Love Is the Drug

Roxy Music recorded “Love Is the Drug” at AIR Studios in London during the June–September 1975 sessions for Siren. Bryan Ferry and Andy Mackay wrote the song, Chris Thomas produced the recording, Steve Nye engineered it, and John Gustafson’s bassline became the track’s central instrumental hook. Released by Island in 1975 as the lead single from Siren, it became Roxy Music’s highest-charting UK single of the 1970s and reached number 2 on the Official Singles Chart. Its streamlined groove and club-facing arrangement gave the band one of its clearest bridges between art rock and dance-oriented pop. The track remains one of Roxy Music’s signature recordings and their only Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100. Its bassline, Bryan Ferry lyric and sleek production made it a key influence on later new wave, disco-rock and stylish British pop.