Format 12"
MCD
cassette | Genre House | |
Released 1990 ("Anthem")
1996 ("The New Anthem") Recorded 1990 (original)
1996 (new recordings) Length 4:05 (original recording) Label Deconstruction
Logic
RCA | ||
"Anthem", is a song by the British electronic music group N-Joi. The piano-heavy driven single, which also serves as their debut track, has gone on to become one of their most famous signature songs in the act's career, as well as seeing it chart numerous times since its 1990 release.
Contents
Background
The track, which was originally released in 1990, has charted on both the UK and US charts. In its first release, it peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart, but in the United States it had better success on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, where it made two trips to the top 5, reaching number 4 in 1991 with the original mixes, and again in 1996, where it was re-released with new remixes as "The New Anthem" (under the expanded credited "N-Joi featuring Mark Franklin and Nigel Champion"). The updated version would be their second number one in the US, following "Mindflux".
Although the single and the video also features Nigerian singer Saffron, who did the live performances for the act (and whose career would take off after this track), "Anthem" actually features samples of three songs: "Peanut Butter" by Gwen Guthrie (using the lyrics "I'm In Love With You, Want You to Love Me, Too"; Saffron performs the same lyrics in the act's live shows), "I Found Love" by Darlene Davis (using the lyrics "True Love Can Be Hard To Find") and "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" by Soul II Soul. Because of this, the artists (and their writers) also receive credits on the single.
The original version of "Anthem" is featured in the 2013 video game, Grand Theft Auto V and its accompanied soundtrack.