"Red Tape" is a song by French singer Amanda Lear released in 1981 by Ariola Records as the single from her album '' Incognito''.

Song information

"Red Tape" was composed and produced by Anthony Monn, Lear's long-time collaborator, and is a pop song with rock influences. In the song's lyrics, Amanda Lear criticises the so-called "

red tape Red tape is a concept employed to denounce excessive or redundant regulation and adherence to formal rules for creating unnecessary constraints on action and decision-making. The occurrence of red tape is usually associated with governments but a ...

", complaining about its inquisitiveness and the lack of privacy it imposes. She sings: "I want to keep my privacy, Big Brother is watching me". On its parent album, where every song stands for a " deadly sin", "Red Tape" represents

bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

. The song was released as the single only in France, with a French-language version of "New York" on side B, which was not available on the album. The single did not chart. In the 2017 book ''Europe's Stars of '80s Dance Pop'', the song is mentioned as one of Lear's "noteworthy tracks" from the 80s.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

pictures Amanda clad in a futuristic outfit and sunglasses, playing Rubik's Cube. The video aired on MTV in Europe.

Track listing

*7" Single :A. "Red Tape" – 3:55 :B. "New York" – 4:28

References

{{Amanda Lear 1981 singles 1981 songs Amanda Lear songs Ariola Records singles Songs written by Amanda Lear Songs written by Anthony Monn