"Obsession" is a 1983 song by

Holly Knight Holly Knight (born 1956) is an American songwriter, musician, and singer. She was a member of the 1980s pop rock groups Spider and Device, and wrote or co-wrote several hit singles for other artists, such as " Rag Doll", " Obsession", " Love Is ...

and Michael Des Barres, covered in 1984 by American

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

band Animotion. The song hit number six in the United States, and number five in the United Kingdom in June 1985, helped by a distinctive video that

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

played frequently. "Obsession" also hit the top 40 on the US dance chart, twice: once in 1984 (the single reached No. 35 the week ending November 24); then in 1986, as a double-sided hit, along with the track " I Engineer".

Background

In 1983, co-writer Michael Des Barres, who was recovering from a heroin addiction, wanted to write a song about obsession that would appeal to a broad audience, and he decided to focus on romantic obsession instead of drug addiction. His producer Mike Chapman arranged for him to collaborate with

, who was also signed to Chapman's publishing company. The lines "Like a butterfly, a wild butterfly / I will collect you and capture you" were inspired by '' The Collector'', a film that Des Barres had watched about a man who kidnaps a beautiful woman. Co-writer

would often practice or write riffs on the bass E-string of her guitar, which spawned the bass rhythm of "Obsession".

History

"Obsession" was written and recorded as a duet by songwriter

and musician Michael Des Barres in 1983. This version was played in the 1983 film '' A Night in Heaven'', during a scene in which Christopher Atkins bumps and grinds in Lesley Ann Warren's face in sync with the rhythm of the song. The song was featured on the film's soundtrack and was also featured in the theatrical trailer to the 1986 film '' 9½ Weeks'', starring

Mickey Rourke Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. ( ; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former professional Boxing, boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading actor, leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. In a Mickey Rourke filmogra ...

and Kim Basinger. The

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based

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

band Animotion recorded a version of the tune for their self-titled debut album, released in 1984. This version became a success, and it remains Animotion's biggest hit. Animotion's version is included in the 2002

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

'' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' on the fictional in-game new wave radio station "Wave 103" as well as in a Strip Club in the game called "The Pole Position Club". It has also been used as the theme song for World Wrestling Federation's ''

Saturday Night's Main Event ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' is a series of American professional wrestling television specials produced by WWE (originally the World Wrestling Federation or WWF). It was originally broadcast by NBC from 1985 to 1991, replacing ''Saturday ...

'' (aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

as the introduction theme from May 1985 - Jan 1988) and

FashionTelevisionChannel Fashion Television, also known as Fashion Television Channel, was a Television in Canada, Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. It was originally established in 2001 by CHUM Limited as a brand extension of the Citytv s ...

, as well as

's '' House of Style''. The song has been used as the opening theme for the internationally syndicated Canadian program '' FT - FashionTelevision'' since it premiered in 1986. The Animotion version was also featured in 1985 episodes of the daytime soap operas ''

Days Of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

'' and ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

''. It also featured in the 2016

'' Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare'' as a part of the soundtrack to the zombies mode map "Zombies in Spaceland". The song is featured in the 1989 video '' Don Cherry's Rock'Em Sock'em Hockey''. It was also featured prominently in the 2018 Australian film ''The Second'', the first feature film ever produced by an Australian streaming service ( Stan). The movie, about a troubling incident in the past of a successful novelist, used the song throughout to highlight the themes of jealousy, envy, and most obviously obsession. The song features in the ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...

'' episode "Shell Game" (2018). Various artists have covered the song, including The Azoic in 2004, the Sugababes, Karen O from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs recorded a version which was the theme to a tv show called Flesh and Bone The song is featured in a scene in the 2022 film '' Fresh,'' in which Sebastian Stan’s character dances to the song while preparing human meat for consumption. The song is used in a teaser trailer for the Ti West film '' MaXXXine.'' The WWE (formerly World Wrestling Federation) is using the song again as its introduction theme for the returning ''

'' scheduled to air via simulcast on

and

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

December 14, 2024.

Music video

The music video features the Animotion band members—focusing mostly on the two lead singers, Bill Wadhams and Astrid Plane—dressed in various costumes (such as

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

and

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

) while lip-syncing and dancing to the song next to a swimming pool and inside a luxury house in the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

neighborhood.

Track listings

7": Mercury / 880 266-7 (US), PH34 (UK)

;Side one # "Obsession" - 3:58 ;Side two # "Turn Around" - 3:54

12": Mercury / 880 266-1 (US), PH3412 (UK)

;Side one # "Obsession (Dance Remix)" - 6:00 ;Side two # "Obsession (Special Dub Mix)" - 5:30

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sugababes version

English

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

Sugababes covered "Obsession" for their fourth studio album '' Taller in More Ways'' (2005). Group member Heidi Range initially recorded it as a demo with Ashley Hamilton, although the Sugababes later decided to record it as a group. It was produced by

Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, and film producer from Columbus, Georgia. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfir ...

, one of the album's primary producers. The cover is similar to the original and had a polarizing effect on critics; some criticised it as mediocre, while others called it one of the album's standout tracks. The Sugababes performed it on their tours in support of ''Taller in More Ways'' and '' Overloaded: The Singles Collection'' (2006).

Background and production

The Sugababes' version of "Obsession" was produced by

, who collaborated with the Sugababes on various tracks on the album. Group member Heidi Range initially recorded "Obsession" as a demo with Ashley Hamilton, although the Sugababes later decided to record it as a group. They spoke to Austin about their desire to record the song, and according to Range, "he was made up, because it’s one of his favourite songs." "Obsession" was mixed by Jeremy Wheatley at TwentyOne Studios, London, with assistance from Richard Edgeler. It was engineered collectively by Rick Shepphard, Graham Marsh (producer), Ian Rossiter and Owen Clark. Tony Reyes provides background vocals for the song. "Obsession" was recorded at DARP Studios, in Atlanta & Home Recordings, London. It derives from the genres of synthpop and

electronic rock Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...

. K. Ross Hoffman of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described it as "sugary synth pop". Talia Kraines of

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

called the cover an "exact reworking" of the original. The

instrumentation Instrumentation is a collective term for measuring instruments, used for indicating, measuring, and recording physical quantities. It is also a field of study about the art and science about making measurement instruments, involving the related ...

consists of an electric guitar, bass guitar, drums and keys. Alex Roginski of the ''

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'' noted that the song "thumps out analog synth and the glittering chord progressions of a 1980s nightclub".

Critical reception

The Sugababes' cover of "Obsession" had a polarizing effect on critics. Harry Rubenstein of ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'' felt that the group added nothing new to the track and instead stuck to a "straight up" cover, which he considered disappointing. Nick Southall of ''

Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

'' regarded it as a "pleasant but unspectacular cover". A journalist from ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'' considered it a "less engaging non-song" and criticized the group's decision to cover it. Alexis Petridis of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' felt that the Sugababes' version "sands off the edges rather than amps up the lunacy", and concluded: "what's left is like 1980s night at karaoke". On the positive side, BBC's Talia Kraines named it the album's standout pop track. Similarly, Peter Robinson of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' described the "spirited gambol" as one of the album's highlights. Anna Britten from

Yahoo! Music Yahoo Music was a brand under which Yahoo provided music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008. Pro ...

thought that the cover was even better than the original, and appreciated the "gorgeous, perfumed menace on the song's subject" which she felt resembled

Sin City ''Sin City'' is a series of neo-noir Comic book, comics by American comic book writer-artist Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in ''Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special'' (April 1991), and continued in ''Dark Horse Prese ...

's "gun-toting Valkyrie-hookers". Simon Price of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' praised the song as "instant pop", and a writer from '' The Liverpool Daily Post & Echo'' considered it a "brilliantly seductive reworking" of the original. Sugababes performing at the Manchester Apollo

Sugababes performing at the Manchester Apollo

Live performances

"Obsession" was included in the set list for the Sugababes' tour supporting ''Taller in More Ways''. It was one of three tracks from the album that was not released as a single to be performed on the tour. Gurdip Thandi of ''

Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country and ''Birmingham Live'' online) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England, but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts ...

'' regarded the song's performance at the NIA Academy as "polished". "Obsession" was also included in the set list for their 2007 tour in support of '' Overloaded: The Singles Collection'', the group's 2006 greatest hits album.

Credits and personnel

Recording *Recorded at DARP Studios, Atlanta & Home Recordings, London Personnel *

Songwriting A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

– Holly Knight, Michael Des Barres * Production –

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

– Rick Shepphard *Assistant recording engineering – Graham Marsh (producer), Ian Rossiter, Owen Clark * Mixing – Jeremy Wheatley for 365 Artists at TwentyOne Studio, London *Guitar and bass guitar – Tony Reyes *Drums and keys – Dallas Austin *Background vocals – Tony Reyes Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Taller in More Ways'', Universal Island Records.

References

{{Authority control 1983 songs 1985 singles Animotion songs Island Records singles Mercury Records singles Songs about stalking Songs written by Holly Knight Songs written by Michael Des Barres