cover version of Soft Cell's song "Memorabilia", from their 1982 EP Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing. The UK single releases contain the same tracks split between two discs (each sold separately). A cassette single was issued in the U.S. and Australia, pairing "Closer" with the music video version of Nine Inch Nails' previous single, "March of the Pigs" (which was recorded live in the studio by the then-current lineup of the band). The single's cover artwork was done by photographer Joseph Cultice. US CD TVT Records / Interscope Records / Atlantic Records 95905–2 TVT Records / Interscope Records 0694959052 (Reissue) US cassette Nothing Records / TVT Records / Interscope Records / Atlantic Records 98263-4 UK CD Island Records CID 596 854 059–2 (Disc 1) Island Records CIDX 596 854 061–2 (Disc 2) U.K. 12-inch vinyl – Part 1: Further Away Island Records 12IS 596 854 059–1 – UK 12-inch vinyl 1 UK 12-inch vinyl – Part 2: Closer to God Island Records 12ISX 596 854 061–1 – UK 12-inch vinyl 2 Other versions in other formats and countries have the same track listing as the U.S. CD release. Personnel Trent Reznor – lead and backing vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, programming, sampling Chris Vrenna – drum samples Flood – special hi-hat programming Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications Release history Cover versions "Closer" has been covered by many musical acts, including MGMT, Blood on the Dance Floor, Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine, Eric Gorfain, Maroon 5, Maxwell, The Asylum Street Spankers, Asking Alexandria, Rosetta Stone, In This Moment and Japanese Voyeurs. Thirty Seconds to Mars uses samples from "Closer" when they perform "The Fantasy". "Weird Al" Yankovic has paid tribute to "Closer" twice: in "The Alternative Polka" on his album Bad Hair Day, a section of the song was used in which the word "fuck" is replaced with a cartoon sound effect. "Germs" on his Running with Scissors album is a style parody of several Nine Inch Nails songs. The Asylum Street Spankers occasionally perform a bluegrass version, available at the Live Music Archive. In 1995, the Australian novelty act Nine Inch Richards covered the song under the title "Closer To Hogs". Sung in a southern drawl, it combined Trent Reznor's sexually charged lyrics with barnyard animal samples, humorously implying that the song is about bestiality. A video clip of the parody was taken at the Sydney Royal