The front cover features a sepia photograph of Mike Oldfield's mother Maureen, who died in January 1974, ten years before the release of this single.[2] The song was released between Oldfield's albums Crises and Discovery.
The music video for "Crime of Passion" takes place in a surrealistic children's play room featuring books, giant blocks (with letters on them), a girl on a swing, a military drummer and a clown. In the video Oldfield performs in a 'mechanical' fashion with Ovation and FenderStratocaster guitars, while Palmer sits on a box and sings. The video is available on the Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield video.