Hollywood Romance

"Hollywood Romance" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and David Jordan.^[1][2] It was released as a single on Polydor Records on 20 October 1978 in a picture sleeve,^[3][4] almost six years to the day after the release of their last hit collaboration "Getting a Drag",^[5] and it was play-listed on BBC Radio 1.^[6] The record label for this single was unusual in that it was printed in silver instead of the usual Polydor red label.^[7] In Japan, it was released in February 1979 in the same picture sleeve cover with the title in Japanese added, plus the lyrics were added to the back cover.^[8] The song name checks a number of classic era Hollywood movies such as King Kong, Last Tango in Paris, The African Queen, Citizen Kane and Tarzan, as well as the popular song "Begin the Beguine", written by Cole Porter that Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell danced to in the musical film Broadway Melody of 1940.^[9] "Hollywood Romance" was influenced by de Paul's move to California in the late 1970s to be with the actor James Coburn. The B-side to the "Hollywood Romance" single was a blues song that de Paul co-wrote with Coburn, entitled "Losin' The Blues For You".^[10][11] Polydor hosted a launch party in London to celebrate the release of "Hollywood Romance" in a Hollywood style setting complete with Busby Berkeley film clips.^[12] The single garnered good reviews with UK music weekly, Record Mirror writing "De Paul is set for a comeback ...with this real eye opener".^[13] It was playlisted by BBC radio 1 and also was played on Singapore's FM radio station.^[14]

Both songs were produced by Rupert Holmes for the Holmes Line and they went on to appear as tracks on the 1979 album, Tigers and Fireflies, recorded at Long View Farm, also produced by Holmes,^[15] and released by de Paul a few months later on the Polydor record label in 1979.^[16] Although it is considered a major single release, it is one of the few tracks by de Paul that has yet to be released on CD, although it is available as a download from de Paul's official online music store.^[17] Lena Zavaroni performed her own version of "Hollywood Romance" on episode 2 of her TV series, Lena Zavaroni and Music, in 1979.^[18][19][20]

A Japanese version of the song with the title "Romance" and Japanese lyrics by Ryoko Goshima^[21] was released in 1995 by Japanese singer, songwriter Yoshiko Goshima (五島 良子) on her album Froggie.^[22][23] A remastered version of the album was released in 2013^[24][22] with Japanese lyrics.^[25] It is listed by the BBC's official music website as one of de Paul's most played songs on BBC radio.^[26]

References