The Lover Speaks were an English new wave duo consisting of David Freeman (vocals) and Joseph Hughes (arranger, composer). They wrote and sang the original version of the song "No More "I Love You's"", covered by Annie Lennox in 1995 on her Medusa album, which she took to No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. History Freeman and Hughes formed The Lover Speaks in 1985, having previously worked together in the punk outfit The Flys. Deriving their name from the Roland Barthes' book A Lover's Discourse: Fragments, the duo began writing material and also recruited keyboard player Barry Gilbert after advertising for a keyboardist. Although Gilbert was not an official member of the group, he would record and tour with the duo. Later in 1985, the band sent a demo tape to Dave Stewart of Eurythmics and soon signed with Stewart's Anxious Music Publishing. Meanwhile, Stewart had forwarded the demo tape to Chryssie Hynde, who sent it to producer Jimmy Iovine. Iovine was successful in getting the band a recording contract with A&M Records in early 1986. John Warwicker, the art director for A&M at the time, recalled in 2022 that the signing of the Lover Speaks was met with "great excitement" by A&M, who "thought they had discovered the Walker Brothers of the 80s". In July 1986, the band released their debut single, "No More "I Love You's"", which peaked at No. 58 in the UK. In August, the band's self-titled debut album, The Lover Speaks, was released. Produced by Iovine, and featuring contributions from Stewart, June Miles-Kingston and Nils Lofgren among others, the album was a commercial failure. In September, the album's second single, "Tremble Dancing", also failed to enter the charts. The third and final single, "Every Lover's Sign", was released in October, and in December peaked at No. 6 on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. Following the release of the album, the band opened for Eurythmics during their Revenge World Tour. In February 1987, the band released a cover of Dusty Springfield's "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" as a non-album single. The song failed to chart. The duo, with their live band, had played the song on tour, and although Stewart advised against recording it, he produced the song with the duo. In the spring and summer of 1987, the band returned to the studio to record their second album, The