This week marks 30 years since the release of Madonna's sixth studio album 'Erotica'. To kick off celebrations, let's reminisce over its daring, alluring lead single.

 

Released 29 September 1992, 'Erotica' was written and produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone. The song is an ode to S&M, Madonna adopts the pseudonym Mistress Dita and delivers a throaty, seductive invitation for a lover to be submissive, set to the hypnotic, gritty grooves of Pettibone. The experimental and provocative nature of the song was well received by critics and the song quickly became another hit for Madonna, reaching the Top 5 in Australia, New Zealand, Spain, UK and US as well as #1 in Finland, Greece and Italy. In the US, its #13 debut was the joint-highest for a single since 1970. The explicit music video, directed by fashion designer Fabien Baron, depicted scenes of Madonna in her dominatrix alter ego intertwined with footage from the making of her Sex book; it was considered too risqué for MTV who, after airing the video just three times after the 10pm watershed, banned it from their network.

 

30 years on, what are your thoughts on the song and its music video? Do you remember the controversy surrounding the single at the time?

 

I liked erotica at the time but felt it was so different to her other stuff and quite a big risk.

I love the lyric "If I take you from behind and push myself into your mind when you least expect it, would you try and reject it?"

 

One of my faves.

It's an amazing song. I love it.

One of her best!!!

What a bold statement this song was. I love pretty much everything about it. She really broke the mould and broke down boundaries with this release. Hugely influential and I think its impact is still felt today with a lot of the newer artists - not that they could ever make a statement as huge as this given the climate at the time. Excited to be celebrating 30 years of this era over the next month or so :dance:

Any chance it’ll make an appearance on the charts this week, even if just midweeks? I got my vinyl yesterday

I think I found this song a little underwhelming at the time and watching her career starting to collapse after the triple punch of Like a Prayer - Immaculate Collections - Blond Ambition was quite new for a Madonna fan.

 

The video is largely video clips of the making of the Sex book and everywhere you looked Madonna was getting smacked around the head with the blunt end of the stick.

 

If I listen to it now, I appreciate it... but it's more one that I skip over to listen to Deeper and Deeper instead rather than seek out.