I Need Your Love

Album: 18 Months (2012)
Charted: 4 16
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song features guest vocals by Ellie Goulding. Discussing her collaboration with Harris, Goulding told Pop Justice: "I think it's one of the first songs he's written with someone. He's written a lot of songs by himself. I mean, he's really, really clever. I've always been a fan of him and we used to have the same management, ages ago. He's done well for himself.

    We wrote that song in his flat about a year ago now and then we sort of scrapped it and came back to it and re-recorded it and there was a bit of confusion around that song for a bit."
  • Lyrically, this is a fairly straightforward song, with Goulding singing about being enamored with her mate. Musically, it takes some interesting turns that distinguish the song. It starts with the chorus, which is repeated three more times in the track. After each chorus, however, comes an instrumental break which resolves into either a verse or a bridge. The verses are short, running just 15 seconds each - the synth interludes are the star of this show, not the storyline.
  • Calvin Harris made UK chart history when this track climbed to #7 on the singles chart by becoming the first artist to have eight Top-10 hits from one studio album. The Scottish DJ and producer overtook Michael Jackson, who previously held the record with seven top 10 hits from both his 1987 album Bad and his 1991 record Dangerous.
    The other seven top ten hits from Harris' 18 Months album are:
    "Bounce" featuring Kelis.
    "Feel So Close."
    "We Found Love" featuring Rihanna.
    "Let's Go" featuring Ne-Yo.
    "We'll Be Coming Back" featuring Example.
    "Sweet Nothing" featuring Florence Welch.
    "Drinking From the Bottle" featuring Tinie Tempah.

    Harris broke his own chart record a few months later when "Thinking About You" became his ninth track from 18 Months to enter the UK singles Top 10.
  • The song's loved-up video was directed by Emil Nava, who also helmed the clip for Harris' girlfriend Rita Ora's UK chart-topper "R.I.P.." Harris described making the visual to MTV UK as funny and weird and he added that Goulding and him are "definitely better mates now."
  • The song was also included as a bonus track on Goulding's sophomore studio album, Halcyon.
  • Goulding admitted to Rolling Stone that she didn't think the song would be a hit. "I absolutely didn't think the song would be so huge," she said. "I mean, every track Calvin has made has been a chart success, but before we recorded it, I thought, 'Is this going to be the one time he doesn't make a hit?'"

    The English songstress' fears were laid to rest at a Barry's Boot Camp class. "I was working out, and all of a sudden 'I Need Your Love' came on," she recalled. "It was a bit awkward."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.