Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four) (song)

"Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)"
Single by Eurythmics
from the album 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother)
Released 22 October 1984
Format
Recorded 1984
Genre
Label Virgin (UK)
RCA (US)
Writer(s)
Producer(s) David A. Stewart
Eurythmics singles chronology
"Here Comes the Rain Again"
(1984)		 "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)"
(1984)		 "Julia"
(1985)

"Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)" is a song written and performed by the British duo Eurythmics. It was released as the first single from their album 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother), which served as the soundtrack to the film Nineteen Eighty-Four, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by George Orwell. The song was produced by Dave Stewart.

Background and performance

"Sexcrime" is a song which features heavy sampling of Lennox's voice, 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 "nineteen eighty four". 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.

The song was originally intended to appear in the film 1984, but was dropped prior to the film's release. However, it was used as background music for the film's trailer, and the song's promotional video was included on home video releases of the film.

In addition to the standard 7" and 12" formats, the song was also released as a limited edition 12" picture disc.

Chart performance

The single peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart,[1] becoming Eurythmics' sixth consecutive Top 10 hit. It was one of the duo's biggest selling singles in the UK, being certified Silver by the BPI for sales in excess of 250,000 copies.[2] It was also a big hit throughout Europe, a top 10 hit in New Zealand, a top 20 hit in Canada, and one of the duo's biggest selling singles in Australia.

"Sexcrime" met with strong resistance on United States radio and on video outlets such as MTV — the song's title was particularly controversial to those who were not aware of the meaning of the word in Orwell's novel. The music video (featuring a straightforward performance of the song by Lennox and Stewart) had limited rotation on MTV. "Sexcrime" peaked at a lowly number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100, but was much more successful on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, where it reached number 2.

Track listings

7"

12"

3" CD Re-Issue

Chart performance and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1984–85) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 3
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[5] 3
Canada (CHUM)[6] 13
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] 18
France (SNEP)[8] 7
Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[10] 4
Italy (FIMI)[11] 25
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 10
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 12
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 8
Norway (VG-lista)[15] 9
Poland (LP3)[16] 6
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 6
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[1] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[19] 81
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[20] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1984) Position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[21] 84
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] 95
Chart (1985) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[23] 51
France (IFOP)[24] 45
Germany (Official German Charts)[25] 38
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[26] 15

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[2] Silver 250,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 "Archive Chart: 1984-12-08" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  2. 1 2 "British single certifications – Eurythmics – Sexcrime". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Sexcrime in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  3. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 105. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Eurythmics – Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "Radio 2 Top 30 : 15 december 1984" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  6. ↑ CHART NUMBER 1470 – Saturday, February 23, 1985 at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 November 2006). CHUM.
  7. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9577." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Eurythmics – Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Eurythmics – Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Sex Crime (1984)". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  11. ↑ "Indice per Interprete: E" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 2, 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Eurythmics – Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Eurythmics – Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Eurythmics – Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)". VG-lista. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  16. ↑ "SEX CRIME – Eurythmics" (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  17. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Eurythmics – Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  18. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Eurythmics – Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "Eurythmics – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Eurythmics. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  20. ↑ "Eurythmics – Chart history" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Eurythmics. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  21. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1984" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  22. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1984" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  23. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  24. ↑ "TOP – 1985" (in French). Top-france.fr. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  25. ↑ "Jahrescharts – 1985" (in German). Offiziellecharts.de. GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  26. ↑ "Top Dance Club Play Singles /Albums" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 97 no. 52. 28 December 1985. p. T-23. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
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