It's a Sin


"It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo the Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, Actually. Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, 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, 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, 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 St Cuthbert's High School in Newcastle upon Tyne. "At school they taught me how to be / So pure in thought and word and deed / They didn't quite succeed", the lyrics say. 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 it wasn't something serious:
In the coda, we can hear Tennant reciting a part of the Confiteor in Latin, 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".
There are sounds recorded at locations such as Westminster Cathedral. The video clip uses religious images throughout to reinforce the feel of the song.
The dramatic, overblown production style of the song, loaded with synthesizers, orchestra hits and bookended by a non sequitur sample of a NASA 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 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 to produce the song, as they were huge fans. Neil has stated that Pete Waterman hated the demo so they turned instead to SAW's remix engineer Phil Harding to remix the song for the US release. They would work with him again on "I'm Not Scared", the single they wrote for the Patsy Kensit vehicle Eighth Wonder and remixes of "Always on My Mind".

Controversy

At the time of the single's release, British DJ Jonathan King 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. This single flopped, while the Pet Shop Boys sued King, eventually winning out-of-court damages, which they donated to charity.

Track listing

7": Parlophone / R 6158
  1. "It's a Sin" – 4:59
  2. "You Know Where You Went Wrong" – 5:51
12": Parlophone / 12R 6158
  1. "It's a Sin" – 7:39
  2. "You Know Where You Went Wrong" – 5:51
  3. "It's a Sin" – 4:59
CD: Parlophone / CDR 6158
  1. "It's a Sin" – 4:59
  2. "You Know Where You Went Wrong" – 5:51
  3. "It's a Sin" – 7:39
12": Parlophone / 12RX 6158
  1. "It's a Sin" – 8:15
  2. "You Know Where You Went Wrong" – 6:38
12": EMI-Manhattan / V-19256
  1. "It's a Sin" – 9:14
  2. "It's a Sin" – 4:20
  3. "It's a Sin" – 8:15
  4. "It's a Sin" – 7:39
  5. "You Know Where You Went Wrong" – 5:51

    Other recordings

In 2004, the band participated in Passport Back to the Bars, a series of benefit concerts to raise funds for Shelter and War Child, set in the various Barfly venues. Their show at the Camden Town Barfly was noted as their first-ever without backing musicians; it included a new arrangement of "It's a Sin", which would later be recorded in the studio.

Music video

Directed by Derek Jarman, 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 with Lowe as his jailer and Ron Moody in the role of his judge, interspersed with brief clips of personifications of the seven deadly sins.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales