The song was composed by
Hubert Kemmler, Markus Löhr and
Michael Cretu. Cretu also arranged and produced the song. The lyrics were written by
Richard Palmer-James. The allusion to the
biblical figure
Mary Magdalene was Kemmler's idea and came up when a name with seven syllables was needed for the chorus. But only the German version of the name would be fit, because in English "Mary Magdalene" has six syllables. Kemmler also provided co-lead vocals on this recording and on a number of Sandra's subsequent songs. The song was first released in July 1985 as the lead single from Sandra's debut album
The Long Play. It was her third single as a solo artist, but the first solo single to be released internationally. Initially unsuccessful in its bid to gain radio play, the label targeted DJs in
Greece and their tourist audiences next, and the song subsequently became a big hit there, where it topped the singles chart. Returning tourists requested the song at home, and it eventually reached no. 1 on the official German singles chart for four consecutive weeks, between 13 September and 4 October 1985. The single then peaked at number one in Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Finland. It also reached no. 1 on the
airplay chart in Germany as well as the top 5 in Austria. In the pan-European charts, it was a top 10 and a top 20 hit on the airplay and sales charts, respectively. == Remixes and samples ==