All You Need Is Love is The JAMs’ debut single released in early March 1987 and marks the starting point of the creative partnership between Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond.
All he lacked now was a partner in crime, though Bill just knew the right person.
With Jimmy still being under contract to WEA as a member of Brilliant, the duo decided to remain incognito and invented the pseudonyms of King Boy D and Rockman Rock, with the band’s extended lineup also including rapper Chike and Lovers rock duo Burning Illusion1Sounds Mar 1987, and denied having been in any bands before The JAMs. British music papers were quick to see through their disguise, though.
Released as a while label run of 500 copies only, the original version slightly differs from the later releases on 1987 and Shag Times as it uses the original MC5/Beatles samples during the intro which in turn obviously made it difficult to release the single properly.
Just one month later its initial release lead to legal repercussions.
So far around a half of the initial pressing of 1,000 singles has been mailed out to well-known subversives on the press, radio and club scene, with stray copies exchanging hands for up to £30 in under-the-counter deals. That makes official calls for any existing copies to be destroyed something of an expensive proposition.NME, 11 Apr 1987
Cauty and Drummond would subsequently remove the samples in question to release the cleaner but still not entirely sample-free All You Need Is Love (106bpm) shortly thereafter.
Reviews
Tracks & Formats
JAMS 23
| 12″ Whitelabel Single / 9 Mar 1987 | ||
| A | All You Need Is Love (Original) | 5:02 |
