Your Love Alone Is Not Enough

"Your Love Alone Is Not Enough"
Cover image taken from Monika Monster Future First Woman on Mars by Valerie Philips
Single by Manic Street Preachers featuring Nina Persson
from the album Send Away the Tigers
Released	23 April 2007 (2007-04-23)
Genre	Blues rock pop
Length	3:55
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	James Dean Bradfield Nicky Wire Sean Moore
Producer(s)	Dave Eringa
Manic Street Preachers singles chronology
"Underdogs" (2007) "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" (2007) "Autumnsong" (2007)
Nina Persson singles chronology
"Black Winged Bird" (2006) "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" (2007) "Vänner" (2007)

"Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" is a song by Welsh rock group Manic Street Preachers. It is a duet with Nina Persson, lead singer of Swedish band the Cardigans. Released on 23 April 2007 as the second single from the album Send Away the Tigers, it peaked at number two in the United Kingdom, number one in Scotland, and in the top 10 in Ireland and Norway.

Background

The song is a duet featuring lead singer James Dean Bradfield and Nina Persson of the Cardigans, with additional vocals from bass guitarist Nicky Wire. According to the band they always had a duet in mind, because the lyric has a question/reply format.^[1] "Some people think Nina Persson's in the fucking band," Wire noted. "Which is great, because they've homed in on something that's uplifting and glorious. And by the end of the year, they'll be listening to 'Archives of Pain'."^[2]

According to Bradfield, the title was the last line of a suicide note left by a friend of someone close to the group.^[3] According to Wire, the song is in part concerned with the disappearance of Richey Edwards: "While I was writing those words addressed to him on Your Love Alone… something touched me at my desk when I wrote, 'I could have shown you how to cry.'"^[4]

As with all Send Away the Tigers-related material, the cover image is from the photography book Monika Monster Future First Woman on Mars by Valerie Phillips.^[1]

In allusion to the song's style, Dave de Sylvia proclaimed "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" to be a "relatively straightforward call-and-response blues-rock number",^[5] while NME described the song as "a sugar-coated call-and-response pop gem with a cynical heart which hints at the shadow still cast over them by Richey Edwards' disappearance."^[6]

Release

The digital release was on 23 April, and the song debuted at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart with 5,000 download sales.^[7][8] The following week, on 30 April, the single was released as a physical CD.^[9] On 5 May, Music Week reported that the single was due to top the chart; however, the following day, it rose to number two, behind the Beyoncé-Shakira collaboration "Beautiful Liar".^[8][10] In Scotland, the single debuted at number one, keeping "Beautiful Liar" off the top spot for a third week.^[11] The single spent a total of seven weeks in the UK top 40, which makes "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" the longest-staying single by the group in the top 40 alongside "A Design for Life".^[12]

Outside the United Kingdom, "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" reached the top 20 in Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway; in the latter two countries, this song was the band's highest-charting single.^[13][14] In Persson's native Sweden, the song peaked at number 48, becoming her only chart appearance away from the Cardigans.^[15] Elsewhere, the song reached number 66 in Switzerland, number 78 in the Netherlands, and number seven on Flanders' Ultratip chart. In Switzerland, it was their only charting single.^[16]

The single received a 12-inch vinyl release as part of Record Store Day 2017.^{[citation needed]}

Awards

The song won "Best Track" at the Q Awards 2007.^{[citation needed]}

Track listings

CD single

1. "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" – 3:57
2. "Boxes & Lists" – 3:56

Maxi CD single

1. "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" – 3:57
2. "Love Letter to the Future" – 3:44
3. "Welcome to the Dead Zone" – 3:42
4. "Little Girl Lost" – 2:14

7-inch limited edition

1. "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" – 3:55
2. "Fearless Punk Ballad" – 3:59

Digital download

1. "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" – 3:55
2. "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" (James Solo Acoustic) – 3:59
3. "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" (Nina Solo Acoustic) – 3:59

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2007) Peak position Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[17] 7 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[18] 10 Ireland (IRMA)[19] 7 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[20] 10 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 78 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 20 Norway (VG-lista)[14] 5 Scotland (OCC)[22] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 48 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 66 UK Singles (OCC)[10] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2007) Position UK Singles (OCC)[24] 94

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[25]	Silver	200,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Power, Martin (17 October 2010). Manic Street Preachers. Omnibus Press.
2. "The 50 best albums of 2007". Q. No. 258. January 2008. p. 84.
3. "richeyedwards.net". articles.richeyedwards.net. Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
4. "When you've dealt with someone that intellectually advanced you can't rule anything out. We've made more albums without him now than we have with him. There have been no new sightings. But while I was writing those words addressed to him on Your Love Alone...something touched me at my desk when I wrote "I could have shown you how to cry". It was a moment of kinetic, intellectual connection". Engagewithyourshadow. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
5. De Sylvia, Dave (7 May 2007). "Manic Street Preachers - Send Away the Tigers". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
6. Nicolson, Barry (9 May 2007). "Manic Street Preachers". NME. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
7. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 21 April 2007. p. 33.
8. Jones, Alan (5 May 2007). "Turner & Co Do the Business". Music Week. p. 23.
9. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 28 April 2007. p. 31.
10. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
11. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 06 May 2007 – 12 May 2007". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
12. "Manic Street Preachers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
13. "Manic Street Preachers – Your Love Alone Is Not Enough". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
14. "Manic Street Preachers – Your Love Alone Is Not Enough". VG-lista. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
15. "Search for: Nina Persson". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
16. "Manic Street Preachers – Your Love Alone Is Not Enough". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
17. "Manic Street Preachers – Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
18. "Hits of the World – Eurocharts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 119, no. 20. 19 May 2007. p. 87. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
19. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Your Love Alone Is Not Enough". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
20. "Tipparade-lijst van week 24, 2007" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
21. "Manic Street Preachers – Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
22. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
23. "Manic Street Preachers – Your Love Alone Is Not Enough". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
24. "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2007". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
25. "British single certifications – Manic Street Preachers – Your Love Alone Is Not Enough". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 November 2021.