Crucified (Army of Lovers song)


"Crucified" is a 1991 song by the Swedish band Army of Lovers. It is the first single from their second album, Massive Luxury Overdose and the seventh single to be released by the band. It was released on May 1991, February–April 1992, and July 2013. It was written by Alexander Bard, Anders Wollbeck and Jean-Pierre Barda and features Barda, Bard and La Camilla. The song was successful in several European countries, including Belgium, where it reached the number-one, and Germany, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland, where it reached the Top 10. In the United States, "Crucified" became a huge club hit and radio favorite, debuting at number 6 on the Billboard Dance singles chart and spending a total of 14 weeks in the Top 20. The two remixes available on the CD maxi and vinyl 12" maxi are made by Nuzak.
In 2013, Army of Lovers made a new version of the song, simply called 'Crucified 2013'. It contains new vocals from Dominika Peczynski.
Bard's future music project, Gravitonas uses a sample of this song on the track "Sacrifice" from their 2012 Black Ceremony EP.
Kurt Cobain of the hugely successful alternative rock group Nirvana praised the band in his posthumously published journals, specifically the song "Crucified."

Critical reception

editor Ned Raggett described the song as a "totally over-the-top disco anthem on all fronts that takes ABBA's winning combination of memorable hooks and harmonies as inspiration and slathers a load of glitter and make-up over the whole thing." He noted further that "having ultracampy lyrical asides like "I cry, I pray, mon dieu" doesn't hurt the sheer giddiness at work, and neither do the "I'm crucified like my saviour" chorus, church organ and twangy Duane Eddy guitar." Larry Flick from Billboard said it is a "super-hot slammin' houser". Bevan Hannah from The Canberra Times wrote, "Judging by the video for their first single release Crucified, their image was carefully plotted, combining cabaret style costumes and graphics with groovy European dance rhythms." Newcastle Evening Chronicle called it a "clever almost choral rock approach on a lively danceable number." They noted "the ebullient bounce" of the track. People Magazine wrote in their review, that "disco goes to church in this hip-hop hallelujah".

Usage in media

The music video of "Crucified" was used in an episode of American adult animated sitcom Beavis and Butt-Head.
The song was played in Gabriel Aghion's 1996 film, Pédale douce, and was thus included in the track listing of the soundtrack. It was also played in the film Marock, and was in the video game Just Dance 4 on the Wii.

Covers by other artists

The song has been covered by the Swedish band Ghost in their 2013 EP titled If You have Ghost.

Formats and track listings

7" single
  1. Crucified - 3:32
  2. Love Revolution - 4:02
12" maxi-single
  1. Crucified - 8:03
  2. Crucified - 7:42
  3. Crucified - 3:32
CD-Single
  1. Crucified - 3:32
  2. Crucified - 8:03
  3. Crucified - 7:42
12" maxi-single
  1. Crucified - 8:03
  2. Crucified - 5:06
  3. Crucified - 5:53
12" maxi-single
  1. Crucified - 6:47
  2. Crucified - 6:38
  3. Crucified - 4:19
  4. Crucified - 4:14
  5. Ride the Bullet - 4:54
  6. Ride the Bullet - 5:42
  7. Crucified - 7:40
  8. Crucified - 5:09
CD-Single
  1. Crucified - 3:32
  2. Crucified - 5:06
  3. Crucified - 5:53
  4. Crucified 8:03
CD-Maxi
  1. Crucified - 3:31
  2. Crucified - 8:00
  3. Crucified - 6:47
  4. Crucified - 4:19
  5. Crucified - 6:36
  6. Crucified - 4:14
  7. Crucified 5:09
  8. Ride the Bullet - 4:54
  9. Ride the Bullet - 4:58
  10. Ride the Bullet - 6:24
Digital-download
  1. Crucified 2013 - 3:15
  2. Crucified 2013 - 3:29
  3. Crucified 2013 - 3:00
  4. Crucified 2013 - 3:31
  5. Crucified 2013 - 5:54
  6. Crucified 2013 - 8:32
  7. Crucified 2013 - 5:49
  8. Crucified 2013 - 5:54
  9. Crucified 2013 - 8:25

    Credits and personnel

and Martin Persson

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position
UK Singles 31
US Billboard Dance Club Songs6
US Billboard Dance Singles Sales6

Chart Peak
position
US Billboard Dance Club Songs18
US Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs45

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Austria 25