songs of Lene Lovich

Lene Lovich says that much of the inspiration of her original songs came from her dreams.

One area that remains consistent about Lovich's work is her lyrical fascination with romance, communication and the breakdown of both. Although she's reluctant to explain her prose - "I'd rather leave them open so the audience can participate in the music" - she confesses that they're "very personal."

The inspiration for many of her songs has come to her through her dreams.

Her musical and romantic partner Les Chappell has been with her from the beginning. He has been a source of creativity and security for Lene over the decades.

35. Telepathy (1978) / 34. Cat's Away (1981) / 33. Tonight (1978) / 32. Wonderful One (1979) / 31. The Freeze (1979) / 30. Gothica (2005) / 29. Rocky Road (1982) / 28. Picnic Boy (1980) The Residents / 27. The Night (1979) / 26. Trixi (1979)

25. Joan (1979)

Parent Album: Flex

"Joan" opens with a festive "marching band" type brass section which leads into Lene's booming and determined lead vocal.

Lene was part of the 1978 "Be Stiff" package tour, which also included Jona Lewie, Rachel Sweet, Wreckless Eric, and Mickey Jupp. During the tour she met Will Birch, who formed the power-pop group The Records in 1977. The Records was not a Stiff Records artist but the were invited to do their own set and to back Rachel Sweet. Birch told Lene that he thinks of Joan of Arc whenever he sees her onstage. She remembered that comment when the record company was pressuring her to records songs with more commercial appeal. Joan remained faithful to the voices in her mind. Lene wrote this song for musicians struggling against executives that are trying to tell them what sort of art is and isn't acceptable.

24. What Will I Do Without You (1979)

Parent Album: Flex

"What Will I Do Without You" is one of two songs Lene Lovich recorded that was written by her friend Chris "Judge" Smith - the other song is further up this list. Smith, along with Peter Hammill, is a founding member of the English prog group Van der Graaf Generator. Lene (and Les) met Judge Smith in 1975 when they joined his disco, funk, reggae band called The Diversions. Later Smith co-wrote the play Mata Hari with Lene - in which she starred.

23. I Think We're Alone Now (also Japanese)

Parent Album: Stateless (1978)

Lene secured her recording contract with Stiff Records with a demo of this song. A studio recording of the song was her first single release for Stiff with an early recording of "Lucky Number" as it's B-side. Lene's cover of this classic Tommy James and The Shondells 1967 hit failed to chart, but is still highly regarded by Lene Lovich fans.

22. Sister Video (1982)

Parent Album: No Man's Land

This song is an absolute fan favorite and would rank higher on this list if it were written by Lene and/or Les. Fans seem to love Lene's lead vocal which and strong dance beat. Some fans have suggested "Sister Video" should have been released as a single.

Jimmie O'Neill who wrote "Sister Video" also performs rhythm synthesizer and backing vocals on the song. O'Neill began his music career with the new wave band Fingerprintz (1977-1981). He has written songs for Lene Lovich, Rachel Sweet, Paul Young, and Manfred Mann.

21. Walking Low (1982)

Parent Album: No Man's Land

This ethereal tune is a pallet of acoustic and electric guitars infused with buzzing sound effects. The lyrics are minimal but the eerie musicianship gives the song it's own haunting sound.

20. Wonderland (1989)

Parent Album: March

The synth-pop "Wonderland" brought Lene back onto the charts after a seven year absence. The song made it to #21 on the US Dance chart.

19. Sleeping Beauty (1978)

Parent Album: Stateless

In the liner notes for the CD issue of Stateless Lene says that she's always believed in reincarnation. The lyrics allude to some form of reincarnation: "rebuild a new me," "Re-arrange me, change my body," "So climb inside a brand new life."

18. One Lonely Heart (1979)

Parent Album: B-side of "Say When" 12" Single

This is one of Lene Lovich's most unusual songs. I call it an eccentric ballad. The record company certainly didn't like it. They were afraid this was going to be Lene's new direction. Fortunately for the record company it wasn't - but the fans certainly loved the song.

17. You Can't Kill Me (1979)

Parent Album: Flex

This is the second of the two Chris Judge Smith songs Lene recorded. Smith wrote this song in 1972.

Lene has likened this song to "Sleeping Beauty" noting it's reincarnation theme in the lyrics, "Why don't we try being friends, because we're only going to come back again."

16. Maria (1982)

Parent Album: No Man's Land

"Maria" was released as the third single from the album No Man's Land. The single was released to a limited amount of markets including parts of Europe and Australia. In Italy the B-side is a non-album track "O Season, O Castle."

15. Faces (1982)

Parent Album: No Man's Land

"Faces" is filled with layers of synthed out vocals screaming and echoing through the song. Within wall of sound instrumentation you can hear effects heavy electric guitar, uptown horns, well timed drums, and whistling synths.

14. Details (1981)

Parent Album: New Toy (EP)

"Details" would have made a nice single, although would have been a tall order to fill following "New Toy."

Lene wrote this song to uplift her and make her feel stronger. The lyrics are about opening up and experiencing the details of life. "Little we will find, if we close our mind. Bottled up inside us, there¹s a lot to iron out. In the light of day, we might be much wiser. Take the chance and break away."

13. Never Never Land (1981)

Parent Album: New Toy (EP)

This is one of Lene's best vocals. Her words flow smoothly and her timing is well paced.

"Never Never Land" was written by Jimmie O'Neill who also wrote "Say When," "Telepathy," and "Sister Video."

12. Breakin' The Rules (What Do You Do When Opposites Attract)(1985)

Parent Album: Tuff Turf (Soundtrack)

This song appeared on the soundtrack for the 1985 film Tuff Turf starring James Spader and Robert Downey, Jr. It came during a fairly inactive time in Lene's career - three years after her album No Man's Land and four years before March.

The song was written by composer/producer Jonathan Elias.

11. Supernature (1987)

Parent Album: Animal Liberation

While she was with the soul band the Diversions Lene received a phone call from the management of French drummer/musician Cerrone. He needed someone to write English lyrics for him. Being the type to never pass up an opportunity Lene booked the next flight to Paris and wrote the lyrics for "Supernature" when she got there. For some unknown reason Lene went uncredited for her work in writing the lyrics.

The lyric is very indicative of Lene's quirky imagination. The song is about the use of artificial chemicals in agriculture that has caused "creatures down below" to emerge and "take their sweet revenge" against mankind. She was a visionary with her lyrics which touched on climate change before anybody was really talking about it.

The song was a huge hit for Cerrone reaching #1 on both the US and Canadian Dance charts and made it to #8 in the UK, #11 in Ireland, and #26 in France.

10. Too Tender (To Touch) (1978)

Parent Album: Stateless

A fan favorite "Too Tender To Touch" is a quirky torch song written by Les Chappell and Lene Lovich.

Don Snow plays the piano throughout the song giving the song it's climax with his piano solo midway. Multi-instrumentalist Snow has appeared on several new wave influenced albums in the 1980 including some by The Sinceros, Sqeeze, Fingerprintz, Wendy and the Rockets, Nik Kershaw, ABC, Tracey Ullman, Stephen Duffy and others.

With this song Lene wanted to express the possibility of deep love without physical contact.

In the U.S. "Too Tender (To Touch) was used as the B-side on the single "Bird Song." Elsewhere the instrumental "Trixi" was the B-side.

9. Angels (1979)

Parent Album: Flex

The song was the second single from the album Flex sadly it did not chart. Despite it remains a huge fan favorite.

In the liner notes for the CD version of Flex Lene says, "I'd had a lot of narrow escapes that I can't explain how I got out of, but did. I couldn't be so conceited as to take complete credit for it, so I feel there must have been someone else on my side."

8. Special Star (1981/1982)

Parent Album: New Toy (EP), No Man's Land

"Special Star" was originally recorded for the New Toy EP and then re-recorded for the album No Man's Land. The two recordings are radically different. Each is excellent in their own right. Lene is partial to the original 1981 recording.

Special Star - 1982

7. Say When (1978)

Parent Album: Stateless

Written by Jimmie O'Neill (also wrote "Telepathy" and "Never Never Land).

The fast-paced "Say When" was the third and last single released from the album Stateless. The song was a substantial hit in the UK reaching #19 on the UK chart. The song was also a hit in other parts of Europe: #14 Belgium, #17 Netherlands, #26 Ireland.

6. Home (1978)

Parent Album: Stateless

"Home" is a major Lene Lovich classic. In the US the song was released as the third single from Stateless, however it did not chart.

Lene's childhood in Detroit was not so happy due to her parents rocky marriage ("Home is aggravation. Home is so much fuss"). When she went to play with her friends she didn't want to go back home ("Let's go to your place.... I don't want to go back anymore.)

5. Blue Hotel (1982)

Parent Album: No Man's Land

Lene did two recordings of this song. The first recording is the release we all know from her album No Man's Land. The second alternate recording was written for the San Remo Song Festival in 1981 (Italy). This alternate version was released as a single in Italy and Germany.

Riding on the coattails of "It's You, Only You," "Blue Hotel" received moderate club play but failed to chart.

4. Bird Song (1979)

Parent Album: Flex

"Bird Song" is by far the fan favorite. The song opens with Lene's otherworldly trilling gliding through amazingly high pitched octaves artistically mimicking the sounds of a bird. The song works into a bouncy rhythm - a sort of esoteric dance song with a great bass line and propulsive drums.

The song was a hit in Europe reaching #39 in the UK, #30 in the Netherlands and #44 in Germany.

3. It's You, Only You (Mein Schmerz)(1982)

Parent Album: No Man's Land

"It's You, Only You" was originally recorded in 1979 by The Meteors, from the Netherlands. Three years later Lene Lovich recorded the song using a very similar musical arrangement. However, Lene's recording is quite a bit more crisp and clear.

This is one of Lene's biggest career hits. The song made it to #68 in the UK. But it is in the US where this song did exceptionally well. It made it to #25 on the US Dance chart and remained on the chart for a total of 16 weeks. The song was highly popular with Dance Club Disc Jockeys across the US. But the song Went an extra step by making it onto the US Mainstream Rock chart at #51.

2. New Toy (1981)

Parent Album: New Toy (EP)

"New Toy" is one of Lene's best loved songs. Thomas Dolby (She Blinded Me With Science) introduced the Lene. He had been the keyboardist for Bruce Woolley and The Camera Club who was the opening band for Lene on her 1979 tour. Bruce Woolley and his band broke up in 1980 and Thomas Dolby ended up in Lene's band. One day at rehearsal he brought "New Toy" to Lene and she loved it right away.

"New Toy" is one of Lene's biggest hits. It made it to #53 in the UK and #29 in Australia. In the US the song made it to #19 on the Dance chart and stayed on the chart for a whooping 24 weeks. "New Toy" became a staple in the night clubs for most of the 1980s.

In 2003 the song enjoyed further success when it was used in a holiday commercial for the big box chain store Target.

1. Lucky Number (1978)

Parent Album: Stateless

This is the song that put Lene on the map. Although the song did not chart in the US, it was a huge hit throughout Europe and other parts of the world. In the UK it made it to #3. Elsewhere it was #2 in Australia, #3 in New Zealand and Netherlands, #5 in Belgium, #7 Ireland, #18 Austria.

"Lucky Number" was originally released as the B-side to "I Think We're Alone Now." Due to popular demand "Lucky Number" was re-released as an A-side (with "Home" as its B-side) and quickly became a hit.

"Lucky Number" was covered by German punk artist Nina Hagen. The German version "Wir leben immer... noch" ("We are alive… still") was released on the album Unbehagen (1979).

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