"The Crying Game" is a song written by

Geoff Stephens Geoffrey Stephens (1 October 1934 – 24 December 2020) was an English songwriter and record producer, most prolific in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote a long series of hit records, often in conjunction with other British so ...

. It was first released by English rock singer Dave Berry in July 1964. It reached number five 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 ...

. The song was covered by

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

which reached number 15 on ''Billboard''s

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and number one in Canada in 1992. Three versions of the song, by Dave Berry,

Kate Robbins Kate Elizabeth Robbins (born 21 August 1958) is an English actress, singer and songwriter. She came to prominence in the early 1980s when she scored a top ten single on the UK Official Charts with "More Than in Love", while she was appearing in t ...

and Boy George, were used in the film titled after the song ''

The Crying Game ''The Crying Game'' is a 1992 thriller film written and directed by Neil Jordan, produced by Stephen Woolley, and starring Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Jaye Davidson, Adrian Dunbar, Ralph Brown, and Forest Whitaker. The film explores the ...

'' directed by

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, '' Night in Tunisia'', won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. He won an Academ ...

Background

The song was written by

. Stephens thought the main attraction of the song was the title; to him the title "seemed the perfect seed from which to grow a very good pop song." The sentiment of the song inspired the lyrics and the tune, which according to him, arrived in his "head simultaneously". He thought the line "One day soon, I'm going to tell the moon, about the crying game" was particularly effective. The line "I know all there is to know" was inspired by his father, according to Stephens. Stephens recorded a demo with fellow songwriter John Carter at the Southern Music studio in

Denmark Street Denmark Street is a street on the edge of London's West End running from Charing Cross Road to St Giles High Street. It is near St Giles in the Fields Church and Tottenham Court Road station. The street was developed in the late 17th centu ...

, and gave a copy to Decca producer Mike Smith. Mike Smith liked the song and arranged for Dave Berry to record the song. The song was included in Dave Berry's self-titled debut album, where session guitarist

Big Jim Sullivan James George Tomkins (14 February 1941 – 2 October 2012), known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English musician whose career started in 1958. He was best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was one of t ...

played lead guitar on the tracks, and

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

supported. On "The Crying Game", Sullivan experimented a DeArmond pedal to change the sound of his guitar. The song became Dave Berry's first top 10 hit, peaking at No. 5 on the

British 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 ...

Charts

Boy George version

English singer

covered and released "The Crying Game" in 1992, and both this version and the original Dave Berry recordings were used as the theme to the 1992

movie ''

.'' George's version of the song was produced by the

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 ...

and reached number 22 on the

, number 15 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and number one in Canada and Iceland. It became the biggest solo hit that George achieved in the US or Canada. The songs are heard during the end credits of the movie. This version was also featured in the

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy t ...

comedy film '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.'' This was a joke reference to the film ''The Crying Game,'' with which it shared a plot point.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' complimented George's "genius reading" of the song. Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The p ...

'' commented, "It's been said again and again that all any performer needs is the right material to have a hit. Boy George is just the right singer to resurrect this song". A reviewer from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' wrote that it "has the same ethereal ambiance as the one to TV series

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 ...

, punctuated by a similar big twanging guitar." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' described it as "a strange little ballad, it's been pumped up in commercial

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

style by George, whose fragrantly fragile vocals never fail to impress." Frank DeCaro from ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and fo ...

'' said that Boy George's version of "The Crying Game" is "the most mesmerizing vocal since

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...

first asked "

Why Why may refer to: * Causality, a consequential relationship between two events * Reason (argument), a premise in support of an argument, for what reason or purpose * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic in metaphysics regarding how things exist in vi ...

" last summer. And, it's produced by (and sounds like)

, another fave." He also noted it as a "lush, synth update" of Dave Berry's 1964 Brit Hit.

Track listings

* UK and European 7-inch : A. "The Crying Game" : B. "I Specialise in Loneliness" (edit) * US 7-inch (red vinyl) : A. "The Crying Game" : B. "Stand by Your Man" (by Lyle Lovett) * European and UK 12-inch and CD single : 1.(A) "The Crying Game" : 2.(B1) "The Crying Game" (extended dance mix) : 3.(B2) "I Specialise in Loneliness" (edit) * US cassette single : A. "The Crying Game" (Boy George) : B. "The Crying Game" (Dave Berry)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed onl ...

charted the first U.S. version of "The Crying Game." She reached number 87 in January 1965. * Ian and the Zodiacs released a charting version in 1964 in the U.S. *

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

covered the song on her Fever Tour in 2002, incorporating it in a medley with several other ballads to rapturous response.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crying Game, The 1964 singles 1992 singles 1993 singles Pet Shop Boys Songs written for films RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Iceland Songs written by Geoff Stephens Brenda Lee songs Boy George songs Dave Berry (musician) songs 1964 songs Decca Records singles Polydor Records singles SBK Records singles Song recordings produced by Mike Smith (British record producer)