Book of Love was, from 1984 to 1993, a popular synthpop and dance music band, alongside Sire Records labelmates Depeche Mode and Erasure. Led by vocalist Susan Ottaviano, the band also included Ted Ottaviano (no relation to Susan), Lauren Roselli and Jade Lee.
The band was formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and later based out of New York City. The band gained its first exposure as the opening act on Depeche Mode's Black Celebration tour.
Their biggest success came on the US dance charts, placing seven singles in the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart between 1985 and 1993. The group's largest exposure on pop radio was with the song "Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls." The song, from its album Lullaby, was originally the second half of a medley with the group's house-music version of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells," a 1973 instrumental that served as the eerie theme music of the classic horror film The Exorcist. Edited down to single length, "Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" became Book of Love's only Hot 100 entry, peaking at number 90 in 1988.
In February, 2001 — sixteen years after its first dance chart entry — Book of Love had its first number-one hit on the US dance chart when "Boy," a track originally from its debut album, was remixed and re-released as the lead single from their greatest hits collection, I Touch Roses: The Best of Book of Love. Another newly remixedtrack, "I Touch Roses" followed shortly thereafter, and in additional support of the greatest hits collection, a small, half-dozen venue tour visited cities spanning coast to coast.
Since their active years, Book of Love's songs "Boy" and "I Touch Roses" have been rediscovered by new audiences. Both their original versions and subsequent remixes are heard in both dance clubs and on alternative radio stations.
Member Ted Ottaviano also had significant dance club hits as one half of Doubleplusgood ("The Winding Song," number two in 1996). The group's song "Sunny Day" was featured in the movie The Silence of the Lambs, in a scene in which band member Lauren Roselli also had a cameo with principal actor Jodie Foster.[1] Roselli appeared again in the movie Philadelphia. BOL's song "Modigliani (Lost In Your Eyes)" was featured in the 1987 John Hughes film Planes, Trains & Automobiles as well as in theMiami Vice episode, "God's Work." "Enchanted," a song from the band's Lovebubble album, appeared on the soundtrack to the 1993 film Naked in New York.
Lauren (Roselli) Johnson and Ted Ottaviano have completed a handful of new songs with singer Lori Lindsay under the name of The Myrmidons.
Music videos by the band include "You Make Me Feel So Good" from the band's debut album, "Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" from Lullaby, and "Alice Everyday" fromCandy Carol. The "Alice Everyday" video featured the band singing and playing its keyboards inside various snow domes, reflecting the cover art of the album, designed by Jade Lee, showing the band as plastic figures also performing inside a snow dome. Rounding out the band's videos was "Boy Pop" from the Lovebubble album.
The cassette and compact disc front covers of the band's album Lovebubble were designed by former Talking Heads' frontman David Byrne.
In 1983, Susan Ottaviano produced an album called I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia, which featured several bands from the Philadelphia area, including Pretty Poison. Book of Love's contribution to the compilation was the song "Henna." Jade Lee designed the album's bright orange cover that included an overlay graphic of a Philadelphia street map. The compilation was issued on Burn Potential Records. Also on Burn Potential Records was a 7-inch record called "Jungle Jam" under the band name of Head Cheese, which contained future Book of Love members. The band consisted of Susan Ottaviano, Jade Lee, and Celeste Reis. Ted Ottaviano was one of the record's producers and was recorded in Philadelphia in July 1981.
According to the band's Web site www.bookoflovemusic.com the music company Collector's Choice released remastered and expanded editions of Book of Love's four albums on July 21, 2009. The site stated it was the first time many of the band's remixes were available digitally. There was also a bonus disc that included two live tracks and original demo recordings dual packaged with the band's debut self-titled release in recognition of that album's silver anniversary
In celebration of 25 years, the quartet came together yet again for a one night only show on September 27, 2009 at the Highline Ballroom in New York City
