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Temptation (Heaven 17 song)
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Wikipedia article
"'Temptation'" is a single by the Sheffield band Heaven 17, originally released in April 1983, peaking at No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. This was the second single to be taken from their second album, 'The Luxury Gap', after "Let Me Go" in November 1982. "Temptation" was certified silver by the BPI in May 1983, for sales exceeding 250,000 copies.
Composition and recording
Martyn Ware explained the subject matter of the song as "I woke up one morning and thought I've got to write a song about sex, I've never written a song about sex. So the song is about rising sexual tension; it has chords that keep going up like an M. C. Escher|[M. C.] Escher staircase and in the end there's this big release."Martyn Ware interview, BBC Radio 2 Sounds of the 80s, Saturday 2 May 2015 Glenn Gregory later recalled that he laughed "when Martyn walked in and said he had this great idea for a song based on the Lords Prayer with a never-ending chord structure" (the line "lead us not into temptation" is taken from the Lord's Prayer).
Carol Kenyon provided guest vocals on the recording and continued to work with the band on the 'Pleasure One' and 'Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho' albums. The song featured a 60-piece orchestra, arranged and conducted by John Wesley Barker, which was also featured on the single "Come Live with Me" and in various tracks on the parent album. In a 2016 interview Ware said that he told Barker that he wanted the arrangement to be "sweeping and expressionistic", giving the theme from 'The Big Country' as an example of the kind of sound required.
Performance
Heaven 17 performed this song on 'Top of the Pops' 1000th edition in 1983.
Remix and re-recording
In 1992, the song was remixed and re-released by Brothers in Rhythm, whose new mix charted at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart, and reached No. 1 in the UK Dance Chart. The 1992 remix of "Temptation" was certified silver by the BPI in January 1993, for sales exceeding 200,000 copies.
In 2008, the song was re-recorded for Heaven 17's album 'Naked as Advertised' with Billie Godfrey as guest vocalist. On 19 October 2010, Heaven 17 performed the song on 'Later... with Jools Holland' on BBC Two in the United Kingdom.
Music video
The original music video for "Temptation" was directed by Steve Barron. It showed the band dressed in black, in drab, grey surroundings in a style of German Expressionism and had segments of what looks like an abstract office interview of some kind between vocalists Glenn Gregory and a Carol Kenyon lookalike interspersed throughout. Kenyon herself does not appear in the video, due to a disagreement over appearance money.
Charts
Original version
{|class="wikitable sortable"!align="left"|Chart (1983)
!align="center"|Peak
position
|-
|align="left"|Australia (Kent Music Report) N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
|align="center"|38
|-
|align="left"|France (SNEP)
|align="center"|20
|-
|align="left"|Ireland (IRMA)
|align="center"|3
|-
|align="left"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
|align="center"|27
|-
|align="left"|Netherlands (MegaCharts)
|align="center"|25
|-
|align="left"|New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)
|align="center"|15
|-
|align="left"|UK Singles (OCC)
|align="center"|2
|-
|align="left"|US Dance Club Songs ('Billboard')
|align="center"|34
|-
|align="left"|West Germany (Media Control Charts)
|align="center"|11
|-
|}
Brothers in Rhythm Remix
Cover versions
At the NME Awards 2007, Jarvis Cocker and Beth Ditto performed "Temptation", and released it as a charity single.
Cradle of Filth covered the song in 2006 on their album 'Thornography'.
Heaven 17 collaborated on a new performance of the song with La Roux at Maida Vale Studios on 26 January 2010 for BBC 6 Music. At Glastonbury on 25 June 2010, Glenn Gregory was invited on stage to perform the version again with La Roux during their set.
References in popular culture
"Temptation" was used in the 1996 film 'Trainspotting' and appears on the second volume of the official soundtrack. It was also used in the 2010 Plus Net advert, where the band were featured in a tongue-in-cheek appearance performing the song.
References
Category:1983 singles
Category:1992 singles
Category:2006 singles
Category:2008 singles
Category:Charity singles
Category:Cradle of Filth songs
Category:Heaven 17 songs
Category:Jarvis Cocker songs
Category:Live singles
Category:Music videos directed by Steve Barron
Category:Music Week number-one dance singles
Category:Songs written by Glenn Gregory
Category:Songs written by Ian Craig Marsh
Category:Songs written by Martyn Ware
Category:1983 songs
Category:Virgin Records singles
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