Eurythmics - Sex Crime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)

"Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)" utilised sample snippets of Annie Lennox's vocals to produce a stuttering effect, and this type of effect featured on many singles released during the 1980s, including "Nineteen" by Paul Hardcastle. Dave Stewart's voice was also sent through a vocoder for the "1984" vocal.

Back in the eighties, the vocoder was an exciting and futuristic sound, although people were still getting excited when Cher used one on her 90's hit "Believe".

This was the first Eurythmics single to be released from the album, 1984 For The Love of Big Brother, and was also on the soundtrack to the film Nineteen Eighty-Four, an adaptation of the George Orwell novel.

The B-side on all formats was the LP version of "I Did It Just The Same". The 12" vinyl and a later 3" CD reissue also included the Extended Mix of "Sex Crime".

In the U.S., many radio stations and MTV allowed only very limited (if any) airtime for the single, as they found the song's title to be too controversial. The single stalled at #81 on the Billboard Hot 100, but reached #2 on the Hot Dance Club Play Chart.

Virgin Films had originally asked David Bowie to create a song for the film, but his fee was considered to be too high. So, they asked Eurythmics instead. However, the song was dropped by director Michael Radford in favour of a classical score that had already been created by Dominic Muldowney, which Eurythmics were unaware of. As his company was funding the film, Richard Branson stepped in to ensure that the Eurythmics song was used in the trailer, and for parts of the film, although Muldowney's score remained the most prominent track. Eurythmics song "Julia" was also used in the closing credits.

As his company was funding the film, Richard Branson stepped in to ensure that the Eurythmics song was used in the trailer, and for parts of the film, although Muldowney's score remained the most prominent track. Eurythmics song "Julia" was also used in the closing credits.

The single reached the top 10 in twelve charts. The highest position reached was #3 on Belgium's Ultratop Chart and also the Official German Chart and Sweden's Topplistan chart. The song also reached #4 on the Irish Singles Chart, and No.5 on Australia's Kent Music Report.

In the UK, the single was not an instant hit, entering the Official Singles Chart at #62 on 28th October 1984. Thanks to plenty of airplay by the main radio stations (including Radio 1), "Sexcrime" eventually reached #4 for one week on 2nd December, before slipping back down to No.9.

The lyrics are actually quite minimalist, with the stuttering effects making up quite a large proportion of the song. The chorus is simply "Sexcrime, Nineteen Eighty-Four" repeated several times. However, there are three short verses.

Read “Sexcrime (1984)” by Eurythmics on Genius

Sexcrime (nineteen eighty-four) 7 inch vinyl sleeve front

1984 (For The Love Of Big Brother) cassette album

Annie Lennox with orange hair and heavy make-up on the front cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine October 1984

Annie Lennox on the cover of Smash Hits Magazine - 30 August-12 September 1984

Annie Lennox Panini sticker from Smash Hits 1984

Annie Lennox Panini sticker from Smash Hits magazine in 1984

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EURYTHMICS "SEX CRIME (Nineteen Eighty-Four)"

Formats

Chart Performance

Lyrics