BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984
Originally posted May 30th, 2012
“I’ll pull the bricks down
One by one
Leave a big hole in the wall”
“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.
“Sexcrime” is a song which features a 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 in 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.
The single peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart 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. 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.
The b-side “I Did It Just The Same” is derived from Orwell’s text and is taken from a passage in the book where the protagonist, Winston Smith, relates how he committed “sexcrime” with a prostitute—initially deceived by her makeup, when he got close to her, he realised she was “about fifty – but I did it just the same”.
SIDE A:
Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four) (Extended Mix) 7:57
SIDE B:
Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four) (Single Version) 3:58
I Did It Just The Same 3:27
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four) | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #81 |
| 1984 | Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four) | U.S. Billboard Dance Club Plays | #2 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: RCA – JW-13957
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 33 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Composed By – Lennox*, Stewart*
Mixed By – David A. Stewart, Eric Thorngren
Producer – David A. Stewart
NOTES:
Taken from the Motion Picture Sound Track Album: “1984”
Printed in U.S.A.
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7 TubeGold Pins
Soundcard: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
TY
I also have both original soundtracks (the other score, by Dominic Muldowney) so I’m really digging that we like similar music. Great minds, you know? 🙂
Thanks, Paul!
Oh wow ! I almost missed this one. Love your re rip. Thank you.
You originally posted BEFORE 2012 Paul. I have your original rip that I downloaded November 2011 and your rerip from May 2012…so this is 3rd time around! Not complaining, good track and connected to my favourite book!
You know your Burning The Ground history Ian 🙂
Swooon!! This whole album is genius. Still play the crap out of it to this day.
Thanks so much for posting this!
xxx
You’re welcome John von Ahlen 🙂
not too much diference, i have in cd and is much better the sound…
Superb remaster Paul!!!
Thank you!!!
Nubben
Thank you Nubben 🙂
This is a rare treat! Thank you!
You’re welcome Eddie 🙂
A massive hit over here and it still gets its deserved airplay. The long version certainly could have been reworked in a much more interesting way – your re-rip though, dear Paul, could not. Brilliant sound, cristal clear. Love it. No, LOVE IT 🙂
I agree the remix could have been much better. Not sure why they didn’t procure a big name mixer for the track. A missed opportunity. Too bad radio in the U.S. was so prudish the song deserved a much higher chart position on the Hot 100.
Eurythmics “Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)” was ahead of it’s time. Annie Lennox as always the perfect voice along with David A. Stewart who was multi talented with various Instruments and both wrote great music. In their earlier days they brought out a darker side to synthesized music with videos to match that mood and then their music became slightly cheerful, but still with meaningful lyrics…..1987 and the release of “Beethoven (I Love to Listen To)”, this was them again back to their earlier style, this time combining elements of split personalities to a modern beat. We need more Eurythmics posts! Thank… Read more »
You’re welcome John I am sure I will be posting more from Eurythmics in the future. 🙂
Thanks Paul. One of their best singles.
You’re welcome Omar 🙂
There’s nothing better than when you return and re-visit one of your old posts and re-master it in your glorious way Paul. I so loved this record and its sound was quite edgy at the time. It was so sad the single failed on the US pop charts. It was such a different time back then. I guess seeing and hearing, “sex crime” was too much for radio programmers’ ears. Fast forward to today and it’s a free for all with subject matter. I love Eurthmic’s records that were more electronic thann their later out-put. The cold electronics coupled with… Read more »
The subject matter is definitely a free for all these days reaching all the to the White House. Love this record and the movie but it’s kind of scary how much of it relevant today. I listened to my old transfer before doing this one and am amazed how much better this remaster sounds. Hope you guys will enjoy it 🙂
I didn’t realise this song got so high in the charts. I don’t remember it being played too much after its initial release, and it’s certainly rare to hear it these days, Sweet Dreams will always be the go-to Eurythmics track.
A truly forgotten classic 🙂
Definitely.