It was released as the first single from their album 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother), which served as the soundtrack to the film Nineteen Eighty-Four, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by George Orwell.

"Sexcrime" is a song which features heavy sampling of Lennox's voice, utilizing snippets of her vocal performance to produce a stuttering effect.

It was one of the duo's biggest selling singles in the UK, being certified silver by the BPI for sales in excess of 250,000 copies.

"Sexcrime" met with strong resistance on United States radio and on video outlets such as MTV – the song's title was particularly controversial to those who were not aware of the meaning of the word in Orwell's novel.

The music video (featuring a straightforward performance of the song by Lennox and Stewart) had limited rotation on MTV.