As a result of the success of "Requiem" and "London Nights", the single was released again in 1989 and featured on the album The Twelve Commandments of Dance.

It was written and produced by Ralf René Maué, and its cover artwork features photography from Julian Barton.

[3] The original 1987 release featured the track "Put a Meaning in my Life" which was written by Django Seelenmeyer and Ralf René Maué.

[4] A review in Pan-European magazine Music & Media said about "Harlem Desire": "The London Boys are the Boney M of the late 80s.

[6] Retrospectively, in a 2015 review of the parent album, the Pop Rescue website considered "Harlem Desire" is "a quite dancey", "wonderfully catchy and singalong" song, with "some great vocal harmonies" and "lots of stabbing synths scattered throughout", and a music recalling Pet Shop Boys.