The Lover Speaks

The Lover Speaks were a new wave duo consisting of London based singer/song writer David Freeman, and Joseph Hughes (arranger, composer). They sang the original version of the song "No More I Love You's'," which became a huge hit for Annie Lennox in 1995. David was born in East London on September 25, 1957. As a teenager in the late 70s he began playing guitar in the British punk band The Flys, recording two studio albums and a clutch of singles on EMI, Harvest and Parlophone. The Flys split up in 1980. A compilation of Flys songs appeared on See For Miles Records in 1990. During the early 80s he worked with pop producer Phil Wainman, releasing a solo single entitled "Stop In the Name of Love." He went on to publish a local history of Muswell Hill and also penned a book of erotic poetry, Voices of Passion. Freeman and Hughes formed The Lover Speaks (deriving the name from Roland Barthes' "A Lover's Discourse") in 1985. They recorded a demo tape which they sent off to Dave Stewart, who then sent it to Chryssie Hynde and finally to 80s super-producer Jimmy Iovine. The duo were signed to Dave Stewart's Anxious Music Publishing that year, and to A&M Records, Los Angeles in 1986. Freeman's vocals received praise, but the album never really took off. "No More I Love You's", the first single fell off the British charts after rising to #58. Despite the lackluster reception, they opened for the Eurythmics on their 1986 tour. They returned to the studio, and recorded another album, The Big Lie some time later, only to face a hostile A&M Records, which refused to release it. The Lover Speaks split in 1988. Freeman returned to producer Mike Finesilver and throughout the 1990s wrote and recorded under his own name. A handful of these album were published in 1996 on various independent labels. His back catalogue remains unpublicized and ranges from Van Morrison-like soul searching, with the help of jazz players like bassist Andrew Cleyndert, pianist Damon Butcher and drummer Ralph Salmins - to the open acoustic feel of the Balance album recorded with drummer Steve Creese and bassist Chucho Merchan. This catalogue has recently been acquired by Universal Publishing. Currently David Freeman is in retirement. He is a loving and devoted father to two children Lucy and Nathaniel whom he shares in equal custody with his ex-wife Sarah. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.