"Love Is All Around" is a song recorded by English rock band the Troggs. Released as a single in October 1967, it was a top-ten hit in both the UK and US.
"Love Is All Around" has been covered by numerous artists, including R.E.M., with whom the Troggs subsequently recorded their 1992 comeback album Athens Andover. R.E.M.'s cover was a B-side on their 1991 "Radio Song" single, and they also played it during their first appearance at MTV's Unplugged series that same year. Wet Wet Wet's cover, for the soundtrack to the 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral, was an international hit and spent 15 consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart.
Contents
Writing and original recording
Reg Presley, lead singer of the Troggs, wrote "Love Is All Around" in about ten minutes, inspired by a TV broadcast of the Salvation Army band Joystrings performing an evangelical song titled "Love That's All Around". The Troggs recorded Presley's song at Pye Studios for the record label Page One owned by their manager Larry Page, who also produced the recording. The single was released in the UK in October 1967. The Troggs had intended to sever ties with Page and his record label earlier that year; however, after the success of the single they decided to stay, though changed managers. The single was released in the rest of Europe and North America on Fontana Records. The B-side, "When Will the Rain Come" was written by drummer Ronnie Bond.
On the UK Record Retailer chart (since recognised as the official chart for this period), "Love Is All Around" spent a total of 14 weeks on the chart, reaching its peak at number 5 in the fourth week of November 1967. Whilst, in the US, although it was released there in November 1967, the song did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 until February 1968. It spent a total of 16 weeks on the chart, reaching its peak at number 7 in the third week of May. "Love Is All Around" also performed well in Europe, becoming a top-20 hit in several countries, though it failed to recapture the success of the Troggs' early singles such as "Wild Thing" and "With a Girl Like You". However, the song performed best in Southern Africa, where it topped the charts in South Africa and Rhodesia.
Critical reception
Reviewing for New Musical Express, Derek Johnson wrote that "Love Is All Around" is "set to a fairly slow rhythm, with an appealing scoring of guitars, violins and cellos – plus a melody that takes a little time to register, but once you've got it in your mind, it sticks there! Reg sings warmly and sincerely – departing from that rather stilted style which has characterised many of the group's discs". Peter Jones for Record Mirror described it as "optimistic and cheery and full of sentiment. Like the way the string section is insinuating itself as it builds. Rather a serene slice of Troggs". For Disc and Music Echo, Penny Valentine wrote that "although this has none of their trademark of suggestive hip-thumping rhythm and Reg Presley making love to the mike, it is quite pleasant. At the beginning, I liked it very much with its closed-up gentle sound and pretty strings. It would have been nice if something had happened, but it just went on, which I somehow think will be its downfall".
Billboard wrote that "this smooth, easy beat ballad with good lyric line should be just the commercial entry to put the British group back in their top selling bag in the U.S.". Cash Box described it as a "steady-moving, romance-slanted soft rocker... [that] could make noise".
Wet Wet Wet version
Richard Curtis approached Scottish band Wet Wet Wet about recording a cover song to soundtrack his 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral. The band got to choose between three songs, the other two being "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor and "Can't Smile Without You" by Barry Manilow. Singer Marti Pellow related that the decision to pick "Love Is All Around" was an easy choice "because we knew we could make it our own". The song, which has a different introduction from the Troggs' version, was released on 9 May 1994 by The Precious Organisation. Its accompanying music video was directed by Marcus Nispel and filmed in New York City. "Love Is All Around" was nominated in the category for Best Single at the 1995 Smash Hits Awards.
Reg Presley famously spent some of his songwriting royalties on crop circle research. In 2004, Pellow said, "I still think it's a brilliant record. Its strength is its sheer simplicity. Any band would give their eye teeth to have a hit record like that. I'm very proud of it." Pellow also recorded his own version of the song for inclusion on his 2002 album Marti Pellow Sings the Hits of Wet Wet Wet & Smile.
Critical reception
Larry Flick of Billboard magazine wrote, "Grinding rock ballad is etched with crunchy chords and vocals that conjure up memories of various old '60s pop favorites. Pledge-of-love lyrics will tug at the emotions of susceptible teen-age girls, as well as folks who want to relive fond moments from the notable Andie MacDowell film." Steve Baltin for Cash Box felt the Scottish quartet "have a charm about their music that makes it easy to see why they were chosen for the soundtrack of the surprise hit film. Supposedly they're through conquering the rest of the world and now plan on concentrating on America. With this song, they're on their way."
In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton said, "Just when you thought all was lost, along comes a record to restore your faith in pop music." Chris Roberts for Melody Maker wrote, "Magnificent. Gorgeous. Sumptuous. All the more so because NOBODY agrees with me about the very splendid Wets and the indescribably astute vocalising of the horribly smug Marti Pellow." Pan-European magazine Music & Media deemed it a "sugary ballad", adding, "Let's see if Marti Pellow can shake his hips like Reg Presley!"
Chart performance
On 15 May 1994, "Love Is All Around" entered the UK Singles Chart at number four. After climbing to number two the following week, it reached number one on 29 May. It remained there for 15 weeks, becoming—as of 2026—the second-longest UK chart reign for a British act of all time. "Love Is All Around" spent a further 20 weeks in the UK top 75. Throughout its chart run, some radio stations banned the song, as many listeners were irritated by hearing it for so long. The band themselves eventually took the decision to delete the record from sale, allowing "Saturday Night" by Whigfield to debut at number one on 11 September 1994, with Wet Wet Wet dropping to number two. "Love Is All Around" has sold 1.91 million copies in the United Kingdom, making it the country's current best-selling love ballad as of 2021 (including download and physical sales only).
Music video
A music video was produced to accompany the song, which included projected footage from the film, and was directed by German director Marcus Nispel. It was filmed in New York City, and Jim Fealy directed photography on the Warner Bros. shoot. Ethan Wolvek was supervising producer and Anouk F. Nora executive producer.
Credits and personnel
Credits are lifted from the UK CD1 liner notes and the Picture This album booklet.
Studio
Recorded at The Brill Building (Glasgow, Scotland)
Personnel
Other cover versions and film uses
Prior to achieving international success with their single "These Eyes", "Love Is All Around" was covered by The Guess Who around 1967/68, and is available on compilation album This Time Long Ago. The song was also covered by Lotta Engbergs orkester as "Du ger mig av din kärlek" with Swedish lyrics written by Peter Stedt in 1994 while the Spanish rendering "El Amor Me Envuelve (Sabes Que Te Amo)" was recorded by Rocío Banquells for her 1999 album Fuerza Del Amor.
The song appeared in Get Real (1998) directed by Simon Shore, screenplay by Patrick Wilde. After its use in Four Weddings and a Funeral, the song appeared in several of Richard Curtis' other projects, including the 2003 film Love Actually (reinvented as the Christmas song "Christmas Is All Around" performed by actor Bill Nighy as fictional rock star Billy Mack), and an episode of hit sitcom The Vicar of Dibley where it is performed by a church choir. It also played in a season two episode of Orphan Black and included on the TV show's official soundtrack. R.E.M. also covered "Love Is All Around" for the soundtrack to the 1996 film I Shot Andy Warhol. A Wet Wet Wet arrangement of the song is also covered diegetically in season one, episode two, of the TV show Derry Girls.