"Sexcrime" is a song which features heavy
sampling of Lennox's voice, utilizing snippets of her vocal performance to produce a stuttering effect. Also prominently featured is the voice of Stewart, with the aid of a
vocoder, uttering the phrase "nineteen eighty four". It was the first of two singles released from the soundtrack album. The term "
sexcrime" is one of several
Newspeak words found within the novel. The song was originally intended to appear in the film
1984, but was dropped prior to the film's release. However, it was used as background music for the film's trailer, and the song's promotional video was included on home video releases of the film. In addition to the standard 7" and 12" formats, the song was also released as a limited edition 12" picture disc.
Cash Box called it a "fascinating song" that is "somewhat constrained" by the Eurythmics' practice of writing songs using few notes.
Billboard called it a "compelling dance track...with its aura of doomy foreboding [and] touches of humor." ==Chart performance==