Flowers of Romance (song)

"Flowers of Romance" is a song by Public Image Ltd. It reached number twenty four on the UK Singles Chart. The 12" extended version of the song is actually two songs counted as one track: the single version of the song followed by an instrumental version of it.

"Flowers of Romance"
Single by Public Image Ltd
from the album The Flowers of Romance
B-side"Home Is Where the Heart Is"
Released27 March 1981 (UK)
Genre
Length2:50
LabelVirgin VS 397
Songwriter(s)John Lydon and Keith Levene
Producer(s)
Public Image Ltd singles chronology
"Memories"
(1979)
"Flowers of Romance"
(1981)
"This Is Not a Love Song"
(1983)

"Listening to that again reminded me of coming out of jail [after being arrested for alleged assault in 1980]," John Lydon told Select in 1990. "That's when I recorded it. I left Dublin and went straight into the studio for two weeks solid: slept there, did everything myself, practically. No band; couldn't find Keith; more or less had to engineer the bloody thing myself cos the engineer there ran out going, 'That's impossible – you can't do that!' I did it. That particular song, I timed how long it would take me to turn the tape on, run into the studio and turn it all off. I had to rehearse that about 20 bloody times before I got it right!"[1]

Writing in 2002, writer Garry Mulholland described the song as "the strangest chart record of the last 25 years, maybe ever."[2]

NME ranked it the 41st best single of the year.[citation needed]

Track listing

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7" vinyl
  1. "Flowers of Romance" – 2:50
  2. "Home Is Where the Heart Is" – 7:33
12" vinyl
  1. "Flowers of Romance (Extended Version)" - 5:40
  2. "Home Is Where the Heart Is" – 7:33

Chart performance

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Chart (1981) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[3] 19
UK Singles (OCC)[4] 24

References

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  1. ^ Select, December 1990
  2. ^ Lester, Paul (11 July 2008). "What's the weirdest chart hit of all time?". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  3. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Flowers of Romance". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  4. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2014.