Flowers of Romance (song)

"Flowers of Romance" is a song by Public Image Ltd. It reached number twenty four on the UK Singles Chart. The 12" extended version of the song is actually two songs counted as one track: the single version of the song followed by an instrumental version of it.

"Flowers of Romance"
Single by Public Image Ltd
from the album The Flowers of Romance
B-side	"Home Is Where the Heart Is"
Released	27 March 1981 (UK)
Genre	Experimental rock post-punk
Length	2:50
Label	Virgin VS 397
Songwriter(s)	John Lydon and Keith Levene
Producer(s)	Public Image Ltd Nick Launay
Public Image Ltd singles chronology
"Memories" (1979) "Flowers of Romance" (1981) "This Is Not a Love Song" (1983)

"Listening to that again reminded me of coming out of jail [after being arrested for alleged assault in 1980]," John Lydon told Select in 1990. "That's when I recorded it. I left Dublin and went straight into the studio for two weeks solid: slept there, did everything myself, practically. No band; couldn't find Keith; more or less had to engineer the bloody thing myself cos the engineer there ran out going, 'That's impossible – you can't do that!' I did it. That particular song, I timed how long it would take me to turn the tape on, run into the studio and turn it all off. I had to rehearse that about 20 bloody times before I got it right!"^[1]

Writing in 2002, writer Garry Mulholland described the song as "the strangest chart record of the last 25 years, maybe ever."^[2]

NME ranked it the 41st best single of the year.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

7" vinyl

1. "Flowers of Romance" – 2:50
2. "Home Is Where the Heart Is" – 7:33

12" vinyl

1. "Flowers of Romance (Extended Version)" - 5:40
2. "Home Is Where the Heart Is" – 7:33

Chart performance

Chart (1981)	Peak position
Ireland (IRMA)[3]	19
UK Singles (OCC)[4]	24

References

1. Select, December 1990
2. Lester, Paul (11 July 2008). "What's the weirdest chart hit of all time?". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
3. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Flowers of Romance". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
4. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2014.