"Victim of Love" is a song by British synthpop

Synthpop

Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...

 duo Erasure

Erasure

Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...

, released in May 1987 as their sixth single overall.

It was the third single to be lifted from the duo's second album, The Circus, released six weeks earlier, and was remixed for single release.

The song was written by band members Vince Clarke

Vince Clarke

Vince Clarke is an English synthpop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been involved with a number of successful groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly and Erasure....

 and Andy Bell

Andy Bell (singer)

Andrew Ivan "Andy" Bell is the lead singer of the English synthpop duo Erasure. He also has a solo career, with the albums Non-Stop and Electric Blue.-Early life:Andy Bell originates from the Dogsthorpe area in Peterborough...

 and incorporates the signature Erasure sound of uptempo rhythm, analog synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

 and a prominent acoustic guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

. Bell's lyrics pertain to one's apprehension when entering into a new love relationship. The song's protagonist doesn't "want to look like some kind of fool" or become a "victim of love".

Upon its release, "Victim of Love" became the second UK Top 10 single for Erasure, peaking at number seven. "Victim of Love" also hit number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart (Clarke and Bell would have to wait eighteen years before their second U.S. Dance chart-topper).

The song remains one of Erasure's signature tunes and is a concert favorite.

12": Mute / 12 MUTE 61 (UK)

1. "Victim of Love" (Extended Mix) - 6:59
2. "The Soldier's Return" (The Return of the Radical Radcliffe
   Eric Radcliffe
   Eric Radcliffe is a recording engineer and producer who worked with New Wave and synthpop bands in the early 1980s in Basildon, England...
   
    Mix) - 5:00
3. "Victim of Love" (Dub Mix) - 3:29

12": Mute / L12 MUTE 61 (UK)

1. "Victim of Love" (Vixen Vitesse Mix) - 5:42
2. "The Soldier's Return" (The Machinery Mix) - 4:16
3. "If I Could" (Japanese Mix) - 3:40

12": Sire-Reprise / 20740-0 (UK)

1. "Victim of Love" (Vixen Vitesse Mix) - 5:42
2. "The Soldier's Return" (return of the radical radcliffe mix) - 5:00
3. "Victim of Love" (extended mix) - 6:59
4. "Victim of Love" (dub mix) - 3:29

CD: Mute / CD MUTE 61 (UK)

1. "Safety in Numbers" (Recorded live) - 1:28
2. "Victim of Love" - 3:26
3. "The Soldier's Return" (The Return of the Radical Radcliffe Mix) - 5:00
4. "Victim of Love" (Dub Mix) - 3:29
5. "Don't Dance" (Recorded live) - 3:53
6. "Leave Me To Bleed" (Recorded live) - 3:42

• track 1 recorded , Hamburg
  Hamburg
  -History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
  
  
• tracks 5,6 recorded , Brighton Dome
  Brighton Dome
  The Brighton Dome is an arts venue in Brighton, England that contains the Concert Hall, Corn Exchange and the Pavilion Theatre. All three venues are linked to the rest of the Royal Pavilion Estate by an underground tunnel to the Royal Pavilion in Pavilion Gardens and through shared corridors to...
  
  

Phil Harding

1. "Victim Of Love" (Extended Mix) - 6:59
2. "Victim Of Love" (Dub Mix) - 3:29
3. "Victim Of Love" (remix) - 3:38

Eric Radcliffe

1. "The Soldier's Return" (The Machinery Mix) - 4:16
2. "The Soldier's Return" (The Return Of the Radical Radcliffe Mix) - 5:00

Chart performance

Chart (1986)	Peak position
German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...	26
Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...	7
Swiss Singles Chart	22
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	7
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...	1