"It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, ''

Actually ''Actually'' (stylised as ''Pet Shop Boys, actually.'') is the second studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 7 September 1987 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and by EMI Manhattan in North America. According to Nei ...

'' (1987). Written by

Chris Lowe Christopher Sean Lowe (born 4 October 1959) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Neil Tennant in 1981. Biography Lowe attended Arnold School, an independen ...

and

Neil Tennant Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for ''Smash Hits'', and ...

, 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 Robert Philip Orlando (born 1958), also known as Bobby Orlando or just Bobby O, is an American record producer, indie record label owner, songwriter, and musician. He is regarded as an innovator in the hi-NRG genre for developing his signature s ...

, 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 in

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, Tennant recites a part of the

Confiteor The (; so named from its first word, Latin for 'I confess' or 'I acknowledge') is one of the prayers that can be said during the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church. It is also said in the Luther ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, 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 hits and bookended by a non sequitur sample of a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

countdown, 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") 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 Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considere ...

to produce the song, as they were huge fans. Neil has stated that

Pete Waterman Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Water ...

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 ''I'm Not Scared'' ( it, Io non ho paura, ''I Am Not Afraid'') is a 2003 Italian crime mystery thriller film directed by Gabriele Salvatores. Francesa Marciano and Niccolò Ammaniti wrote the script, basing it on Niccolò Ammaniti's successful ...

", the single they wrote for the

Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and was the lead singer of the pop band Eighth Wonder in the 1980s. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Bir ...

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's "

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 as the second single from her sixth album, '' Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. A top-selling song, it is a popular di ...

" at their concerts.

Controversy

At the time of the single's release, British DJ

Jonathan King Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, ...

accused the Pet Shop Boys of plagiarising the melody for "It's a Sin" from Cat Stevens' 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 Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...

, 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 Ron Moody (born Ronald Moodnick; 8 January 1924 – 11 June 2015) was an English actor, composer, singer and writer. He was best known for his portrayal of Fagin in ''Oliver!'' (1968) and its 1983 Broadway revival. Moody earned a Golden Globe ...

in the role of his judge, interspersed with brief clips of personifications of the

seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...

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 Years & Years is the solo project of British singer Olly Alexander. Originally formed as a band in 2010, Years & Years' music has been described as electropop, mixing R&B and 1990s house elements. The band's debut studio album, '' Communion'', ...

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 Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

series '' It's a Sin'', 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

prior to its release. A slowed-down version of the song with only piano accompaniment, the cover is in

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : Cha ...

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.

Elton John and Years and Years version

A pre-recorded performance of the song by English musicians Elton John 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 synth-pop with accompanying backup dancers and

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

s. A studio recording of the collaboration, produced by

Stuart Price Stuart David Price (born 9 September 1977) is an English electronic musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer known for his work with artists including Madonna, Dua Lipa, The Killers, New Order, Kylie Minogue, DMA's, Example, Take ...

and the Pet Shop Boys, was released following the performance, with proceeds going to the

Elton John AIDS Foundation The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) is a nonprofit organization, established by rock musician Sir Elton John in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in the United Kingdom to support innovative HIV prevention, education programs, direct care a ...

. "It's a Sin" debuted at number 57 on the

and at the top of '' The Official Big Top 40''.

Gamma Ray version

Gamma Ray covered the song for their 1999 album ''

Power Plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an el ...

''.

Notes

References