Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
Encyclopedia
"Sexcrime" is a song performed by British pop
duo Eurythmics
. It was written by group members Annie Lennox
and David A. Stewart
for their album 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother)
, which served as the soundtrack
to the film Nineteen Eighty-Four
, an adaptation of the political novel
Nineteen Eighty-Four
by George Orwell
. The song was produced by Stewart.
tune which features a heavily-sampled
Lennox, utilizing snippets of her vocal performance to produce a stuttering effect. Also prominently featured is the voice of Stewart, with the aid of a vocoder
, uttering the phrase "1984". It was the first of two singles released from the soundtrack album. The term "sexcrime" is one of several Newspeak words found within the novel.
, becoming Eurythmics' sixth song in a row to enter the Top 10. It was also a big hit throughout Europe and became one of the duo's biggest selling singles in Australia
. "Sexcrime" met with resistance on United States radio — its title and bleak lyrical content did not earn mainstream success. The music video
(featuring a straightforward performance of the song by Lennox and Stewart) had limited rotation on MTV
. It peaked at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100
, but was much more successful on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play
chart, where it reached number two.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
duo Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
. It was written by group members Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
and David A. Stewart
David A. Stewart
David Allan Stewart , often known as Dave Stewart, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics. He is usually credited as David A. Stewart, to avoid confusion with other musicians named "Dave Stewart".-Early life:Stewart was born in Sunderland,...
for their album 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother)
1984 (For the Love of Big Brother)
-Personnel:* Annie Lennox: vocals, keyboards/synthesizers, percussion* David A. Stewart: backing vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards/synthesizers, drum & sequencer programming* Produced by David A Stewart* Mixed by David A Stewart & Eric 'E.T.' Thorngren...
, which served as the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to the film Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four (film)
Nineteen Eighty-Four is a 1984 British science fiction film, based upon George Orwell's novel of the same name, following the life of Winston Smith in Oceania, a country run by a totalitarian government...
, an adaptation of the political novel
Political fiction
Political fiction is a subgenre of fiction that deals with political affairs. Political fiction has often used narrative to provide commentary on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction often "directly criticize an existing society or.....
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
by George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
. The song was produced by Stewart.
Background and performance
"Sexcrime" is a synthpopSynthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
tune which features a heavily-sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
Lennox, utilizing snippets of her vocal performance to produce a stuttering effect. Also prominently featured is the voice of Stewart, with the aid of a vocoder
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
, uttering the phrase "1984". It was the first of two singles released from the soundtrack album. The term "sexcrime" is one of several Newspeak words found within the novel.
Charting
The single peaked at number four on the UK singles chartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, becoming Eurythmics' sixth song in a row to enter the Top 10. It was also a big hit throughout Europe and became one of the duo's biggest selling singles in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. "Sexcrime" met with resistance on United States radio — its title and bleak lyrical content did not earn mainstream success. The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
(featuring a straightforward performance of the song by Lennox and Stewart) had limited rotation on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. It peaked at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, but was much more successful on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart, where it reached number two.
12"
- A: "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)" (extended mix)
- B1: "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)"
- B2: "I did it just the same" [edited] *
Chart performance
| Chart (1984/1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 18 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 12 |
| French Singles Chart | 7 |
| German Singles Chart | 3 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 4 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 25 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 8 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 9 |
| Polish Singles Chart | 6 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 3 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 6 |
| UK Singles Chart | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 81 |
| U.S. Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs Chart | 2 |