Sowing the Seeds of Love

What makes Sowing the Seeds of Love so particular is the way Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith decided to approach the composition. The lyrics, for example, were born from Orzabal's interest in politics, particularly after the Conservative Party's re-election in the UK in 1987. The line "Politician granny with your high ideals, have you no idea how the majority feels?" is said to directly target Margaret Thatcher. But it doesn't stop there; there's also a reference to Paul Weller, suggesting he had lost touch with his political roots. Even a visual detail, like graffiti of a sunflower near their London home, found its place in the song. The title itself has a curious story, inspired by a radio program about folk music collector Cecil Sharp and an old song called "The Seeds of Love".

The recording of this piece, released in August 1989 as the first single from The Seeds of Love, was an ambitious process. Orzabal recorded an initial demo with a Fairlight CMI. Then, at Townhouse Studios, the band worked with Dave Bascombe as engineer and producer. At this stage, Chris Hughes contributed the drums, Ian Stanley handled the Hammond, and Curt Smith played the bass, while Orzabal took care of the electric piano and vocals. Bascombe recalls that Stanley, despite his significant organ part, didn't consider himself a great keyboardist, which made it a bit difficult to convince him to do more takes. Musically, the song is perceived as a tribute to The Beatles, especially their late 60s period, with arrangements evoking that era, including a trumpet line reminiscent of "Penny Lane". It's even mentioned that the tempo might have been influenced by a parody of "I Am the Walrus". The result was an international success, reaching number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topping charts in Canada, as well as reaching the top 10 in several European countries and New Zealand.