Killer (Adamski song)

"Killer"
Single by Adamski
from the album Doctor Adamski's Musical Pharmacy
B-side	"Bassline Changed My Life" "I Dream of You"
Released	21 March 1990 (1990-03-21)
Recorded	1989–1990 [1]
Genre	Acid house [2] [3] hi-NRG [4]
Length	4:10 (album version) 3:46 (UK radio edit)
Label	MCA
Songwriter(s)	Adamski Seal
Producer(s)	Adamski
Adamski singles chronology
"N-R-G" (1990) "Killer" (1990) "The Space Jungle" (1990)
Seal singles chronology
"Killer" (1990) "Crazy" (1990)

"Killer" is a song by British DJ and record producer Adamski. It was written by Adamski and British singer-songwriter Seal, who also provided vocals. It was released in March 1990 by MCA Records as the first single from Adamski's second album, Doctor Adamski's Musical Pharmacy (1990), and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. The single spent four weeks at the top in May and June 1990 and sold over 400,000 copies in the UK, earning it gold certification. It also reached number one in Belgium and Zimbabwe and number two in the Netherlands and West Germany.

The song's music video was directed by Don Searll. Melody Maker ranked "Killer" the ninth-best single of the year. ^[5] In 1991, Seal re-recorded "Killer" for his debut studio album, Seal , produced by Trevor Horn. Seal's version reached number eight in the UK and number 100 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Background

Adamski recounted that Seal saw him perform in 1989 at an illegal rave at the Santa Pod Raceway. Seal afterwards handed a demo tape to Adamski's MC, Daddy Chester, with which both were impressed. Seal had previously been singing in blues bands but a year spent travelling in Asia had changed his view of life and he had since become involved in the rave scene. ^[6]

Adamski and Seal later happened to meet on New Year's Eve 1989 at a club named Solaris in London, and Seal was invited to work on one of a number of pieces that Adamski was performing at that time. Adamski had an instrumental track he called "The Killer" because he felt that it sounded 'like the soundtrack to a movie murder scene'. According to Adamski, Seal's vocals were recorded against this track on 27 January 1990: coincidentally the same day that 10,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square (not far from the studio where they were working) for the 'Freedom to Party' demonstration against a government crackdown on rave culture, which Adamski himself attended.

Musically, the song is characterized by a distinctive opening bassline and keyboard melody during the chorus. The track makes use of only two instruments – Ensoniq SQ80 Synthesizer and a Roland TR-909 drum machine – and occupied only eight tracks of a 48-track mixing console. ^[6]

Release

Both Adamski and Seal recalled that they were in financial trouble at the time of recording. Seal was almost penniless and was living in a squat. Although Adamski had his own following as a DJ and was enjoying success with his previous single "N-R-G", he was on a government scheme which paid his rent and allowed him £40 a week. Both Adamski and Seal were struck by the popularity of "Killer" following its release on 21 March 1990. The song topped the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 10 in many European countries. Adamski recounted his surprise at people singing the memorable bassline to him in the street and, in particular, at hearing the track played at a wedding in a hotel at which he stayed following a performance in Cambridge. Seal recalled, "within a week, I went from being a relative nobody – this weird guy at raves, with silver bits in my hair – to a household name." ^[6]

Lyrics

Seal explained that the words he provided for "Killer" were intended as an exhortation to freedom and overcoming; that "the lyrics are about transcending whatever holds you back". ^[6] The song's line "Racism in amongst future kids can only lead to no good, besides, all our sons and daughters already know how that feels" was re-used in Seal's 1991 song "Future Love Paradise". The introduction to the Seal version also contains the line "It's the loneliness that's the killer", which does not occur in the Adamski version.

Chart performance

"Killer" debuted within the UK Singles Chart top 40 at number 39 on 14 April 1990. ^[7] Although the track was credited solely to Adamski by the Official Charts Company, various publications credited Seal's contribution to the song as a featured artist. It reached the top 10 during its fourth week on the chart before reaching number one on 12 May. After a four-week run at the top, the track fell one place to number two, being replaced in pole position by "World in Motion" by New Order. It spent 16 weeks in the top 40.

Critical reception

Upon the release, Bill Coleman from Billboard found that this "enchanting techno-hip-house charmer from the keyboardist's Liveandirect project sports a languid vocal to complement the instrumentation." ^[8] Dave Jennings from Melody Maker wrote, "This is much like it. "Killer" isn't the brutish thin its title suggests. It's a medium-paced dance track built around a rock-solid bassline, laced with eerie synthetics and topped with the plaintive voice of guest singer Seal — who sounds firmly in the grip of lovely desolution. "Killer" shifts more than enough to fit on the dancefloor, but it might also suit your mood if you have to go home alone when the club has closed. Emotive and effective." ^[9] David Giles from Music Week called it a "strange release", adding, "It sounds as though a bluesy soul vocalist has become trapped inside a throbbing piece of machinery; it actually takes a fair while to warm up into the familiar pace of house rhythm." He also stated that "Adamski seems to be plotting a move towards the soul world but is still overawed by technology." ^[10]

Ian McCann from NME declared it as "a perfect pop moment, if Adamski never makes another record half as good it will stand as a testament to its time like Bowie's, Numan's and Human League's best." ^[11] Tom Doyle from Smash Hits remarked that the song is "a bit of surprise", complimenting Seal, "who turns in a fine soul-singing". He explained that the song "builds up from a slow Depeche Mode-sounding beginning into a full-blown "rave" record and then drops down for the moody bit again at the end. A complete success." ^[12]

Retrospective response

In a retrospective review, John Bush from AllMusic stated that the songs like "Killer" "still have an inkling of the freshness they must have possessed back in 1989". ^[13] In 2010, Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger commented, "What was startling about the record in 1990—and what lets it keep its charge now—is that the music simply refuses to get out of Seal's way. In fact, if you only knew Seal from the rolling smoothness of his latterday career 'Killer' would come as a real shock: here he is, making his debut not as a highfalutin' loverman but as an isolated paranoid battling through a tangle of wires and buzz. Adamski is truly as much the star here, putting together a tense, crisp piece of house music which doesn't actually need his singer to be memorable (though surely needed him to reach number one)." ^[14]

In 2020, The Guardian ranked "Killer" number 87 in their list of "The 100 greatest UK No. 1s". ^[15] They added, "Every part of Adamski’s production is perfectly designed: the sad chords, the funkily interrupted alien transmission of the synths, the prodding bassline with its edges almost imperceptibly corroded by acid. Most beautiful of all is Seal: half activist, half oracle." In December 1990, Melody Maker ranked it number nine in their list of "Singles of the Year", saying, "A superlative fusion single in a year in which the word 'fusion' was glibly overused. 'Killer' was 1990's postscript to Marvin Gaye's 'What's Goin' On?'. Adamski's low-key techno-dub proved the perfect backdrop for Seal's mournful vocals." ^[5] In February 2022, Classic Pop ranked "Killer" number 11 in their list of the top 40 dance tracks from the 90's. ^[16]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Killer" was directed by Don Searll. ^[17]

Track listing

7-inch, cassette, and mini-CD single ^{[18] [19] [20]}

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Killer"	4:10
2.	"Bass Line Changed My Life"	3:53

UK 12-inch and CD single ^{[21] [22]}

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Killer"	5:35
2.	"Bass Line Changed My Life"	4:39
3.	"I Dream of You"	4:45

UK 12-inch remix single ("Killeremix") ^[23]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Killer" (remix)	6:27
2.	"Bassline Changed My Life"	4:50
3.	"The N-R-G Symphony in F. Minor"	8:27

US and Canadian 12-inch single ^[24]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Killer" (remix)	6:27
2.	"Killer"	5:35

US cassette remix single ^[25]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Killeremix"	6:27
2.	"Killer"	5:35
3.	"N.R.G." (12-inch mix)	6:22
4.	"The N.R.G. Symphony in F. Minor"	8:27

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1990) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [26] 112 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [27] 11 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [28] 1 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [29] 2 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [30] 14 Ireland (IRMA) [31] 5 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [32] 2 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [33] 2 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [34] 29 Spain (AFYVE) [35] 15 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [36] 5 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [37] 15 UK Singles (OCC) [38] 1 US Dance Club Play ( Billboard ) [39] 23 West Germany (Official German Charts) [40] 2 Zimbabwe (ZIMA) [41] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1990) Position Belgium (Ultratop) [42] 9 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [43] 12 Germany (Official German Charts) [44] 21 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [45] 17 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [46] 13 UK Singles (OCC) [47] 5

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [48]	Gold	400,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	21 March 1990	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl CD cassette	MCA	[49]
Japan	25 July 1990	Mini-CD		[50]

Seal version

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External links

• "Killer" on YouTube

"Killer"
1991 7-inch UK single
Single by Seal
from the album Seal
B-side	"Hey Joe" (live) "Come See What Love Has Done" (live)
Released	4 November 1991 (1991-11-04) [51]
Length	4:17 (radio version) 6:33 (single version) 6:21 (album version)
Label	ZTT (1991) Warner Bros. (2005)
Songwriter(s)	Adamski Seal
Producer(s)	Trevor Horn
Seal singles chronology
"The Beginning" (1991) "Killer" (1991) "Violet" (1992)
"Walk On By" (2004) "Killer 2005" (2005) "A Father's Way" (2006)

v t e Seal
Discography
Studio albums	Seal (1991) Seal (1994) Human Being (1998) Seal IV (2003) System (2007) Soul (2008) Seal 6: Commitment (2010) Soul 2 (2011) 7 (2015) Standards (2017)
Live albums	Live in Paris (2005)
Compilations	Best 1991–2004 (2004) Hits (2009)
Unreleased albums	Togetherland (2001)
Singles	"Crazy" (1990) "Future Love Paradise" (1991) "The Beginning" (1991) "Killer" (1991) "Violet" (1992) "Prayer for the Dying" (1994) "Kiss from a Rose" (1994) "Newborn Friend" (1994) "I'm Alive" (1995) "Don't Cry" (1995) "Fly Like an Eagle" (1997) "Human Beings" (1998) "This Could Be Heaven" (2001) "Les Mots" (2001) "My Vision" (2002) "Get It Together" (2002) "Love's Divine" (2003) "Waiting for You" (2003) "Walk On By" (2004) "Killer 2005" (2005) "Amazing" (2007) "The Right Life" (2008) "A Change Is Gonna Come" (2008) "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" (2008) "I Can't Stand the Rain" (2009) "If You Don't Know Me by Now" (2009) "Secret" (2010)
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