Love Is a Battlefield

This article is about the song sung by Pat Benatar. For other uses, see Love Is a Battlefield (disambiguation).
"Love Is a Battlefield"

Standard artwork (U.S. vinyl release pictured)
Single by Pat Benatar
from the album Live from Earth
B-side Hell Is For Children (Live Version)[1]
Released September 12, 1983
Format 7", 12"
Recorded 1983
Genre Pop rock[1]
Length 5:24
4:10 (single/radio edit)
6:29 (extended)
Label Chrysalis Records
Writer(s) Holly Knight, Mike Chapman
Producer(s) Neil Giraldo, Peter Coleman (A-side only)
Pat Benatar singles chronology
"Looking for a Stranger"
(1983)		 "Love Is a Battlefield"
(1983)		 "Lipstick Lies"
(1984)
Music sample
Love Is a Battlefield

"Love Is a Battlefield" is a million-selling, gold hit[2] performed by Pat Benatar, and written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman. It was released as a single from Benatar's live album Live from Earth, though the song itself was a studio recording. The song was ranked at number 30 in VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s.[3]

Background

Holly Knight and Mike Chapman wrote this song for Pat Benatar initially as a ballad with a beautiful melody and moving chord changes. After some exploration with drum machines and the band, Neil Giraldo decided to make this an uptempo song.[4][5] The single was Benatar's second American million seller and is tied with "We Belong" as her highest charting single in the United States. It topped Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for four weeks and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1983.[6]

It topped the Australian singles chart for five weeks in 1984.[7] The song was re-released in the United Kingdom in March 1985 and reached #17.[8] It was awarded a Gold certification in Canada as well.[9] The song was featured in the television series Psych.[10] In the television series Drop Dead Diva[11] the song is performed by the actresses Brooke Elliott and Faith Prince. It was also featured in the film 13 Going on 30,[12] where "love is a battlefield" is the mantra of the main character Jenna Rink, played by Jennifer Garner.[4] The song in the Kay Gee Remix version, featuring Kay Gee and Queen Latifah, is on the end credits of the 1998 film, Small Soldiers.[13]

The single was unlike most of Benatar's previous work, as it featured an electronic dance element, but guitars and drums were still present. In 1984, the song won Benatar her fourth consecutive Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.[14]

Music video

The music video[15] features Benatar playing a teenage girl storming out of her home while being yelled at by her father (played by actor Trey Wilson) who says if she leaves, she can forget about ever coming back. Her mother looks on helplessly and her brother (played by actor Philip Cruise) watches sadly from an upper-story window. She later becomes a taxi dancer at a very seedy club to get by in the city, outwardly New York. She writes to her little brother, telling him about her exciting new life and her father seems to feel guilty about being angry at her. Later in the video, she witnesses a pimp (played by actor Gary Chryst) harassing another dancer. Benatar rounds up the girls and leads a rebellion against him. As the pimp is cornered by the girls against his will, he tries to seduce Benatar only to have her throw a drink in his face. Angered by this, he tries once again to assault her but Benatar and the girls overpower and defeat the pimp, then storm out of the club dancing into the sunrise before bidding goodbye to one another, thanking Benatar for their escape. The girls escape and strike out on their own and Benatar walks into the sunrise. The final scene shows Benatar sitting in the back of the bus headed for an unknown destination. The video was choreographed by Michael Peters,[16] who appears briefly in the video.

A special remix of the song is used, which was created specifically for the video. It differs slightly in structure and instrumentation, and aside from appearing in the video, has never been commercially released.

The video was the first ever to feature the use of dialogue.[17] The scenes featuring dialogue include the opening scene of Benatar stomping out of the house while being berated by her father and the scene featuring the pimp harassing the female dancer in which she shouts "Leave me alone!"

The video was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video[18] and is contained on the DVD for the movie 13 Going on 30.

Charts

Original version

Chart (1983/1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[19] 1
Canada (CHUM)[20] 6
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[21] 2
Germany (Official German Charts)[22] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[23] 9
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[24] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[25] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[26] 6
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 11
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[28] 17
US Billboard Hot 100[29] 5
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[30] 1
US Cash Box[31] 4

Re-release UK (1985)

Chart (1985) Peak
Position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[32] 17

Year-end charts

Chart (1984) Position
US Billboard Hot 100 [33] 57

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Benatar - Love Is a Battlefield". discogs. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  2. ↑ "Pat Benatar - Love Is a Battlefield". www.rockpopinfo.com. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  3. ↑ https://www.scribd.com/doc/221265441/VH1-s-100-Greatest-Songs-of-the-80-s
  4. 1 2 "Love Is A Battlefield by Pat Benatar". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo on Rewriting "Love is a Battlefield"". vision4music.com. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 57.
  7. 1 2 "Forum - ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts - CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "Love Is a Battlefield". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "Gold/Platinum Most Recent Certifications". Music Canada. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Songs and music featured in Psych - E2: Murder?...Anyone?...Anyone?...Bueller?". www.tunefind.com. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Drop Dead Diva - What If? Season 1, Episode 11". IMDb. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "13 Going on 30 (2004) - Soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "Small Soldiers (1998) - Soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  14. ↑ "Grammy Awards: Best Rock Vocal Performance – Female". www.rockonthenet.com. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  15. ↑ "Pat Benatar: Love Is a Battlefield (1983)". IMDb. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  16. ↑ "Michael Peters (I) (1948–1994)". IMDb. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  17. ↑ http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=2816
  18. ↑ "Love Is A Battlefield (1983)". imvdb.com. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  19. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Pat Benatar – Love Is a Battlefield" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  20. ↑ CHART NUMBER 1409 – Saturday, January 14, 1984 at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 November 2006). CHUM.
  21. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4423." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  22. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pat Benatar – Love Is a Battlefield". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  23. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Love Is a Battlefield". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  24. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 11, 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  25. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Pat Benatar – Love Is a Battlefield" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  26. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Pat Benatar – Love Is a Battlefield". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  27. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Pat Benatar – Love Is a Battlefield". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  28. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1984-01-29" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  29. ↑ "Love Is A Battlefield by Pat Benatar". www.song-database.com. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  30. ↑ "Pat Benatar – Chart history" Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs for Pat Benatar.
  31. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending DECEMBER 10, 1983 at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 September 2012). Cash Box magazine.
  32. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1985-04-14" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  33. ↑ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1984
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