The First And Latest Chapters Of The Book Of Love

I think that I first heard Book Of Love in 2006 when they featured on Future Retro, a remix compilation of 80s artists. After that, they seemed to be ubiquitous on US-only compilations and music blogs with a leaning towards that era.

It's no surprise that that name didn't register to begin with: although Book Of Love's first two singles and debut album were released in the UK in 1985-86, they failed to make any impression on the respective charts. 

What was a surprise was that Book Of Love similarly lacked any mainstream chart success in their home country. In fact, only single #5, Pretty Boys And Pretty Girls, cracked the Top 100 (peaking at #90) in 1988.

The 2006 remix was of Book Of Love's debut single, Boy. Although inferred rather than explicit, writer and co-founder Ted Ottoviano revealed that the song "describes the frustrations of a woman with feelings for a gay man", later adding that Boy was “written about Boy Bar, which was a very exclusive gay club in the East Village.”

Book Of Love's sole US hit, Pretty Boys And Pretty Girls, addresses (again, somewhat obliquely) fears about the AIDS epidemic, 

(When I'm without)

Pretty boys

(I dream about)

Pretty girls

Strangers in the night

Exchanging glances

But sex is dangerous

I don't take my chances

Aside from the 2006 'rockstar' rework by DJ Irene, Boy has been given the remix treatment numeroous times since it's original release in 1985, including Peter Rauhofer in 2000 and, in April 2026, Dave Audé. You can find them here and here.

Boy (Uh-huh), boy (Uh-huh) x6

I want to be where the boys are

But I'm not allowed

I wait outside of the boy's bar

I wait for them to all come out

I'm not a boy

I'm not a boy

It's not my fault that I'm not a boy

It's not my fault I don't have those toys

I'm not a boy

I'm not a boy

Boy (Uh-huh), boy (Uh-huh) x4

But now it's alright (But now it's alright)

Without those boys (Without those boys)

I stay at home at night (I stay at home at night)

And I play with my toys (And I play with my toys)

Boy

I'm not a boy

Boy

I'm not a boy

Boy

I'm not a boy

Boy

I'm not a, not a, not a boy

Boy (Uh-huh), boy (Uh-huh) x4