One Love
- Nov 30, 2023
- 2 min read
One Love” is a 1990 non‑album single by The Stone Roses, released on 2 July 1990 at the peak of the band’s early fame. Produced by John Leckie and issued via Silvertone Records, it climbed to number four on the UK Singles Chart—then the band’s highest‑charting single—and proved the Roses could enchant listeners even without a full album behind them. Built around a hypnotic guitar riff, wah‑infused textures and Ian Brown’s near‑mantra vocal, it was paired with the groove‑laden B‑side “Something’s Burning.”
Interestingly, the single’s original sleeve art — drawn by guitarist John Squire — was scrapped at the last minute after the band realised the design risked being seen as resembling a swastika. In response, they destroyed the proofs and replaced the artwork entirely, avoiding potential controversy before the record hit the racks.
Although some critics found the song’s swirling, repetitive structure a bit much, many fans accepted it as a mark of the band’s shift from jangly indie‑rock toward a more expansive, groove‑led psychedelia. Even without album backing, “One Love” has since been enshrined on compilations such as Turns into Stone, The Complete Stone Roses and The Very Best of The Stone Roses — proof that even a single without a home can find a permanent address in a band’s legacy.
UK 7-inch vinyl (Silvertone ORE 17)
“One Love” — 3:35 (7″ version)
“Something’s Burning” — 7:50
UK 12-inch vinyl (ORE T 17), UK cassette (ORE C 17), UK CD (ORE CD 17)
“One Love” — 7:45 (12″/extended version)
“Something’s Burning” — 7:50
US release (12-inch vinyl, cassette, CD digipak — Silvertone 1399‑ format)
“One Love” — 7:45
“Something’s Burning” — 7:50
“One Love” — 3:35 (7″ version)
Japanese CD (Silvertone / Alfa ALCB‑103)
“One Love” — 3:35 (7″ version)
“One Love” — 7:45 (12″ version)
“Something’s Burning” — 7:50
