The Sphinx (song)

"The Sphinx"
Single by Amanda Lear
from the album Never Trust a Pretty Face
B-side	"Hollywood Flashback"
Released	1978
Recorded	1978
Genre	Disco
Length	4:25
Label	Ariola
Songwriter(s)	Amanda Lear
Producer(s)	Anthony Monn
Amanda Lear singles chronology
"Lili Marleen" (1978) "The Sphinx" (1978) "Fashion Pack" (1979)

"The Sphinx" is a song by French singer Amanda Lear released in 1978 by Ariola Records as the single from her third album Never Trust a Pretty Face .

Song information

The song was composed and produced by Anthony Monn, and marked a change in Lear's repertoire as her first downtempo disco ballad. The melancholic Lear-penned lyrics, in which the singer compares herself to the mythical Sphinx, tell about "the desire to remain a mystery". ^[1] The singer has reflected that "The Sphinx" is the best song she wrote. ^{[2] [3]}

"The Sphinx" was released as the advance single from the singer's third studio album Never Trust a Pretty Face in late 1978. The single B-side was "Hollywood Flashback", the closing track on her previous album, Sweet Revenge . The song was a moderate chart success, reaching the top 20 across Europe, and remains one of Lear's biggest hits of the disco era.

Lear re-recorded the song for the 1998 album Back in Your Arms , and included the new version on her greatest hits compilation Forever Glam! in 2005.

Track listing

• 7" Single ^[4]

A. "The Sphinx" – 4:25

B. "Hollywood Flashback" – 4:31

• 12" Single ^[5]

A. "The Sphinx" – 5:13

B. "Hollywood Flashback" – 4:31

Chart performance

Chart (1978–79)	Peak position
Belgium [6]	18
France [7]	48
Germany [8]	19

Cover versions

• Spanish singer Pedro Marín covered the song on his 2006 Amanda Lear tribute album Diamonds. ^[9]
• In 2015, Chilean-American musician Promis released a cover of the song on his collaboration album Sunset Blvd with producer Ian Matthews. ^[10] The song was released as the single in spring 2016. ^[11]

References

1. Marco Pantella (2014-10-22). "Amanda Lear - An Interview with - The GROUND Magazine". www.thegroundmag.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-20. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
2. "Compte-rendu du chat avec Amanda Lear et les lecteurs de Gay.com" (in French). gay.com. 2001-06-18. Archived from the original on 2002-01-29. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
3. "The Original Queen Of Reinvention". ponystep.com. 2013-02-09. Archived from the original on 2015-07-23. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
4. "THE SPHINX 1978 Germany". amandalear_singoli.tripod.com. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
5. "Amanda Lear - The Sphinx (Vinyl) at Discogs". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
6. "ultratop.be - Amanda Lear" (in Dutch). www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
7. "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste" (in French). www.infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
8. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
9. "Pedro Marín* - Diamonds (CD, Album) at Discogs". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
10. "Amazon.com: Sunset Blvd: Promis & Matthews: MP3 Downloads". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
11. "Promis & Matthews - The Sphinx - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2018-01-14.