In late 1968, Chappell and Lovich went to London, England to attend art school. It was there that Lovich first tied her hair into the plaits that later became a visual trademark, though at first she did it to keep her hair out of the clay when studying sculpture. Expressing a variety of artistic interests, she sought to find the best outlets for her work.
Over the following decade, Lovich attended several art schools, busked around the London Underground and appeared in cabaret clubs as an "Oriental" dancer. She also travelled to Spain, where she visited Salvador Dalí in his home. She played acoustic rock music around London, sang in the mass choir of a show called Quintessence at the Royal Albert Hall, played a soldier in Arthur Brown's show, worked as a "go-go" dancer with the Radio One Roadshow, toured Italy with a West Indian soul band, and played saxophone for Bob Flag's Balloon and Banana Band and for an all-girl cabaret trio, The Sensations. She recorded screams for horror films, adapted lyrics for French disco star Cerrone (including the sci-fi dance smash "Supernature," later recorded by Lovich in her own version) and worked with various fringe theatre groups. She was also one of thousands of people in the audience at the 1972 Lanchester Arts Festival when Chuck Berry recorded the risqué "My Ding-a-Ling" for Chess Records. As the audience was encouraged to sing-a-long technically this could be described as her first appearance on record. The record was a No. 1 hit in the U.K. and the U.S.A.
In 1975, Lene joined The Diversions, a funk group that put out five singles and an album on Polydor Records without success. In 1978, disc jockey and author Charlie Gillett presented her to Stiff Records boss, Dave Robinson, who quickly signed her to a contract. Her first single for Stiff was "I Think We're Alone Now", a cover of a song originally performed by Tommy James & The Shondells.
Invited to join the Be Stiff Route 78 Tour on 1978, Lovich quickly recorded her first album for Stiff, Stateless, which spawned the remixed hit singles "Lucky Number" and "Say When." Lovich's musical style combined ethnic influences with then current punk rock and new wave.
Maintaining her long term writing partnership with Les Chappell, Lovich recorded the albums Flex and No-Man's-Land for Stiff over the next few years, as well as an EP titled New Toy, the title cut penned by touring band member Thomas Dolby. She also recorded vocals for the track 'Picnic Boy' by The Residents. Following her departure from Stiff, Lovich released "Don't Kill The Animals," a single with Nina Hagen, with whom she had previously appeared in Cha Cha, a film that also starred Herman Brood; together, the three created the film's soundtrack.
In 1989, after an absence of several years, she recorded the album, March which was only moderately successful and was not released until nearly a year after the album's single "Wonderland" had been issued and become an American dance hit. Lovich continues to perform in much the same style she did back in the 1970s and 1980s, with Les Chappell still at her side. In 2005 she appeared on Hawkwind's Take Me to Your Leader CD, as well as appearing occasionally on stage with them.
Lovich's first album since March, entitled Shadows and Dust received a limited release on Mike Thorne's Stereo Society label on September 13, 2005.
Make Believe
Lene Lovich Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Something between you and me
Make believe—Make believe
Love is that something we feel
Make believe—Make believe
Something between you and me
Runs very deep ... runs very deep
Chains of reason hold on to me so
I seek complete release
Re-creation
Come into my life, dreams of paradise
In a sequence of light we are one
'til every scene I see excites the heart of me
Anticipating ...
What is—love is
Make believe—Make believe
Something between you and me
Make believe—Make believe
Love is that something we feel
Make believe—Make believe
Something between you and me
Runs very deep ... runs very deep
Save me! Isolation crazes—everyday
Strangest feelings flow around me so
I seek complete release
Re-location
Come into my life, dreams of paradise
In a feast of the mind we are one
'til every sweet idea excites the heart of me
Anticipating ...
What is—love is
Make believe—Make believe
Something between you and me
Make believe—Make believe
Love is that something we feel
Make believe—Make believe
Something between you and me
Runs very deep ... runs very deep
Make believe—Make believe
Something between you and me
Make believe—Make believe
Love is that something we feel
Make believe—Make believe
Something between you and me
Runs very deep ... and strange as it seems
Things make believe become real
Make believe
The song "Make Believe" by Lene Lovich is a love song that explores the concept of imagination and the power of love. The chorus, "Make believe- make believe, something between you and me, love is that something we feel," suggests the idea that love is not just a feeling but something that can be created and sustained through imagination. The repetition of the phrase "make believe" throughout the song emphasizes this idea and adds a dream-like quality to the song.
The verses of the song describe the struggles the singer faces in trying to escape the constraints of reality and finding complete release and re-creation through love. The line "Chains of reason hold on to me so, I seek complete release, re-creation" highlights the tension between the rational mind and the yearning for emotional freedom. Similarly, in the second verse, the line "Isolation crazes-everyday, strangest feelings flow around me so, I seek complete release, re-location" describes the overwhelming feeling of isolation and the need to escape from it.
Overall, "Make Believe" is a song about the power of imagination and the ability of love to transcend reality. Lovich's haunting vocals and the dreamy melody contribute to the otherworldly quality of the song, emphasizing the idea that at times, it is necessary to retreat into the world of imagination to find the love and connection we seek.
Line by Line Meaning
Make believe—Make believe
We pretend, we pretend
Something between you and me
It's a shared secret
Make believe—Make believe
We pretend, we pretend
Love is that something we feel
It's our love that we pretend is real
Make believe—Make believe
We pretend, we pretend
Something between you and me
It's a shared secret
Runs very deep ... runs very deep
The pretense goes as far as we can keep
Save me! Inspiration takes me—breakaway
I need inspiration to escape the chains of reason I have today
Chains of reason hold on to me so
I can't break free from this reality I know
I seek complete release
I want to be completely free of constraints
Re-creation
I want to recreate myself into a different being
Come into my life, dreams of paradise
Come and be part of my life, in a perfect world
In a sequence of light we are one
We become one in a beautiful, magical moment
'til every scene I see excites the heart of me
Each experience makes me feel alive
Anticipating ...
I'm always looking forward with excitement
What is—love is
Love is the ultimate fantasy
Save me! Isolation crazes—everyday
I need saving from being alone every day
Strangest feelings flow around me so
I feel lost and weird being on my own
I seek complete release
I want to be completely free of constraints
Re-location
I want to be in a different place entirely
Come into my life, dreams of paradise
Come and be part of my life, in a perfect world
In a feast of the mind we are one
We become one in an abundant, beautiful mental space
'til every sweet idea excites the heart of me
Every dream brings me joy and excitement
Anticipating ...
I'm always looking forward with excitement
What is—love is
Love is the ultimate fantasy
Make believe—Make believe
We pretend, we pretend
Something between you and me
It's a shared secret
Make believe—Make believe
We pretend, we pretend
Love is that something we feel
It's our love that we pretend is real
Make believe—Make believe
We pretend, we pretend
Something between you and me
It's a shared secret
Runs very deep ... runs very deep
The pretense goes as far as we can keep
Make believe—Make believe
We pretend, we pretend
Something between you and me
It's a shared secret
Make believe—Make believe
We pretend, we pretend
Love is that something we feel
It's our love that we pretend is real
Make believe—Make believe
We pretend, we pretend
Something between you and me
It's a shared secret
Runs very deep ... and strange as it seems
The pretense goes deeper than we could dream
Things make believe become real
Fantasy can blur our reality, make us feel
Make believe
Let's pretend, let's just make believe
Contributed by Carter M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
solwolfpunk
awesome. I love the March album.
Not Enough Holidays
Haven't heard or seen this for years.. fantastic!
baronvonfrisk
Bought the Album 'March' couple of months ago,( at Amazon). It's a great album and I never tire of listening to the fabulous Lene Lovich.
himself801
I've not listen to "March" in quite awhile but I always had the feeling it would of be a stronger album if she recorded with a band than stripping in each part. There are times you need a solid band performance as a base to build on than to overdubbing everything. When Roy Wood records this way, its because he has a limited budget, I assume the same was true with recording March.
Achtungmiche111
I forgot about this too! I did have this album too. This might've been the year I saw her live.
George Mafredas
Love this video!!!
dudevoc
thanks so much for posting this!! for a few minutes i was in my 20s again and the world made sense.
deaddoc
@Homoholic Well, it's a matter of taste, but I loved the way she used that Orthodox look combined with a Medusa look to create her own "from the crypt" beauty, in a way that I've seen imitated by many since. She must have spent quite a while getting set for a show! I think her creativity was superb. She really knew how to use her very beautiful face as well. A wonderful performer and innovative singer - before her time, I'd say, but timely all the same, even now.
Will James
Lene looked gorgeous back then with her perm!
American Born Patriot.
Gorgeous.