Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)

"Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)"
Single by Buzzcocks
from the album Love Bites
B-side "Just Lust"
Released 1978
Genre
Length 2:40
Label United Artists
Writer(s) Pete Shelley
Producer(s) Martin Rushent
Buzzcocks singles chronology
"Love You More"
(1978)		 "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)"
(1978)		 "Promises"
(1978)

"Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" is a 1978 song written by Pete Shelley and performed by his group Buzzcocks. It was a number 12 hit on the UK Singles Chart and was included on the album Love Bites.

Background and writing

Sometime during November 1977, the band watched the musical Guys and Dolls in the TV lounge of a guesthouse in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the dialogue "Have you ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn't have" from the film which inspired the song. The following day Shelley wrote the lyrics of the song, in a van outside a post office, with the music following soon after.[4]

Music and lyrics

The music and lyrics, as well as the singing, belong to Pete Shelley.[5] The song uses the verse-chorus formal pattern and is in the key of E major. Both the verse and the chorus start with C# minor chords (sixth degree in E major), which "give [the song] a distinctly downbeat, edgy feel."[5] The minor chords and the B-major-to-D-major move in the chorus are unusual for a 1970s punk song, yet they contribute to its ear-catching nature, along with the vocal melody. The verses feature a guitar riff and a double stroke tom-tom drum pattern over the E chord. The vocal melody ranges from G#3 to baritone F#4 in the verses and chorus; in the ending, Shelley hits a tenor G4 and then a G#4.

The lyrics consist of two verses (of which one is repeated) and a chorus. According to music critic Mark Deming, "the lyrics owe less to adolescent self-pity than the more adult realization of how much being in love can hurt – and how little one can really do about it."[5]

Critical reception

The song was ranked at No. 1 among "Tracks of the Year" for 1978 by NME.[6] Critic Ned Raggett describes the song as a "deservedly well-known masterpiece."[7] Mark Deming notes, "Pete Shelley's basic formula in the Buzzcocks was to marry the speed and emotional urgency of punk with the hooky melodies and boy/girl thematics of classic pop/rock. When he applied this thinking to that most classic of pop themes, unrequited teenage love, he crafted one of his most indelible songs, 'Ever Fallen in Love?'"[5]

Cover versions

Chart performance

Buzzcocks version

Chart (1978) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 14
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 12

Fine Young Cannibals version

Chart (1986–87) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[15] 20
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[16] 28
Germany (Official German Charts)[17] 19
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 10
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] 35
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19] 34
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[20] 23
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[21] 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[22] 9
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play1[23] 11
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales1[23] 32

1Remix

Amanda Billing version

Chart (2011) Peak
position
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[24] 24

References

  1. ↑ Hart, Mickey; Bresnick, Paul (2004). Da Capo Best Music Writing 2004: The Year's Finest Writing on Rock, Hip-hop, Jazz, Pop, Country, and More. Da Capo Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-3068-1380-1. 1978: Buzzcocks: "Ever Fallen in Love."
    Opting to leave the state-smashing to the Sex Pistols and the Clash, the Buzzcocks instead discovered how effective punk rock was for gnashing out your personal problems.
  2. ↑ "100 Best Songs of the 1970s – #85 – Buzzcocks - 'Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)'". NME. Retrieved 16 July 2013. one of the most thrilling and anarchic singles in all of punk rock.
  3. ↑ Gavan, David (21 October 2009). "Pete Shelley Interview: The Fate & The Fury of the Buzzcocks". The Quietus. Retrieved 16 July 2013. Best known for their 1978 pop punk classic, 'Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)', frontman Pete Shelley maintains that Buzzcocks were always more than a mere chart band.
  4. ↑ Lynskey, Dorian; Simpson, Dave (24 February 2006). "Twelve artists talk about making one of their classic tracks". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Deming, Mark. "Ever Fallen in Love? – Song Review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  7. ↑ Raggett, Ned. "Buzzcocks – Singles Going Steady". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  8. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Original Soundtrack – Something Wild". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  9. ↑ Greene, Jo-Ann. "Fine Young Cannibals – The Raw & the Cooked". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  10. ↑ Carle, Chris (20 October 2005). "Tony Hawk's American Wasteland Soundtrack". IGN. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  11. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Original Soundtrack – Shrek 2". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  12. ↑ Modell, Josh (8 July 2014). "PUP covers Buzzcocks". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  13. 1 2 "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Ever Fallen In Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1978-11-04" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989, part 2". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Fine Young Cannibals – Ever Fallen In Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  17. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Fine Young Cannibals – Ever Fallen In Love". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  18. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Fine Young Cannibals - Ever Fallen In Love search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Fine Young Cannibals – Ever Fallen In Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  20. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Fine Young Cannibals – Ever Fallen In Love". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  21. ↑ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (F)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  22. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1987-04-18" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  23. 1 2 "Fine Young Cannibals – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  24. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Amanda Billing – Ever Fallen In Love?". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 4 May 2014.

External links

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