Love Is Back

Album: Not Your Muse (2020)
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Songfacts®:

  • Celeste originally wrote this song about her tendency to fantasize about men she's barely met, believing they're the love of her life only to come down to earth a fortnight later when she realizes she'd got it wrong. She told Apple Music: "This song started as me being like, 'Oh, here she goes again, she's in love again!'"

    By the time Celeste came to finish the tune she'd fallen in love properly and was in a relationship with the bohemian poet and model Sonny Hall. "Love Is Back" became a celebration of finding a partner whose worthy of her. "That changed my approach," she said. "I was feeling more bold, and that's reflected in the bigger arrangements in the song and those louder horns."
  • Celeste wrote the song with her go-to producer Jamie Hartman, who is Rag'n'Bone Man's regular collaborator. Rag'n'Bone Man (real name Rory Graham) comes from Celeste's hometown of Brighton, and she's been a fan of his work for a long time. She told The Sun: "I remember seeing Rory sing a cappella one night and was so taken aback. I thought he was amazing. Then I found out Jamie co-wrote it, so we met and started working together."

    Jamie Hartman's daughter Ettie also helped write the song.
  • Celeste gave "Love Is Back" its live debut when she rang in 2021 with a performance of the song on Jools Holland's Annual Hootenanny show on BBC Two.
  • Sammy King directed the music video, which features cameo appearances by Spice Girls singer Mel C, actress Jaime Winstone, and underground clubland legend Princess Julia. King set the clip in an alternative version of the Big Bang '80s, where the London Stock Exchange is run by women and the global currency is love. He said:

    "It's the late '80s, London and the global currency is LOVE! The women of a buzzing stock exchange office are working around the clock to help bring Love back to the top and to do so, they'll have to work together to sell Love Stocks via the airwaves.

    Celeste takes it upon herself to educate an exclusively male board about Love and how to bring these numbers back up worldwide. This video is an homage to the limitless capacities of female empowerment, consequently transmitting the message that Love is our most valuable resource."

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