The Pet Shop Boys wrote the song It’s A Sin, the defacto theme of Russell T Davies’ new show of the same name (Picture: WireImage; Getty)
Russell T Davies’ new show It’s A Sin starts tonight, but what is the song that features heavily and what is it about?
It’s A Sin looks set to be a stylish, albeit difficult show about the AIDs crisis in the UK in the 1980s. While the show seems to be a celebration of being young and free, it is also bound to be a sobering look at a terrible epidemic.
If you’ve caught any of the promotion for the show, or seen it yourself, you’ll realise a song called It’s A Sin is all over it, which is seemingly where the show got its name. Well, after it changed its name from Boys, due to the Amazon series The Boys.
But who sings that song, where is it from and what more is there to know about it? Don’t worry. We have you covered on that front.
Which Band Originally Recorded It’s A Sin?
That would be the Pet Shop Boys. The song was initially recorded as a demo in 1984 but didn’t make it onto an album until 1987. It appeared on the band’s second record, Actually.
This release lines up with the time period the show is set in, so it seems like a great bit of scene-setting for the show, which takes place in many London clubs in the 1980s.
What is the song about and was it linked to the AIDs crisis?
It wasn’t connected to the AIDs crisis directly, no. However, it comes from lead singer Neil Tennant’s relationship with Catholicism. In an interview with The Atlantic, he described the song’s creation saying: ‘People took it really seriously; the song was written in about 15 minutes, and was intended as a camp joke and it wasn’t something I consciously took very seriously.
‘Sometimes I wonder if there was more to it then I thought at the time but the local parish priest in Newcastle delivered a sermon on it, and reflected on how the Church changed from the promise of a ghastly hell to the message of love.’
However, the band has certainly written songs more directly about the epidemic and those who lost their lives to it. A Man Could Get Arrested and It Couldn’t Happen Here have their origin from the crisis in the 80s.
Was anything recorded for the show?
Yes! The show stars Olly Alexander, who plays Ritchie Tozer, an 18-year-old student who arrives in London in the 1980s. He is actually most known as the singer from Years and Years.
More: Channel 4
To celebrate the show the band put out an acoustic version of the song. It’s available on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Deezer and Tidal..
A portion of the proceeds are going to George House Trust, a charity focused on providing support for those affected by HIV.
It’s A Sin airs tonight on Channel 4 at 9pm and will feature five episodes, concluding on February 19.
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