The happy accident that gave us Love Is in the Air
Gary Oberholzer
The happy accident that gave us Love Is in the Air
Some songs are born out of heartbreak, others from inspiration — and then there’s Love Is in the Air, a hit that came about because of a happy accident. When Australian singer John Paul Young needed a follow-up to his unexpected European hit Standing in the Rain, songwriters George Young and Harry Vanda (the powerhouse duo behind hits for AC/DC and The Easybeats) set out to capture lightning twice.
It’s the featured year on this week’s HOT Classic Countdown with Steve Bishop, taking place every Sunday from 12 to 3pm on HOT 102.7FM.
In an interview, John Paul Young recalls that Standing in the Rain was never meant to be a hit at all. It was a B-side track — tucked behind Keep on Smiling — and largely ignored until a German record executive decided to flip the single over.
“He didn’t even take it to radio,” Young says. “He just got some friends in the club world to play it — and it started moving around the clubs.” The song’s disco-friendly groove found its audience on the dancefloor, where it spent almost a year on the charts.
When the hit’s momentum became impossible to ignore, Vanda and Young knew they had to follow the sound that Europe was loving. “George said to Harry, ‘Read me out some titles,’” John Paul recalls. “They had this book of titles they’d collected over the years. When Harry read out Love Is in the Air, George said, ‘Yeah — that’s the one. Let’s play with that.’”
And play they did. The result was a worldwide anthem of romance, forever linked with the disco era and even revived decades later in Strictly Ballroom.
From a B-side fluke to a song that defined a generation — it’s no wonder Love Is in the Air still makes hearts (and dancefloors) lift.
Listen to the full Backstory to “Love is in the Air” – as featured on the Classic Countdown – below…
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