“It didn’t turn out that way”: Keane Reveals Why Love Actually Didn’t Use Their Song as Definitive Christmas Movie Turns 20
Famed British rock band Keane recently released a song they created for the 2003 Christmas romantic comedy Love Actually. The film is loved unanimously and has risen to holiday staple status. Fans of the band and the film were surprised by the release of the new ‘old song.’
Naturally, the matter inspires intrigue. Keane is one of the biggest musical acts of the 2000s. And Love Actually, one of the biggest films. This alliance would have done wonders but there is a reason why things did not play out in this manner.
Why Keane’s Love Actually Didn’t Make The Final Cut?
Love Actually is a timeless film that embodies the holiday spirit in a celebrated rom-com fashion. It is a celebration of love and holidays together. Music enhances everything and one can imagine how things could have been merrier if Keane’s song had been used in the film. But due to a certain reason, it wasn’t.
When the Hugh Grant starrer was in the making, Keane had not become the music sensation they are today. As an up-and-coming alternative rock band, they wrote and pitched a song to Richard Curtis, hoping Love Actually would be their big break. This was an ambitious endeavor. The film stands as an international collaborative project with the United States, United Kingdom, and France. Had the song been included, the whole trajectory of Keane’s success could have been different.
Things didn’t go as the band hoped. As keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxely revealed in a statement (via Rolling Stone):
“In 2002 we were an unsigned band, and our friend and manager Adam was working for the producer of Love Actually. While they were making the film, Adam suggested we should quickly write a song, and he’d see if he could get it into Richard Curtis’ hands…and maybe we could sneak onto the soundtrack and get our big break! Needless to say it didn’t turn out that way, but Richard always very graciously said he loved the song and wished he’d put it in the film.”
Oxely added how the band loved the song and always wanted to release it.
“We all loved the song too, but having called it ‘Love Actually’, it was very hard to do anything with it! In fact, for 20 years whenever I’ve played a new demo to my mum, her response has usually been, ‘Hmm…when are you going to record ‘Love Actually’?’ Well, the film Love Actually is 20 years old now, which at last gives us a perfect reason to record our song properly.”
Fans feel robbed but they aren’t the only ones feeling sad that this didn’t happen.
Love Actually Director Regrets His Decision
Richard Curtis, the director of the film acknowledges that his decision of not using the song was a mistake. The director went as far as saying that the song was a bit “too deep” for the film. As he told in a statement (via Rolling Stone):
“Everyone makes mistakes—even if they’re understandable ones. When I first listened to ‘Love Actually’ by this totally unknown combo called Keane, I thought it was beautiful. I tried really hard to put it in the film—but in the end it was a little melancholy and, dare I say, a bit DEEP for the film I’d made.”
Getting to debut with Love Actually wasn’t in the cards for Keane. But immense success was. Hence, they have re-recorded and released the song as their Christmas present to their fans.
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