"Weak in the Presence of Beauty" | ||||
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Single by Floy Joy | ||||
from the album Weak in the Presence of Beauty | ||||
B-side | "You and Me" | |||
Released | June 1986 | |||
Format | 7" single, 12" single | |||
Length | 3:24 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | Michael Ward, Rob Clarke | |||
Producer(s) | Don Was | |||
Floy Joy singles chronology | ||||
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"Weak in the Presence of Beauty" | ||||
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Single by Alison Moyet | ||||
from the album Raindancing | ||||
B-side | "To Work on You" | |||
Released | February 1987 | |||
Format | 7" single, 12" single | |||
Recorded | 1986 | |||
Length | 3:37 | |||
Label | CBS, Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Michael Ward; Rob Clarke | |||
Producer(s) | Jimmy Iovine | |||
Alison Moyet singles chronology | ||||
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"Weak in the Presence of Beauty" is a song written by Michael Ward and Rob Clarke. It was first released by their band, the British group Floy Joy, in 1986. The song was later covered by singer Alison Moyet in 1987 and became a hit for her.
Following the band's 1984 debut album Into the Hot, which spawned two minor Top 100 single entries in the UK chart ("Until You Come Back to Me" and "Operator"), lead vocalist Carroll Thompson left the group, along with Shaun Ward. Michael Ward continued the group with Rob Clarke, and lead vocalist Desi Campbell, the latter who originally the unofficial backing vocalist and bongo player for the group. Together the new trio released one album in 1986 – Weak in the Presence of Beauty – which would also be the band's final album. The title track "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" was the lead single from the album. It peaked at #85 in the UK, lasting in the Top 100 for a total of three weeks. It was the group's highest charting single. The single's highest chart placing was in Australia, where it reached the Top 30. It also saw minor success in Canada, where it peaked at #68 on the Singles Chart and #14 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.
Like the band's debut album, the song (and the album) was produced by Don Was in Detroit.
As revealed in The Face magazine during 1986, the inspired "Weak in The Presence" catch phrase originally came to Michael Ward as a joke. He stated "This girl was saying that she didn't trust me and I said, just off the cuff, "what can I do, I'm weak in the presence of beauty". I still don't know where it came from."
In The Times, a Malta interview with Campbell saw the interviewer ask "Weak in the Presence of Beauty was a minor hit for you – but then, Alison Moyet covered it and it became a huge hit. Did you feel cheated?" Campbell replied "On the contrary, my association with that song has and continues to open many doors for me and I'm very proud to have been part of a little piece of pop history."
In the official American Billboard Magazine of 18 January 1986, "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" was mentioned under the "Dance Trax" section. The article stated: "Floy Joy, much praised but barely charted (like Working Week, another of our undiscovered faves), sound like they have the key to both the U.S. and U.K. charts with "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" (Virgin/U.K.), a Don Was production that's sort of Shannon-meets-"Every Breath You Take". Addictive."