| "Adolescent Sex" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the single released in the Netherlands | ||||
| Single byJapan | ||||
| from the albumAdolescent Sex | ||||
| B-side | "Sometimes I Feel So Low" | |||
| Released |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Hansa | |||
| Songwriter | David Sylvian | |||
| Producer | Ray Singer | |||
| Japan singles chronology | ||||
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"Adolescent Sex" is a song by Englishnew wave bandJapan, released as a single from theirdebut album of the same name in 1978. It was the band's only single to chart in Europe outside of the UK and Ireland, as it was a top-40 hit in the Netherlands and Belgium.[1][2]
The song was first released in Spain in April 1978, with the B-side being the band's previous single "Don't Rain on My Parade".[3] This version of "Adolescent Sex" was the same as found on theAdolescent Sex album, which was also released in April.[4] In Spring 1978, Japan re-recorded the song, making it sound punchier. This version was then first released in August as the other side of a double A-side single with "The Unconventional" in the UK.[4] It was then released with the B-side "Sometimes I Feel So Low" in Germany in October.[5] This single was then released in the Netherlands, Australia and France in 1979. The re-recorded version was also released in Italy in April 1979 with the B-side "Transmission".[6]
In Japan, a limited editionflexi-disc single was released in October 1978 with the band's second albumObscure Alternatives. A Japanese fan club competition got entrants to write lyrics in Japanese, inspired by songs fromAdolescent Sex. The winners' lyrics were read byDavid Sylvian and the single is purely spoken word, with no musical content.[7][4]
Reviewing the song retrospectively forAllMusic, Amy Hanson wrote ""Adolescent Sex" flays wide into classic funk bass-beating thumps, glammed out guitar, snotty punk vocals and proto disco cum wave synths. Put back together, though, and fed through Japan frontman David Sylvian's pockmarked brain, the song is an onslaught of a bewildering battery of stylistic nervous breakdowns, all so gorgeously twined that the resulting brew is simply stunning".[8] In reviewing theAdolescent Sex album forPerfect Sound Forever, James Paton described the song as "seeing Sylvian regurgitate his mainstay lyrics of love and dancing, twisting them into some punky song about prostitution that marks the return of the siren synth, withBarbieri lending the composition a certain creepiness with his keys that prevents it from falling flat on its face".[9]
7" (Spain)
7" (Germany, Netherlands, Australia, France)
7" (Italy)
7" (Japan)[7]
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[2] | 28 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10] | 27 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[1] | 21 |