Candybar Express

"Candybar Express"
Single by Love and Money
from the album All You Need Is...
B-side	"Love & Money (Dub)"
Released	1986
Length	3:30 (album/single version) 5:55 (extended mix)
Label	Mercury
Songwriter(s)	James Grant
Producer(s)	Andy Taylor
Love and Money singles chronology
"Candybar Express" (1986) "Dear John" (1986)

"Candybar Express" is a song by Scottish band Love and Money, which was released in 1986 as the debut single from their debut studio album All You Need Is.... The song was written by James Grant and produced by Andy Taylor. "Candybar Express" reached number 56 in the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Disco Club Play chart.^[1][2]

Background

Grant wrote "Candybar Express" while on tour with his former band Friends Again. He wanted to write something similar to Wham!'s 1982 hit "Young Guns (Go for It)", but "more cynical".^[3] The song was first recorded by Love and Money in 1985, which along with other demo tracks, resulted in them signing to Phonogram's Mercury Records.^[4] When Duran Duran's Andy Taylor happened to hear the song, he insisted on producing it and the song was then re-recorded with Taylor as the producer.^[5][6]

Soon after its release, Grant was critical of the song and openly stated that it, along with the other tracks on the band's debut album All You Need Is...', was below his ability as a songwriter. He told Scotland on Sunday in 1993, "'Candybar Express' was a joke that backfired. It wasn't meant to be taken so seriously, and I ended up, stupidly, being captain of that ship and steering it into the great beyond. And it didn't happen and it ended up looking silly, because the whole thing was one great advertising slogan."^[7] Grant also felt working with Taylor on the track was a mistake,^[8] later describing him as "an exponent of the corruption I was singing about".^[5] For his role as producer, Taylor told Smash Hits in 1986, "I don't care, as long as I got paid, haha! I did enjoy making it – it's a good record and they have talent".^[9]

In more recent years, Grant's view of "Candybar Express" has mellowed. He told Nicola Meighan in 2013, "I think it's one of the most sarcastic songs ever written, I'm proud to say. The unfortunate thing is that it wasn't a worldwide smash, which defeated the purpose to a point, and made it a bit of an albatross around my neck."^[3]

Music video

The song's music video was commissioned for the North American market and was shot in the Mojave Desert.^[10] It largely features the band performing the song on a stage, behind which is a large billboard featuring the band's name. Other sequences show crew members setting up the stage and painting the billboard.^[11] The video achieved medium rotation on MTV.^[12]

Critical reception

Upon its release, Anna Martin of Number One awarded the song four out of five stars and described it as "a versatile chunk of endearingly sharp funk" and "mean, meaty and menacing".^[13] Jerry Smith of Music Week praised it as a "catchy and very danceable debut single, all competently done and rather in the vein of a less subtle Hipsway".^[14] Mark Putterford of Kerrang! stated, "Dirty geetar, sweet sax, fittingly funky(ish) beat... and a surprisingly good song. One of the better 'Short Kutz' this week, to be sure."^[15] The Middleton Guardian felt it was "a strong song in the style of B.A.D.", which "spreads a bit thin over 12 inches but is still cocky, catchy and rhythmic".^[16]

David Swift of New Musical Express felt the band were "shoving a typically useless metaphor over another lame, heavy dancefloor mix". He added, "A fearfully-raked guitar, piled on extra thick, stabs around a P-L-O-D of a beat."^[17] Stuart Bailie of Record Mirror was also critical of the song, noting that it "works a basic funk riff to death" and "rel[ies] wholly on New York studio men to sustain the record's interest". He added, "It has a pumping kick drum and a fair smattering of sex; it sounds like the kissing cousin of 'The Honeythief', and that's bad."^[18]

Track listing

7-inch single^{[19][20][21][22]}

1. "Candybar Express" – 3:30
2. "Love & Money" (Dub) – 4:40

7-inch promotional single (US)^[23]

1. "Candybar Express" – 3:30
2. "Candybar Express" – 3:30

12-inch single (UK, France, Germany and Canada)^[24][25][26]

1. "Candybar Express" (Extended Mix) – 5:55
2. "Candybar Express" (LP Version) – 3:30
3. "Love & Money" (Dub) – 4:40

12-inch single (US)^[27]

1. "Candybar Express" (New York Remix) – 6:05
2. "Candybar Express" (New York Dub) – 5:05
3. "Candybar Express" (Extended Mix) – 5:55

12-inch single (Australasia)^[28]

1. "Candybar Express" (Pettibone Mix) – 6:06
2. "Candybar Express" (LP Version) – 3:30
3. "Love & Money" (Dub) – 4:40

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the UK 12-inch single sleeve notes and the All You Need Is... booklet.^[24][29]

Love and Money

• James Grant – lead vocals, guitar
• Paul McGeechan – keyboards
• Stuart Kerr – drums

Additional musicians

• Bobby Paterson – bass
• Ronnie Goodman – percussion
• Pepsi, June, Jackie – backing vocals

Production

• Andy Taylor – producer
• Shep Pettibone – remix ("Pettibone Mix", "New York Remix" and "New York Dub")
• Michael Hutchinson – remix engineer ("New York Remix" and "New York Dub")

Other

• Health and Efficiency – sleeve design
• Chris Garnham – photography

Charts

Chart (1986)	Peak position
Australia Kent Music Report[30]	96
UK Singles (OCC)[31]	56
US Hot Dance/Disco Club Play (Billboard)[2]	10

References

1. "LOVE & MONEY; full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
2. "Hot Dance/Disco - Club Play" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 34. 23 August 1986. p. 44. Retrieved 31 May 2022 – via World Radio History.
3. Meighan, Nicola (3 December 2013). "Interview: James Grant (Love and Money)". nicolameighan.wordpress.com. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
4. Perrone, Pierre (28 July 2006). "Obituary: Bobby Paterson". The Independent. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
5. Hogg, Brian (2017). All That Ever Mattered: The History of Scottish Rock and Pop. Guinness Publishing. pp. 266–267. ISBN 978-0851127231.
6. Massey, Paul (12 March 1986). "A mini writing record". Evening Express. p. 8.
7. McKay, Alastair (29 August 1993). "Profile: James Grant, Love and Money". Scotland on Sunday.
8. Robinson, Nick (18 February 1989). "Money matters" (PDF). Music Week. p. 17. Retrieved 31 May 2022 – via World Radio History.
9. "Andy Taylor: "I've gone totally mad!"". Smash Hits. 2 July 1986. p. 5.
10. "Music List: Listen!". The List. 18 April 1986. p. 17.
11. Weiss, Barton (27 June 1986). "Video Scene - Desert Oasis". The Daily Herald-Tribune. p. 48.
12. "MTV Programming" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 26. 28 June 1986. p. 59. Retrieved 31 May 2022 – via World Radio History.
13. Martin, Anna (10 May 1986). "Singles". Number One. p. 38.
14. Smith, Jerry (3 May 1986). "A&R: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 18. Retrieved 31 May 2022 – via World Radio History.
15. Putterford, Mark (15 May 1986). "Short Kutz". Kerrang!. No. 120. p. 49. ISSN 0262-6624.
16. MH (13 June 1986). "New Singles". Middleton Guardian. p. 15.
17. Swift, David (3 May 1986). "Singles". New Musical Express. p. 13.
18. Bailie, Stuart (26 April 1986). "Singles". Record Mirror. pp. 8, 9.
19. Candybar Express (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Love and Money. Mercury Records. 1986. MONEY 1.
20. Candybar Express (US, Australia and France 7-inch single sleeve). Love and Money. Mercury Records. 1986. 884 524-7.
21. Candybar Express (South African 7-inch single sleeve). Love and Money. Mercury Records. 1986. TOS 1575.
22. Candybar Express (Canadian 7-inch single sleeve). Love and Money. Vertigo Records. 1986. SOV 2373.
23. Candybar Express (US 7-inch promotional single sleeve). Love and Money. Mercury Records. 1986. 884 524-7 DJ.
24. Candybar Express (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Love and Money. Mercury Records. 1986. MONEY 112.
25. Candybar Express (French and German 12-inch single sleeve). Love and Money. Mercury Records. 1986. 884 524-1.
26. Candybar Express (Canadian 12-inch single sleeve). Love and Money. Vertigo Records. 1986. SOVX 2373.
27. Candybar Express (US 12-inch single sleeve). Love and Money. Mercury Records. 1986. 884 832-1.
28. Candybar Express (Australasia 12-inch single sleeve). Love and Money. Mercury Records. 1986. 884 893-1.
29. All You Need Is... (UK album CD booklet). Love and Money. Mercury Records. 1986. 830 021-2.
30. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 181. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
31. "Love & Money: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 May 2022.