The song was written jointly by lead vocalist Philip Oakey and keyboardist Ian Burden.

It features lead vocal by Oakey and analogue synthesizers by Jo Callis, Philip Adrian Wright and Ian Burden.

Drum machines, sequencing and programming were provided by producer Martin Rushent and his then engineer and programmer David M. Allen.

"[8] The release of the single was widely advertised in music press in early August 1981 with prominence given also to the B-side "Hard Times" as well as the A-side, and to the fact that a "limited" 12" single would also be made available as "Hard Times/Love Action" in "Disco Mix and Odd Mix"[9] although these names were not used for the actual release.

The single was designated 'Red' on the Human League's short-lived self-imposed labelling system of 'Blue' for pop songs and 'Red' for dance tracks.

It also renewed Virgin Records' faith in the band and guaranteed the release of the studio album that was to become Dare, just four months later.

Following the huge success of "Don't You Want Me", a video for "Love Action" was shot retrospectively for the single's release in America on 11 August 1982.

At one point in the scene, she accidentally managed to score a direct hit on the camera and a production crew member with a flying lamp.