"Strike Me Pink" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

, released in 1993 as the second single from her fourth solo album, ''

Debravation ''Debravation'' is the fourth solo album by American singer Deborah Harry, released in July 19, 1993. It was the final album Harry made whilst signed to the Chrysalis label, thus ending a successful partnership that began with her time as a me ...

'' (1993). The song was written by Harry,

Anne Dudley Anne Jennifer Dudley (née Beckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genre ...

and Jonathan Bernstein, and produced by Dudley.

Song information

"Strike Me Pink" peaked at #46 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1993, and #136 on the Australian

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

singles chart. The accompanying promo video for the single was controversial because it depicted Harry watching a man drown in a tank. The video was banned from several music television channels. The single also marked Harry's final release with

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British independent record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ell ...

and the end of her long tenure with the company (she had originally signed with Chrysalis in the mid 1970s as part of Blondie). This would also be Harry's last solo single for fourteen years until she released " Two Times Blue" in 2007.

Critical reception

In a review of ''

'', ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'' selected "Strike Me Pink" as "the best cut by far", adding that it evokes

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

's " Time After Time". ''

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'' picked the song as one of the album's "gems", while the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' highlighted it as an example of one of the album's "light and airy" tracks. In a review of the song's UK single release, Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it three out of five, writing, "Strangely redolent of

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

's " So Sorry, I Said", "Strike Me Pink" is all muted horns, swirly synths and dreamy vocals. Melodic, with a pleasing lilt of a chorus repeated at regular intervals. How can it miss?" John Harris of ''

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'' criticized it as "an insipid dance-ballad that sounds like one of the songs they used to play in ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...

'' when

Don Johnson Don Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series '' Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...

got laid". In the 1997 book ''The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock'', author Ira A. Robbins described the song as "mushy elegance". In their 2012 book ''Blondie: Parallel Lives'', authors Dick Porter and

Kris Needs Kris Needs (born 3 July 1954) is a British journalist and author, known for writings on music from the 1970s onwards. He became editor of proto-punk and early punk rock ''ZigZag'' magazine in August 1977 at 23 and has since written biographies ...

described the song as an "emotive keyboard and sax-infused ballad". JT Griffith of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

criticized the song for being "bland" and "not a strong track from arry'sweak solo effort". Kris Needs of ''

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'' felt it was "haunting", with Dudley "lending her cinematic sheen" to the song.

Track listing

* UK CD #1 #"Strike Me Pink" (Bernstein, Dudley, Harry) - 4:02 #"On A Breath" (Leigh Foxx) - 4:31 #* Non-album track. Produced by Chris Stein. #"Sweet and Low" (Phil Harding 7" Mix) (Deborah Harry, Toni. C) - 3:46 #* Original version appears on 1989 album '' Def, Dumb and Blonde''. * UK CD #2 #"Strike Me Pink" (Bernstein, Dudley, Harry) - 4:02 #"8 Rhumba" (

Nino Rota Giovanni "Nino" Rota Rinaldi (; ; 3 December 1911 – 10 April 1979) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti. He also composed ...

) - 2:46 #* Non-album track. Arranged and produced by Chris Stein. #"Dreaming" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) - 3:22 #* Blondie: original 1979 version from ''

Eat to the Beat ''Eat to the Beat'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blondie, released on September 28, 1979, by Chrysalis Records. The album spent a year on the US ''Billboard'' 200, peaking at , and was one of ''Billboard''s top 10 albums ...

''. * UK Cassette #"Strike Me Pink" (Bernstein, Dudley, Harry) - 4:02 #"8 Rhumba" (

) - 2:46 * UK 12" Picture Disc #"Strike Me Pink" (Bernstein, Dudley, Harry) - 4:02 #"8 Rhumba" (

) - 2:46 #"Dreaming" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) - 3:22 #"Sweet and Low" (Phil Harding 7" Mix) (Deborah Harry, Toni. C) - 3:46

Charts

References

{{Deborah Harry 1993 singles Debbie Harry songs Songs written by Debbie Harry Songs written by Anne Dudley 1993 songs Chrysalis Records singles