Rod Stewart: Passion Single (1980)

Rod Stewart
Oct 31, 1980
2 min read

Stewart's Passionate Plea

Rod Stewart’s “Passion” 7-inch vinyl single, was released in the UK on October 31, 1980, on Riva Records (catalogue: RIVA 26). Backed with “Better Off Dead,” written by Stewart, Chen, Grainger, Savigar, Cregan, was the lead single from the album Foolish Behaviour. Produced by Jim Cregan, the A-side's pulsating rhythm, Stewart’s raspy vocals, and Latin-infused groove marked his embrace of ‘80s dance-pop, peaking at No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart for 10 weeks. The single was released both red and yellow labels.

It was the lead single and biggest hit from the album Foolish Behaviour reaching number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, number two in Canada, and a sizeable hit across Europe. The song was also released as a 12-inch promotional single with an extended running time of 7:30.

Background

"Passion" describes the ubiquity of the phenomenon, delineating its universality by listing many of the people, places, and situations in which it is found. Passion is described as a powerful but dangerous essential motivator, being so compelling that it is prone to sometimes break outside the boundaries of loving relationships. 'Hear it on the radio' and 'read it in the papers' speaks of the potentially disruptive power of unleashed desire.

Reception

Billboard wrote "This up-tempo number has strong pop orchestration effectively pitted against Stewart's throaty vocals" and that the song has a "catchy" hook.Record World said that the song has "menacing guitar runs, percussion fever & [Stewart's] vocal parchment."

Personnel

Rod Stewart – lead and backing vocals

Jim Cregan – guitar

Gary Grainger – guitar

Phil Chen – bass

Kevin Savigar – keyboards, synthesizers

Carmine Appice – drums, Roland CR-78 programming

Paulinho da Costa - percussion