The lyrics to "Kyrie" were written by
Arizona-born John Lang, who co-wrote the songs on all of Mr. Mister's albums. The music was composed by
Richard Page and
Steve George while on tour with
Adam Ant. In Greek,
Kýrie, eléison means "Lord, have mercy" and is a part of many liturgical rites in both
Eastern and
Western Christianity.
Kýrie, eléison; Christé, eléison; Kýrie, eléison is a prayer that asks "Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy." According to Page's statements, he was initially skeptical about singing the Christian text Lang had written because he didn't want to make a "religious statement". There is a myth that singer Richard Page wrote "Kyrie" while lying in a hospital bed after being assaulted. It was John Lang who had been assaulted three years before the composition; Lang has stated that the incident has nothing to do with the song. The video was directed by
Nick Morris, and shows the band in performance mixed with footage taken at the tail end of their Autumn 1985 tour with
Tina Turner. "Kyrie" was used in the hit U.S. TV series
Miami Vice during season two, episode fourteen "One-Way Ticket". It was also used in the
Netflix series'
GLOW as well as the
ABC sitcom
The Goldbergs. The U.S. 7" single can be found pressed on transparent purple vinyl or polystyrene, depending on where it was manufactured. ==Reception==