The song plays in the closing credits for the 1989 film Batman, which the song was written for.
The song was the final single released by Prince in the 1980s.
The initial recording session took place on October 17, 1988 at Prince's Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota during on a day off from the Lovesexy Tour, between stops in Greensboro, North Carolina and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Three-and-a-half months later on October 1, 1989 (after the track was first released), the track was re-worked to a three-part version called The Scandalous Sex Suite, divided into three parts (The Crime, The Passion and The Rapture). Actress Kim Basinger, who played the character Vicki Vale in the Batman movie, took part in these sessions, which were released on the Scandalous! maxi-single, also known as the The Scandalous Sex Suite EP.
Prince plays all the instruments on the original single and album versions. However, Eric Leeds plays saxophone on the three-part version with Academy Award-winning actress Kim Basinger providing additional vocals.
Due to licensing issues with the Batman franchise, Prince was not allowed to include songs from this album on any compilations. Even on concert T-shirts listing Prince's albums, the Batman title was replaced by the song "Scandalous!"