A Love from Outer Space

Ayuli and Tambala wrote it. Tambala told Ban Ban Ton Ton that it began as a simple guitar and vocal piece that just kept growing, with Ayuli singing most vocals and Girl and Lorna backing; the title riffs on Sun Ra's "Love in Outer Space". They sequenced it at their H.Ark! studio in Stratford and recorded at Matrix, Good Earth, Orinoco, The Smokehouse, Blackwing and The Church, at great expense, with the label indulging them. Billy McGee scored the strings, played in The Church, and Bonjo I of African Head Charge brought about thirty percussion instruments. Sandie Shaw visited and almost sang on it. Tambala names house records, Acid Beats Volume 1, "Can You Party", "Move Your Body" and "Voodoo Ray", as influences, and says no samples were used and he could not get the acid squelch of a TB-303.

The 1989 single was in a Boy's Own chart compiled by DJs including Andrew Weatherall. Weatherall and Sean Johnston named their club night A Love From Outer Space after the track in 2010, and Johnston told Tambala that a large part of what he had been doing for thirteen years had been because of what the band did. Hot Press called it a disastrous foray into rave and techno territory, while Electronic Sound's 2026 Landmarks feature called it a crown jewel that still sounds totally out of this world. The 1992 EP A Love from Outer Space carries other mixes; Bandcamp's Album Version runs 4:18 against 5:08 on the LP. Tahiti 80 recorded a version. Setlist.fm shows five plays, including Leeds, London and Bristol in September 2024.