"It's a Sin" is a song by English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

duo

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

from their second studio album, '' Actually'' (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's second number-one single on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, spending three weeks atop the chart. Additionally, the single topped the charts in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, while reaching number nine on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. A demo of the track was first cut in 1984 with Bobby Orlando, and the song's form in the demo remained intact to the final version, although the released production is far more dramatic.

Writing and inspiration

In this song, Tennant describes some impressions he got from his time at the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

St Cuthbert's High School St Cuthbert's Catholic High School is a boys-only Roman Catholic secondary school with academy status located on Gretna Road in the Benwell Hill area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Admissions St Cuthbert's is a seven-form entry school. The sc ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. He ended up feeling that everything he had done or was going to do was a sin. Tennant has said that he wrote the lyrics purging his emotions in a moment of frustration and anger, but that it was not something serious: In the

coda Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...

, Tennant recites a part of the Confiteor in

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, which translated into English is "I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, act and omission, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault". "'It’s a Sin', at its heart, is a heavy metal record," Tennant said. "There is a huge link between hi-NRG music and heavy metal: the urgency, the chords, the slightly histrionic melody." The dramatic, overblown production style of the song, loaded with synthesizers,

orchestra hit An orchestra hit, also known as an orchestral hit, orchestra stab, or orchestral stab, is a synthesized sound created through the layering of the sounds of a number of different orchestral instruments playing a single staccato note or chord. ...

s and bookended by a non sequitur sample of a

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, has come to exemplify the most theatrical extremes of the Pet Shop Boys' musical style. It remains a concert staple, being one of only two songs (alongside "

West End Girls "West End Girls" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life which were in ...

") that has been played during every Pet Shop Boys tour. The band stated at the time that they had been keen for Stock Aitken Waterman to produce the song, as they were huge fans. Neil has stated that Pete Waterman hated the demo, so they turned instead to SAW's remix engineer Phil Harding to remix the song for the US release (which went uncredited on the sleeve). They would work with him again on " I'm Not Scared", the single they wrote for the Patsy Kensit band Eighth Wonder and remixes of " Always on My Mind". The Pet Shop Boys have been known to segue between "It’s a Sin" and

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor ( née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" ( ...

's " I Will Survive" at their concerts.

Controversy

At the time of the single's release, British DJ Jonathan King accused the Pet Shop Boys of plagiarising the melody for "It's a Sin" from

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

' 1971 song " Wild World". He made the claims in '' The Sun'' newspaper, for which he wrote a regular column during the 1980s. King went so far as to release his own cover version of "Wild World" as a single, using a similar musical arrangement to "It's a Sin", in an effort to demonstrate his claims. While the Pet Shop Boys sued King, this single flopped, eventually winning out-of-court damages, which they donated to charity.

Music video

Directed by Derek Jarman, the "It's a Sin" video marked the experimental director's first of several collaborations with the band. It extended the lyrical themes of the song by showing Tennant under arrest by an

inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

with Lowe as his jailer and Ron Moody in the role of his judge, interspersed with brief clips of

personification Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their b ...

s of the seven deadly sins.

Track listings

* 7": Parlophone / R 6158 (UK) # "It's a Sin" – 4:59 # "You Know Where You Went Wrong" – 5:51 * 12": Parlophone / 12R 6158 (UK) # "It's a Sin" (Disco Mix) – 7:39 # "You Know Where You Went Wrong" – 5:51 # "It's a Sin" (7" version) – 4:59 * CD: Parlophone / CDR 6158 (UK) # "It's a Sin" (7" version) – 4:59 # "You Know Where You Went Wrong" – 5:51 # "It's a Sin" (Disco Mix) – 7:39 * 12": Parlophone / 12RX 6158 (UK) # "It's a Sin" (Remix) (Ian Levine) – 8:15 # "You Know Where You Went Wrong" (Rough Mix) – 6:38 * 12": EMI-Manhattan / V-19256 (US) # "It's a Sin" (Phil Harding Latin Vocal Mix) (aka Miami Mix) – 9:14 # "It's a Sin" (Phil Harding Latin Dub Mix) – 4:20 # "It's a Sin" (Remix) – 8:15 # "It's a Sin" (Disco Mix) – 7:39 # "You Know Where You Went Wrong" – 5:51

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Other recordings

Years and Years version

On 22 January 2021, British electronic group Years & Years covered the song to coincide with the release of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

series ''

It's a Sin "It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, ''Actually'' (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's se ...

'', which stars frontman

Olly Alexander Oliver Alexander Thornton (born 15 July 1990) is a British singer and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of Years & Years and for his performance as Ritchie Tozer in the Channel 4 drama series, ''It's a Sin''. Early life Alexander w ...

in the lead role. The cover was produced by Mark Ralph, with part of the proceeds going to the George House Trust. The band had previously collaborated with the Pet Shop Boys on the 2019 single " Dreamland", and Alexander previewed his version for Neil Tennant prior to its release. A slowed-down version of the song with only piano accompaniment, the cover is in C minor at a tempo of 126 beats per minute. Pet Shop Boys praised the cover, calling it "beautiful". A music video was released, consisting of clips from ''It's a Sin''. Alexander performed the song as part of the setlist for his 2022

Night Call Tour The Night Call Tour was the third concert tour by English synth-pop singer Olly Alexander, under the stage name Years & Years and was his first tour as a solo artist. The tour supported the '' Night Call'' album and began on 19 May 2022 at the B ...

Elton John and Years and Years version

A pre-recorded performance of the song by English musicians

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and Years & Years aired as part of the

2021 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2021, the 41st edition of the annual Brit Awards, was the UK's first major indoor live music event in more than a year. It was held on 11 May 2021 and celebrated the best in British and international music. Usually held in February, ...

on 11 May 2021. Pet Shop Boys were scheduled to be a part of the performance, but were unable to do so due to a "contractual issue". The duet started as a slower piano track before transitioning into

with accompanying backup dancers and drag queens. A studio recording of the collaboration, produced by Stuart Price and the Pet Shop Boys, was released following the performance, with proceeds going to the Elton John AIDS Foundation. "It's a Sin" debuted at number 57 on the

and at the top of ''

The Official Big Top 40 ''The Sky VIP Official Big Top 40 from Global'' is a radio chart show broadcast every Sunday from 4 to 7pm on Global's Capital and Heart networks, presented by Will Manning. It was started in May 2009 but the show is the descendant of ''The Net ...

''.

Gamma Ray version

Gamma Ray covered the song for their 1999 album ''

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''.

Notes

References

* Heath, Chris (2001). "It's a Sin". In ''Actually / Further Listening 1987–1988''

D liner notes D, or d, is the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''dee'' (pronounced ), plural ''dees''. History The ...