Book of Love

Overview

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", one of the first songs to openly address the AIDS epidemic. The song, from the album Lullaby, was originally the second half of a medley with the group's version of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells," the 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 no. 90 in 1988.

Book of Love's music has been featured in various films and television over the years. The band's song "Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)" was featured in the 1987 John Hughes film Planes, Trains & Automobiles as well as in the Miami Vice episode, "God's Work". In 1991, the song "Sunny Day" was featured in the movie The Silence of the Lambs, in a scene in which band member Lauren Roselli had a cameo with Jodie Foster. Also, the song "Enchanted" from the band's Lovebubble album, appeared on the soundtrack to the 1993 film Naked in New York, and the song "I Touch Roses," was featured in the 2000 movie "American Psycho". "Boy" is the last song to be heard in recent years with the movie Companion released in 2025.

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.

In February, 2001—sixteen years after its first dance chart entry—Book of Love had its first #1 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.

In 2013, the band reunited for a string of club tour dates and has been working on new material.

History

Formation and early years (1981–1985)

Ted Ottaviano became friends and started writing songs with Susan Ottaviano while attending high school together in Connecticut. Despite sharing the same last name, they are not related, though their family ancestries trace back to the same small southern Italian village. After high school, Susan Ottaviano moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to attend the Philadelphia College of Art. While at art college, Susan met Jade Lee and they formed a band named Head Cheese with friend Celeste Ries. In July 1981, Head Cheese recorded their first songs at the recording studio Third Story with producer David Javelosa. A 7" record was released on Burn Potential Records including three songs, A-sides: "Teenage Idol" and "Non-Melodic", and B-side "Jungle Jam", which has been described as "an offbeat love song to the city of Philly." Ted Ottaviano, a commuting member of Head Cheese, was one of the executive producers, co-wrote "Non-Melodic" with Susan, and also did photography for the record sleeve. While Susan Ottaviano was in Philadelphia at art college, Ted Ottaviano was attending the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he met Lauren Roselli. For a time, the band was a long-distance creative project between Philadelphia and New York City. Book of Love was officially formed in May 1983.

The band name Book of Love is taken from the song "The Book of Love" by The Monotones. Ted Ottaviano has stated, "It's not that we had a love for that song at all, it's just the imagery worked for us. Especially at that time, when we started Book of Love early to mid-'80s, there was kind of a throwback to a lot of romanticism and we were really into that. We nicked the band name from that song, that's for sure."

In 1983, Susan Ottaviano produced a local compilation album called I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia, which was issued on Burn Potential Records and featured several bands from the Philadelphia area, including Pretty Poison. Book of Love's contribution to the compilation was the song "Henna", becoming their first song released. Jade Lee designed the album's bright orange cover that included an overlay graphic of a Philadelphia street map.

In 1984, after having completed art college, Susan Ottaviano and Jade Lee moved to New York City to unite with Ted Ottaviano and Lauren Roselli. The band members spent their evenings at Danceteria, CBGB, Pyramid Club, Mudd Club, and Hurrah. Lauren Roselli explained, "New York City was a big playground, full of misfits like ourselves. There were lots of great clubs to go dancing and hear great music and meet other artists. That was our MySpace." Throughout art school until their time in New York City, the band had been heavily influenced by the late punk scene and new wave of the early 1980s. The band has cited various influences over the years, including girl groups of the 1950s and 1960s, bubblegum, glitter, David Bowie, The Ramones, Patti Smith, early Human League, Gary Numan, Altered Images, The Psychedelic Furs, Kate Bush, Cocteau Twins, P.i.L., The Cure, early OMD, and Depeche Mode.

Debut album Book of Love, Depeche Mode Black Celebration Tour, '86 Club Tour (1986–1987)

Up until the end of the summer of 1985, the band had only recorded five songs ("Boy", "Book of Love", "Happy Day", "I Touch Roses", and "Lost Souls"). Following the success of "I Touch Roses", the band resumed work on the album in September 1985 at Unique Recording and Sigma Sound Studios in New York City, recording the seven new songs that would make up the rest of their debut album. Instruments the band used to record the album were various synthesizers (Oberheim Xpander, Yamaha DX-7, Casio CZ-1000, Roland Juno 6, Roland JX-8P), an E-mu Emulator sampler, piano, tubular bells, chimes, melodica, and both acoustic and electronic percussion (Yamaha RX-11 drum machine, Simmons Toms). The main songwriting duties on Book of Love fell to Ted Ottaviano, with Susan Ottaviano co-writing six of the tracks, and Jade Lee contributing to two. One of the songs recorded was a cover song of "Die Matrosen" ("The Sailor", in English), originally by the all-girl Swiss post-punk band LiLiPUT, which features a catchy chorus of whistling. Recording of the album was finally finished in January 1986.

The eponymous debut album Book of Love was finally released on April 1, 1986, during the peak of synthpop in the 1980s. "You Make Me Feel So Good" was released as the first official single from the record on July 31, 1986, and became Book of Love's first CHR radio hit. The song was remixed for the single by Jellybean and Ivan Ivan. Album track "Lost Souls", was also remixed and extended by Mark Kamins and included on the 12-inch single. In April 1986, a music video was filmed on location in New York City for "You Make Me Feel So Good" and released in late July along with the single to promote the album.

In 1986, Depeche Mode once again asked the band to be their opening act. Finally with an album to promote, Book of Love toured as the opening act on the massive Depeche Mode Black Celebration Tour, joining the band's first European leg on April 29, 1986, in Hanover, West Germany, and playing 48 shows in twelve weeks throughout the full North American leg which ended on July 15, 1986, in Irvine, California. Once the Depeche Mode tour was through, the band set out on their own headlining tour of clubs, beginning in Boston on August 8, 1986, and ending in Albion, Michigan in March 1987.

A second official and final single taken from the album, "Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)", was released in April 1987. The song was a dance club hit, peaking at no. 17 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, becoming as popular as New Order and Depeche Mode singles in clubs at its peak. "Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)" is an ode to Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani. The track was penned by Jade Lee, Susan and Ted Ottaviano, who had been inspired by the Italian painter's works and history.

Lullaby album and the Lullaby Tour (1987–1989)

Promotional duties and non-stop touring in support of Depeche Mode's Black Celebration tour had kept Book of Love from entering the studio to lay down ideas for their second record. In a 2009 interview, Ted Ottaviano stated, "It's the classic story. We weren't quite sure where the first album would take us, and it ended up taking us on a ride. But then we had to turn right around and write and record songs for the follow-up. I'm not sure we had enough distance, enough time, to fully grasp what this meant or entailed." In the spring of 1987, the band was finally able to lay down some demos for the next record, writing the new songs between March through August.

In late September 1987, the band eventually convened at D+D Recording and Unique Recording Studios in New York to record with esteemed producer Mark Ellis, aka Flood (Depeche Mode, Erasure, Nitzer Ebb, Nine Inch Nails), who had just produced Erasure's The Circus the previous year, along with engineering on U2's The Joshua Tree. Flood co-produced the record with Ted Ottaviano. Reflecting on the recording in 2009, Susan Ottaviano stated, "It was great to be part of some of Ted's Cecil B. DeMille-styled productions. We had a full orchestra and a bagpipe player wearing a kilt for the song "Lullaby". We also recorded the organ at Cathedral of St. John the Divine (NYC) for "With a Little Love". It was such an amazing experience." The cathedral organ drenched, "With A Little Love", marked the first Book Of Love song to feature Ted Ottaviano on lead vocals. On recording with Flood, Ted Ottaviano stated, "We spent one night there, from about 10 pm to 6 am. Flood miked the entire cathedral. He was totally game for what we wanted to do."

In December 1987, the band recorded their cover version of the song "We Three Kings", adding their own twist to the Christmas carol. The song was featured alongside tracks by Erasure, The Pretenders, Prince, and The Ramones, on the Warner Bros. Records promotional holiday album compilation Yulesville, released in late 1987. Recording in New York ended on December 18, 1987, with the band reuniting with Flood on January 1, 1988 to record vocals at the Great Hall at Hansa Tonstudio Berlin. Flood mixed "Melt My Heart" and "Champagne Wishes" and the recording of the album was finished. The remaining eight tracks were mixed by Alan Meyerson in L.A. in February, and the album mastered in March at Sterling Sound.

Preceding the album, the first single, "Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" was released on May 24, 1988. "Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls" became one of the first songs to address the issue of the AIDS epidemic with its lyric of "Strangers in the night exchanging glances, but sex is dangerous, I don't take my chances ... safe sex, safe sex." The song became the band's highest-charting single at no. 90 in the Billboard Hot 100, and the only moment crossing over into mainstream pop. In the dance clubs, the song was a smash, and made it to no. 5 on the Hot Dance Club Play Chart, spending 11 weeks on the chart. A music video for "Pretty Boys And Pretty Girls" was shot by director Carlos Grosso and released to promote the new album.

Candy Carol album and the Candy Carol Tour (1990–1991)

Book of Love released their third record two years following their moderately successful album, Lullaby. After having substantial success on college radio stations and the dancefloor in the 1980s, Candy Carol was released amid the changing musical landscape of the early 1990s. In a 2009 interview, Lauren Roselli Johnson stated, "I think we had great momentum going from Book of Love to Lullaby. Then, after the 1980s were gone and the 1990s arrived with a very heavy shift in [music] genres, production became valued-or not. There was hip hop, grunge, and house music. I think we fit in less and less with that stuff. It was kind of the beginning of the end of our story."

The songs for Candy Carol were written and recorded in 1989 and 1990, and were "musically based on the late-60s pop idiom". The band's intent was to record a modern album recreating the style of late-1960s pop. Explaining the meaning of Candy Carol, Ted Ottaviano stated, "To me, Candy Carol represents melody. The purity of melody is something that can give you a good feeling the way a Christmas carol can. I don't think there is anything religious about the songs on the album. But, they are inspired by the idea and feeling of a carol. I am inspired by carols the same way I would be inspired by a Renaissance or Byzantine painting."

The band spent time recording the album at three different studios in New York City with Ted Ottaviano co-producing the record with Ben Grosse. Lauren Roselli, for the first time, contributed creatively as a songwriter, and co-wrote two songs, "Flower Parade" and "Counting the Rosaries". For the two tracks, she also took on lead vocal duties for the first time. In a 2009 interview, Lauren Roselli Johnson stated, "Ted really nurtured me and shared his process with me openly. In return, I always respected and tried to help him to hear out his vision. I think at that point, I was ready and wanted to write. Ted encouraged it and facilitated it." For recording of the album track "Turn The World", Book of Love invited thirty of their friends to the recording studio to be the singing choir in the chorus of the song. Another album track titled "Wall Song", a semi-instrumental piece, was inspired by the breakdown of the Berlin Wall, and features spoken word sections of Jade Lee reading a German version of the poem "Autumn" by Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke.

Recording sessions with co-producer Ben Grosse began January 15, 1990, at Chung King House of Metal, where the band laid down basic tracks for a month and a half. After the taking a break in early March to pursue individual projects, they reconvened on April 16, 1990 at The Hit Factory to record vocals until mid-May. From there, the band moved to Unique Recording Studios to record overdubs, and finishing the recording of the album on June 8, 1990. In July, the album was mixed at Pearl Sound, Detroit, MI. by Ted Ottaviano and Ben Grosse, and then finally mastered at Sterling Sound.

Lovebubble album and disbandment (1992–1994)

Before work began on the band's fourth album, the band had an important band meeting. In a 2009 interview, Susan Ottaviano explained, "We asked each other, 'Do you think we can do it again?' The '80s were over and we were ushering in the '90s with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. The funny thing is, when you're out there touring, you just think it's going to keep going on and on and on."

The band recorded the album in New York City at Unique Recording, the same studios where they recorded parts of their previous three records. Ted Ottaviano produced the record, making it his first time solely in the producer's seat. The album contained mixed styles and creative ideas from all four members of the group, with each member taking a turn as lead vocalist. The songs "Tambourine", "Flower In My Hand", and "Enchanted" dated back to the early days of the band and were more in the style of the first two albums, while "Boy Pop" and "Chatterbox (Pt. 2)" moved in a new club-oriented direction. "We were more fractured as a band. This fracture paved the way to a more open, freer recording process. We accepted each other more"

The track "Sunday A.M." was inspired by Junior Vasquez and Ted Ottaviano and Lauren Roselli's Sunday mornings at The Sound Factory in New York City. "Happily Ever After" featured Lauren Roselli on lead vocals, and a lyric about counting each of twelve tears after a breakup. The song contained a sample of The 5th Dimension's hit "Aquarius". The album also contains two cover songs. The first, "Sound and Vision", originally was done by David Bowie, who is one of the band's biggest heroes and inspirations. "Woyaya", originally done by Ghanaian Afro-pop group Osibisa and later covered by Art Garfunkel, features Ted Ottaviano on lead vocals, a lone drum beat, and the ambient noise of a city protest.

Before the album release, the band released the first single "Boy Pop" in May 1993, a dance track and ode to gay men, with its lyric of "brother love ... across the nation ... on the bottom or the top, when we go, we go pop ... boys united cannot be divided ...". The song became a huge club hit, peaking at no. 4 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. A promotional video was shot showing the band at a club/bar and many muscular fit dancers.

Book of Love released their fourth record, Lovebubble, on June 15, 1993, almost two years after their previous album, 1991's Candy Carol. Lovebubble did not chart, and was released to little fanfare amidst the changing musical tides of the early nineties with grunge dominating the alternative landscape. The album's cover sleeve, a tic tac toe square of nine different images, was designed by Talking Heads' frontman David Byrne.

Best of compilation and tour (2001)

In 2001, Reprise Records released Book of Love's first and only 'best of' collection: I Touch Roses: The Best of Book of Love, effectively fulfilling the band's Warner Bros. recording contract. It had been eight years since the release of Lovebubble, the band's eclectic final album. In the late 1990s, with the emerging electroclash scene and electronic dance music back in vogue, the musical environment was ready for Book of Love again.

We realized there isn't really all that much about Book of Love out there, and we needed to put together some type of career retrospective. If we didn't do it, no one would. So we started working on it, and finally we're here.

In 2000, the band worked away at Sound Umbrella studio in New York City, preparing new songs for the release. Three new songs were recorded for the album. "Getting Faster", penned by Susan Ottaviano and Ted Ottaviano, was a dance pop number with lyrics of "slowing down and getting faster ... blue sky won't go up and up." A new track "Try", a collaboration between Jade Lee and Ted Ottaviano, featured both Susan Ottaviano and Jade on lead vocals, and a classic Book of Love arrangement. "It's In Your Eyes" was an old track that dated back to the very beginnings of Book of Love. Taking things full circle, the song was the first song originally written by Susan and Ted Ottaviano, and the band resurrected it and recorded it for the first time for inclusion on the compilation. It had only been performed live, but its inclusion is a "real gift to the earliest fans". Ted Ottaviano stated, "This is a perfect time for a retrospective. We've added great new material and we can look back at our whole body of work with real objectivity."

Another new production on the compilation was a reworking of the song "Sunny Day". Ted Ottaviano produced the new version which included guitar from Lori Lindsay, who would later collaborate with Ted Ottaviano and Lauren (Roselli) Johnson as lead vocalist and guitarist in The Myrmidons.

I Touch Roses: The Best of Book of Love was released on March 13, 2001, with sixteen tracks spanning the group's entire catalog. The compilation album failed to chart on the Billboard charts. The only singles omitted from the collection were "Witchcraft" and "Boy Pop", along with fan favorite album cuts such as "With A Little Love", "Turn The World", and "Sound and Vision".

Book of Love reissues (2009)

On July 21, 2009, the music company Collector's Choice/Noble Rot released remastered and expanded editions of Book of Love's entire catalog. It marked the first time many of the band's remixes were available digitally.

The band's debut album Book of Love was released as a special Silver Anniversary Edition with a bonus disc containing five demos, two remixes, two live tracks, an instrumental, and the band's hard to find cover of "We Three Kings".

The band's second album Lullaby was remastered and reissued as a single disc containing five bonus tracks, including the 14:25 minute medley of "Tubular Bells/Pretty Boys And Pretty Girls" and the hard to find B-side "Enchantra".

Candy Carol, the band's third album, was also remastered and reissued on a single disc with four bonus tracks, including the industrial tinged remix of "Alice Everyday" (Sam the Butcher Mix).

The band's final album Lovebubble was remastered and reissued as a single disc with four bonus tracks, including two remixes of the dance smash "Boy Pop".

In celebration of the reissued albums and 25 years since recording "Boy", the quartet came together yet again for a one night only show on September 27, 2009 at the Highline Ballroom in New York City.

Reunion and current activity (since 2013)

On April 27, 2013 Book of Love once again reformed to play a one off show in Houston, Texas at Numbers Night Club. Ted Ottaviano, Lauren Johnson (formerly Roselli) and singer Susan Ottaviano performed the show as a trio, as keyboardist Jade Lee was unable to attend. Most all of the hits were played with some new samples and instrumentation.

In a 2013 podcast interview, Ted Ottaviano explained Jade's absence, "Jade is creatively involved with us whenever we work on any new material. She's still a Book of Love band member. This is something from when we first disbanded in the '90s, this was the thing she basically didn't really feel as interested in pursuing with us. And on select shows, if she can be there, she will." Ted also revealed in the interview that David Bowie's surprise announcement of his album The Next Day had been the catalyst for the reunion. "I feel like we're all in a place where we would like to work on new music ... David Bowie has been a major influence on us our whole career. And even seeing him make his new album, it's just been so inspiring. In a weird way we remain music fans as much as musicians ourselves and we have been talking about it. We just take one step at a time. So, the first thing is to go down to Texas and see how this show feels. There's also been talk here and there maybe about doing another date, but nothing concrete yet."

The band eventually announced a string of five California tour dates scheduled for October 2013 (MMXIII).

On June 13, 2013, the band posted on their Facebook page announcing that Book of Love is working on new material during the summer of 2013, and will play new songs during their fall tour dates in California.

On June 17, 2016, Sire/Rhino Records celebrated the 30th anniversary of the band's eponymous debut album by releasing a new compilation titled MMXVI - Book of Love - The 30th Anniversary Collection. The release features re-mastered versions of their hits, unreleased demos, and two brand new tracks: "All Girl Band" and "Something Good". To further commemorate this anniversary, the band played a reunion show in New York City (June 23, 2016) with all four members reunited together to perform for the first time in many years. "All Girl Band" was released as a single to promote the compilation, as well as a lyrics video of the song featuring different shots of the single's artwork.

Post-Book of Love projects

In 1993, Ted Ottaviano began collaborating with vocalist Basil Lucas on a dance music project called Doubleplusgood, a term meaning "excellent" or "splendid", taken from George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Doubleplusgood released a total of five songs from 1993 through 1997: "Conga Té", "Theme From Doubleplusgood", "Sunny Day" (w/Lambert Moss on lead vocals), "The Winding Song", and "Boogala". Doubleplusgood had a couple significant dance club hits with "Conga Té" reaching no. 12 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1993, and "The Winding Song", reaching no. 2 in 1996.

Throughout the rest of the 1990s, Ted Ottaviano continued work doing the following remixes for other artists: The Heads' "Damage I've Done" (Sound Bisquit Vocal Mix) in 1996, Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" (3 Remixes) in 1997, David Byrne's "Wicked Little Doll" (Valley of the Doll Parts Dub Mix) in 1997, and two remixes of Hole's "Malibu" in 1999. In the mid-2000s, he also produced the New York City band Dangerous Muse's The Rejection EP and Give Me Danger EP, as well as the group The Ones, and many other local dance bands.

Among other work, Ted Ottaviano has scored a film short by photographer Steven Klein, as well as doing music for Klein's art installation with Madonna, titled X-STaTIC PRO=CeSS.

Susan Ottaviano attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park and the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC. She is a respected and sought after food stylist and recipe developer that is known for "her creative and painterly approach to food." Her work has been described as "modern, fresh and effortlessly composed." She has styled food for ads by Macy's, Godiva, Post Foods, Kraft Foods, and also various cookbooks. Her work appeared in magazines such as Bon Appétit, Cooking Light, Men's Health, Every Day with Rachael Ray, and Oprah Magazine.

In 2003, Susan Ottaviano collaborated with Sean Niles and Andrew Wilson of darkwave band Exhibition, providing lead vocals to a cover version of Joy Division's "She's Lost Control". The song was released on the mix compilation CD Kill The DJ: A Non-Stop Mash-Up Mix By Keoki by DJ Keoki.

Lauren Roselli married and became Lauren Johnson. She continued with acting roles and appeared in the films Philadelphia in 1993, Beloved in 1998, and The Manchurian Candidate in 2004. She is a mother and continues to pursue her art through photography and video as well as contribute to the music of The Myrmidons.

The Myrmidons

In the mid-2000s, former Book of Love band members Ted Ottaviano and Lauren (Roselli) Johnson formed a new band called The Myrmidons, a reference to the name of a mythical race of ant people. They recruited former singer and guitarist of The Prissteens, Lori Lindsay, an acquaintance of Lauren (Roselli) Johnson, because she was a "musical kindred spirit." The sound of The Myrmidons is a modern throwback to the 1960s pop idiom, and showcases a love for melodies, chords, and bells. In a 2013 podcast interview, Ted Ottaviano described The Myrmidons as a "'90s band", and a branch off the tree of the 1990s post-punk/electronic bands such as Garbage and Elastica, leading up through the new millennia on the cusp of The Strokes.

The Myrmidons have released four EPs, and nine original songs total.

In 2006, the band released their first two EPs: The Myrmidons EP with three songs: "Clap (See The Stars)", "Dirty Secret", and "My Favorite"; and The Clap EP with the songs: "Clap (See The Stars)", "Clap (See The Stars)" [Better Late Mix], and "What Color Is Love?" The song "Clap (See The Stars)" was featured on the Another Gay Soundtrack, the soundtrack for the movie Another Gay Movie, released on July 28, 2006.

In 2008, the band released the Golden Toys EP, which contained three new songs: "Golden Toys Pt. 1", "Golden Toys Pt. 2", and "Andy Is".

On February 5, 2013, they released The Blue EP online. The EP contains two new songs, "So I Cried" (Le Bleu Mix) and "Dizzy", as well as a new mix of "Clap (See The Stars)" (The Blue Mix).

On September 29, 2015, a compilation titled: THE GOLDEN TOYS, The Myrmidons compiled (2005-2015) was released digitally as a 10 song retrospective, and included one new track "Happy Together".

Band members

Susan Ottaviano – lead vocals

Ted Ottaviano – keyboards, sampling, programming, piano, melodica, tubular bells, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals

Lauren Johnson (née Roselli) – keyboards, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals

Jade Lee – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals

Discography

Book of Love (1986)

Lullaby (1988)

Candy Carol (1991)

Lovebubble (1993)

Concert tours

Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward Tour (1985)

Depeche Mode – Black Celebration Tour (1986)

Club Tour '86 (1986–1987)

Lullaby Tour (1988–1989)

Candy Carol Tour (1991)

Lovebubble Tour (1993–1994)

2001 Club Tour (2001)

New York City Highline Ballroom show (September 2009)

2013 Tour (2013)

MMXV Tour (2015)

MMXVI Tour (2016)

The Sire Years Tour (2018)