The single was released in February 1988 as the third single from the album, but only reached No. 51 on the
UK Singles Chart.[2] In the US, "Englishman in New York" peaked at No. 84 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart in April 1988[3] and reached No. 32 on the BillboardMainstream Rock chart that same month.[4] However, the single was more successful in
continental Europe, becoming a hit in several countries,[5] reaching the top 40 in
France, the
Netherlands,
Spain, and
Belgium. "Englishman in New York" was also a top 20 hit in
Ireland. In South Africa, it peaked at No. 9.
In 1990, just prior to the release of his third studio album The Soul Cages, Sting's record label licensed Dutch
DJ and producer
Ben Liebrand to remix[6] "Englishman in New York" and subsequently released it as a single. The remix played around with the introduction and some of the instrumentation, but the essence of the song remained the same. The new version was commercially successful, reaching number 15 in the UK charts in mid-1990.[7]
In 2010, Sting re-recorded the song in an orchestral version for his album Symphonicities.
"Englishman/African in New York", a reworking of the song recorded with African artist Shirazee was released as a non-album digital-only single on 19 March 2021.[8] Shirazee had previously covered the song as "African in New York" with Sting's approval.[9] Sting and Shirazee released a music video[10] and performed the song on ABC's Good Morning America.[11]
Content
Sting wrote the song about the famous eccentric and
gay iconQuentin Crisp, who is the "Englishman" of the title.[12][13][14][15] The song was composed not long after Crisp had moved from London to an apartment in the
Bowery in Manhattan. Sting had met him and Crisp remarked jokingly to the musician that he "looked forward to receiving his naturalisation papers so that I can commit a crime and not be deported." When Sting asked him what kind of crime, he answered, "Something glamorous, non-violent, with a dash of style. Crime is so rarely glamorous these days." Sting included this story in the liner notes of his album ...Nothing Like The Sun.[16]
Musical content
The song is in the
key of B minor, and uses mainly the same chord progression throughout, Em - A - Bm (except in the bridge). These chords'
functions are iv - VII - i. The
soprano saxophone that plays over the song uses mainly notes of the B minor scale.
In the bridge the chords change to D - A - Bm - F#, G - A - F# - Bm. This corresponds with III - VII - i - V, VI - VII - V - i.[17]
Music video
The video was shot in
black-and-white and was directed by
David Fincher, and featured scenes of Sting and his band in New York (primarily Branford Marsalis playing sax), as well as the elusive
Quentin Crisp. At the end of the video, after the song fades, an elderly male voice says: "If I have an ambition other than a desire to be a chronic invalid, it would be to meet everybody in the world before I die... and I'm not doing badly."[18] In 2011, the official video was replaced with a version without the male voice.[19][non-primary source needed][why?]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Cris Cab version
In 2015, American singer
Cris Cab covered the song featuring Tefa & Moox, and
Willy William. This version charted on the French
SNEP Top Singles chart, reaching number 16,[38] and also on the Belgian Wallonia
Ultratop singles chart at No. 34.[39]
Other versions
In 1993, the song was partially remade by
Shinehead, re-titled as "Jamaican in New York" (1993). It reached No. 30 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1993.
In 1993, German musician
Otto Waalkes recorded a German-language version entitled "Friesenjung". In 2023, a techno rework of this version (by German rapper Ski Aggu, Dutch rapper
Joost Klein and Waalkes) reached No. 1 on the German and Austrian singles charts.
In 1998, Venezuelan band
King Chango covered the song as "Venezuelan in New York" for the various artists tribute release Outlandos d’Americas - Tributo a Police (A Tribute to the Police).[40] The instrumental sections in the song were re-worked using Latin rhythms such as cumbia and dancehall.
In 2015, Japanese singer Majiko released a cover as a bonus track on her single "Mirror".[41]