Favorite "Of" Bands #3 - The House of Love

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Confusion is the word of the day in my countdown of my favorite bands with "of" in their name. We are at #3: The House of Love. The House of Love formed in London in 1986 after vocalist/guitarist Guy Chadwick attended a Jesus and Mary Chain concert (hell, I would have formed a band after seeing the Jesus and Mary Chain, and I can't sing or play an instrument!) The band originally consisted of Chadwick, lead guitarist Terry Bickers, guitarist/vocalist Andrea Heukamp, bassist Chris Groothuizen, and drummer Pete Evans. A self-titled debut, allegedly recorded under the influence of LSD, was released on the German label, Creation. Heukamp departed back to her native Germany, the band signed to Fontana Records, where they released a different self-titled debut (with Heukamp returning for backing vocals,) perfectionist Chadwick and musical free spirit Bickers ceased speaking to each other, Fontana panicked and released an outtakes record, Bickers split to form the underrated Levitation, and the group released two more albums (including the fantastic Babe Rainbow,) before splitting up in 1993. Ten years later, with Terry Bickers back in fold, The House of Love reformed and are still at it. Whew. Despite all the turmoil, this band has released a lot of great music. While you may or may not remember singles such as "Christine," "Shine On," or "You Don't Understand," if you watched MTV, particularly 120 Minutes, you might recognize their alternative hit "I Don't Know Why I Love You," which received heavy play on the cable channel. With such a chaotic history (I basically just gave you the "nutshell" version,) it's not unsurprising that The House of Love never really caught on as much as they deserved. Which is too bad, because they really are awesome! (Why, exactly, do I love you anyway info verified by Wikipedia)