~ Pet Shop Boys - It's a Sin
Views: 10241 |  |  |  |  | 1987) Postmodern ironists cloaked behind a veil of buoyantly melodic and lushly romantic synth pop confections, the Pet Shop Boys' cheeky, smart, and utterly danceable music established them among the most commercially and critically successful groups of ...More their era. Always remaining one step ahead of their contemporaries, the British duo navigated the constantly shifting landscape of modern dance-pop with rare grace and intelligence, moving easily from disco to house to techno with their own distinctive image remaining completely intact. Satiric and irreverent -- yet somehow strangely affecting -- the Pet Shop Boys transcended the seeming disposability of their craft, offering wry and thoughtful cultural commentary communicated by the Morse code of au courant synth washes and drum-machine rhythms.
Pet Shop Boys formed in London in August 1981 when vocalist Neil Tennant (a former editor at Marvel Comics who later gained some notoriety as a journalist for Smash Hits magazine) first met keyboardist Chris Lowe (a onetime architecture student) at an electronics shop. Discovering a shared passion for dance music and synthesizers, they immediately decided to start a band. Dubbing themselves the Pet Shop Boys in honor of friends who worked in such an establishment -- while also obliquely nodding to the sort of names prevalent among the New York City hip-hop culture of the early 1980s -- the duo's career first took flight in 1983, when Tennant met producer Bobby "O" Orlando while on a writing assignment. Orlando produced their first single, 1984's "West End Girls." The song was a minor hit in the U.S. but went nowhere in Britain, and its follow-up, "One More Chance," was also unsuccessful.
Upon signing to EMI, the Pet Shop Boys issued 1985's biting "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)." When it too failed to attract attention, the duo's future appeared grim, but they then released an evocative new Stephen Hague production of "West End Girls," which became an international chart-topper. Its massive success propelled the Pet Shop Boys' 1986 debut LP Please into the Top Ten, and when "Opportunities" was subsequently reissued, it too became a hit. Disco, a collection of dance remixes, was quickly rushed into stores, and in 1987 the duo resurfaced with the superb Actually, which launched three more Top Ten smashes -- "It's a Sin," a lovely cover of the perennial "Always on My Mind," and "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," a duet between Tennant and the great Dusty Springfield. A do#@!&entary film titled It Couldn't Happen Here was released the following year.
Also in 1988, Pet Shop Boys issued their third studio LP, the eclectic Introspective. The single "Domino Dancing" was their final Top 40 hit in the U.S. The following year, the duo collaborated with a variety of performers, most notably Liza Minnelli, for whom they produced the 1989 LP Results. They also produced material for Springfield, and Tennant joined New Order frontman Bernard Sumner and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr in the group Electronic, scoring a hit with the single "Getting Away with It." The Pet Shop Boys reconvened in 1990 for the muted, downcast Behavior, produced by Harold Faltermeyer. 1991 saw the release of their hit medley of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," and was followed in 1993 by Very, lauded among the duo's finest efforts to date.
After a three-year absence, the Pet Shop Boys resurfaced with Bilingual, a fluid expansion into Latin rhythms. Nightlife followed in 1999 and sparked the dance club hit "New York City Boy." On the success of that, they also toured the U.S. for the first time in eight years. While on tour, Tennant and Lowe were also collaborating with playwright Jonathan Harvey. Since 1997, the three had been crafting a musical surrounding gay life and societal criticisms. Closer to Heaven made its West End debut in 2001 and had a successful run for most of the year. The Pet Shop Boys' score of the original cast recording was also a hit in the U.K. They still had time to make a record for themselves, too -- in April 2002, Tennant and Lowe issued Release. Disco 3 was compiled for release the following year. In 2005, they put together a volume of the Back to Mine series and released their soundtrack designed to accompany the 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin, a soundtrack they'd performed a year earlier at a free concert/screening in Trafalgar Square. A year later they issued Fundamental, a mature, sometimes political album produced by Trevor Horn. The live album Concrete: In Concert at the Mermaid Theatre appeared at the end of the year. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide |
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~ Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
Views: 3628 |  |  |  |  | 1985) Postmodern ironists cloaked behind a veil of buoyantly melodic and lushly romantic synth pop confections, the Pet Shop Boys' cheeky, smart, and utterly danceable music established them among the most commercially and critically successful groups of ...More their era. Always remaining one step ahead of their contemporaries, the British duo navigated the constantly shifting landscape of modern dance-pop with rare grace and intelligence, moving easily from disco to house to techno with their own distinctive image remaining completely intact. Satiric and irreverent -- yet somehow strangely affecting -- the Pet Shop Boys transcended the seeming disposability of their craft, offering wry and thoughtful cultural commentary communicated by the Morse code of au courant synth washes and drum-machine rhythms.
Pet Shop Boys formed in London in August 1981 when vocalist Neil Tennant (a former editor at Marvel Comics who later gained some notoriety as a journalist for Smash Hits magazine) first met keyboardist Chris Lowe (a onetime architecture student) at an electronics shop. Discovering a shared passion for dance music and synthesizers, they immediately decided to start a band. Dubbing themselves the Pet Shop Boys in honor of friends who worked in such an establishment -- while also obliquely nodding to the sort of names prevalent among the New York City hip-hop culture of the early 1980s -- the duo's career first took flight in 1983, when Tennant met producer Bobby "O" Orlando while on a writing assignment. Orlando produced their first single, 1984's "West End Girls." The song was a minor hit in the U.S. but went nowhere in Britain, and its follow-up, "One More Chance," was also unsuccessful.
Upon signing to EMI, the Pet Shop Boys issued 1985's biting "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)." When it too failed to attract attention, the duo's future appeared grim, but they then released an evocative new Stephen Hague production of "West End Girls," which became an international chart-topper. Its massive success propelled the Pet Shop Boys' 1986 debut LP Please into the Top Ten, and when "Opportunities" was subsequently reissued, it too became a hit. Disco, a collection of dance remixes, was quickly rushed into stores, and in 1987 the duo resurfaced with the superb Actually, which launched three more Top Ten smashes -- "It's a Sin," a lovely cover of the perennial "Always on My Mind," and "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," a duet between Tennant and the great Dusty Springfield. A do#@!&entary film titled It Couldn't Happen Here was released the following year.
Also in 1988, Pet Shop Boys issued their third studio LP, the eclectic Introspective. The single "Domino Dancing" was their final Top 40 hit in the U.S. The following year, the duo collaborated with a variety of performers, most notably Liza Minnelli, for whom they produced the 1989 LP Results. They also produced material for Springfield, and Tennant joined New Order frontman Bernard Sumner and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr in the group Electronic, scoring a hit with the single "Getting Away with It." The Pet Shop Boys reconvened in 1990 for the muted, downcast Behavior, produced by Harold Faltermeyer. 1991 saw the release of their hit medley of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," and was followed in 1993 by Very, lauded among the duo's finest efforts to date.
After a three-year absence, the Pet Shop Boys resurfaced with Bilingual, a fluid expansion into Latin rhythms. Nightlife followed in 1999 and sparked the dance club hit "New York City Boy." On the success of that, they also toured the U.S. for the first time in eight years. While on tour, Tennant and Lowe were also collaborating with playwright Jonathan Harvey. Since 1997, the three had been crafting a musical surrounding gay life and societal criticisms. Closer to Heaven made its West End debut in 2001 and had a successful run for most of the year. The Pet Shop Boys' score of the original cast recording was also a hit in the U.K. They still had time to make a record for themselves, too -- in April 2002, Tennant and Lowe issued Release. Disco 3 was compiled for release the following year. In 2005, they put together a volume of the Back to Mine series and released their soundtrack designed to accompany the 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin, a soundtrack they'd performed a year earlier at a free concert/screening in Trafalgar Square. A year later they issued Fundamental, a mature, sometimes political album produced by Trevor Horn. The live album Concrete: In Concert at the Mermaid Theatre appeared at the end of the year. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide |
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~ Pet shop boys - Love comes quickly
Views: 3193 |  |  |  |  | 1986) Postmodern ironists cloaked behind a veil of buoyantly melodic and lushly romantic synth pop confections, the Pet Shop Boys' cheeky, smart, and utterly danceable music established them among the most commercially and critically successful groups of ...More their era. Always remaining one step ahead of their contemporaries, the British duo navigated the constantly shifting landscape of modern dance-pop with rare grace and intelligence, moving easily from disco to house to techno with their own distinctive image remaining completely intact. Satiric and irreverent -- yet somehow strangely affecting -- the Pet Shop Boys transcended the seeming disposability of their craft, offering wry and thoughtful cultural commentary communicated by the Morse code of au courant synth washes and drum-machine rhythms.
Pet Shop Boys formed in London in August 1981 when vocalist Neil Tennant (a former editor at Marvel Comics who later gained some notoriety as a journalist for Smash Hits magazine) first met keyboardist Chris Lowe (a onetime architecture student) at an electronics shop. Discovering a shared passion for dance music and synthesizers, they immediately decided to start a band. Dubbing themselves the Pet Shop Boys in honor of friends who worked in such an establishment -- while also obliquely nodding to the sort of names prevalent among the New York City hip-hop culture of the early 1980s -- the duo's career first took flight in 1983, when Tennant met producer Bobby "O" Orlando while on a writing assignment. Orlando produced their first single, 1984's "West End Girls." The song was a minor hit in the U.S. but went nowhere in Britain, and its follow-up, "One More Chance," was also unsuccessful.
Upon signing to EMI, the Pet Shop Boys issued 1985's biting "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)." When it too failed to attract attention, the duo's future appeared grim, but they then released an evocative new Stephen Hague production of "West End Girls," which became an international chart-topper. Its massive success propelled the Pet Shop Boys' 1986 debut LP Please into the Top Ten, and when "Opportunities" was subsequently reissued, it too became a hit. Disco, a collection of dance remixes, was quickly rushed into stores, and in 1987 the duo resurfaced with the superb Actually, which launched three more Top Ten smashes -- "It's a Sin," a lovely cover of the perennial "Always on My Mind," and "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," a duet between Tennant and the great Dusty Springfield. A do#@!&entary film titled It Couldn't Happen Here was released the following year.
Also in 1988, Pet Shop Boys issued their third studio LP, the eclectic Introspective. The single "Domino Dancing" was their final Top 40 hit in the U.S. The following year, the duo collaborated with a variety of performers, most notably Liza Minnelli, for whom they produced the 1989 LP Results. They also produced material for Springfield, and Tennant joined New Order frontman Bernard Sumner and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr in the group Electronic, scoring a hit with the single "Getting Away with It." The Pet Shop Boys reconvened in 1990 for the muted, downcast Behavior, produced by Harold Faltermeyer. 1991 saw the release of their hit medley of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," and was followed in 1993 by Very, lauded among the duo's finest efforts to date.
After a three-year absence, the Pet Shop Boys resurfaced with Bilingual, a fluid expansion into Latin rhythms. Nightlife followed in 1999 and sparked the dance club hit "New York City Boy." On the success of that, they also toured the U.S. for the first time in eight years. While on tour, Tennant and Lowe were also collaborating with playwright Jonathan Harvey. Since 1997, the three had been crafting a musical surrounding gay life and societal criticisms. Closer to Heaven made its West End debut in 2001 and had a successful run for most of the year. The Pet Shop Boys' score of the original cast recording was also a hit in the U.K. They still had time to make a record for themselves, too -- in April 2002, Tennant and Lowe issued Release. Disco 3 was compiled for release the following year. In 2005, they put together a volume of the Back to Mine series and released their soundtrack designed to accompany the 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin, a soundtrack they'd performed a year earlier at a free concert/screening in Trafalgar Square. A year later they issued Fundamental, a mature, sometimes political album produced by Trevor Horn. The live album Concrete: In Concert at the Mermaid Theatre appeared at the end of the year. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide |
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~ Erasure - S.O.S. Perimeter Mix (1992)
Views: 3534 |  |  |  |  | Erasure are an English synth pop duo band consisting of keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell.
Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That". They established themselves on the British charts and bec ...More ame one of the most successful artists of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
From 1986 to 1997, Erasure achieved twenty-four consecutive Top 20 hits in the UK. By 2007, 34 of their 40 singles have made the Top 40, with 17 climbing into the Top 10. Although most popular in their native UK, the duo has also achieved success in Europe, the USA, Japan, and Latin America. To date, Erasure have recorded worldwide album sales of over 25 million.
From the start, Erasure's success was founded upon their songwriting skills. Vince Clarke's talent for writing melodic and catchy pop songs was evident from his years with Depeche Mode and Yazoo. As a lyricist and melodist, the singer Andy Bell added depth and character to Clarke's electronic style.
Albums such as The Circus, The Innocents, Wild!, Chorus, I Say I Say I Say, Erasure, Loveboat and Nightbird demonstrated a further diversity of sound.
As pop craftsmen, the pair's work bears comparison with that of Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Eurythmics, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), a-ha, Roxette, Tears for Fears, The Lightning Seeds, and other enduring pop songwriters originating from the 1980s.
The duo's singer, Andy Bell, is openly gay and has often reflected this through his outfits and gestures on stage, at a time when Western society as a whole was less accepting of homosexuality than it is today — making Erasure's success all the more notable.
Vince Clarke was a founding member of Depeche Mode and sole writer of their first three singles (including the breakthrough Top 10 hit "Just Can't Get Enough"). After leaving the band in 1981, Clarke forged an equally successful career with the duo Yazoo (known as Yaz in the U.S.). After two hit albums in as many years, he split with Yazoo partner Alison Moyet and briefly formed The Assembly with producer Eric Radcliffe. The project spawned a UK number four hit single, "Never Never," featuring Feargal Sharkey on vocals. Clarke then released another single with vocalist Paul Quinn, "One Day." It flopped, leading Clarke to place an advertisement in Melody Maker looking for a vocalist for a new musical project. He selected Andy Bell, who was the 43rd to audition (and whose voice would often be compared to Moyet's).
Erasure's first three singles were commercial failures in the UK, although the third, "Oh L'amour", charted well in Australia and some European countries (especially in France, where it still remains Erasure's only hit to date). It was with the release of their fourth single, "Sometimes", that Erasure finally received recognition in the UK in late 1986. This song peaked at number 2 and spent many weeks in the UK Top 40, marking the beginning of a long string of hits for the duo.
"Sometimes"'s parent album, The Circus, turned platinum in the UK; its three additional hit singles - "It Doesn't Have To Be", "Victim of Love" and "The Circus" - ensuring it remained on the charts for over a year. But Erasure's real breakthrough came with their third album, The Innocents, released in 1988. Preceded by the Top 10 single "Ship of Fools", the album hit number one in the UK on its initial release, then remarkably returned to the summit a year later, eventually going triple platinum. It also turned platinum in the U.S., generating two Top 20 hits in "Chains of Love" and "A Little Respect".
The Innocents was the first of five consecutive number one albums for Erasure in the UK - an achievement unmatched by any of their contemporaries. Wild! in 1989 and Chorus in 1991 both contained four Top 20 singles and were huge sellers.
In late 1988, an EP, Crackers International, led by the song "Stop!", hit number two in the UK singles chart. This was bettered in 1992 by another EP, Abba-esque, covering four ABBA hits, which became Erasure's first number one in the UK Singles Chart. Later that year, a singles compilation, Pop! - the First 20 Hits, also hit number one and went triple platinum.
In 1994, Erasure released I Say I Say I Say, their fifth consecutive number one in the UK Albums Chart. Its first single "Always" became the band's third Top 20 hit in the United States.
Following this success, Erasure went through a difficult period of re-evaluation and re-invention. The 1995 release of the album Erasure marked a determined shift away from their signature three minute synth-pop to a more introspective and less accessible sound, with many of the album's tracks clocking in at over five minutes. Although this new direction would be critically well received, it did not translate into sales, and Erasure's days of mass commercial appeal and guaranteed number one albums appeared over. |
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~ Pet Shop Boys - I'm Not Scared [Live - Performance]
Views: 1860 |  | ![Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys - Im Not Scared [Live - Performance]](http://img2.everyvideoevermade.com/img.ashx?src=SeZ5obU_1) | ![Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys - Im Not Scared [Live - Performance]](http://img3.everyvideoevermade.com/img.ashx?src=SeZ5obU_2) | ![Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys - Im Not Scared [Live - Performance]](http://img4.everyvideoevermade.com/img.ashx?src=SeZ5obU_3) | Pet Shop Boys - Performance
The Classic 1991 Live Show Enhanced
Live In Concert
Music: I'm Not Scared
Composers: Chris Lowe; Neil Tennant
Lyric:
Your life's a mystery, mine is an open book
If I could read your mind, I think I'd take a look
...More
I don't care, Baby
I'm not scared
What have you got to hide? What do you need to prove?
You're always telling lies, and that's the only truth
I don't care
Baby, I'm not scared
Tonight the streets are full of actors
I don't know why
Oh, take these dogs away from me
Before they, they bite
What have you got to say of shadows in the past?
I thought that, if you paid, you'd keep them off our backs
Where do we have to be, so I can laugh and you'll be free?
I'd go anywhere
Baby, I don't care
I'm not scared
(Ah Ah Ah Ah - Ah Aah Aah, Ah Ah Ah Ah - Ah Aah Aah)
(Ah Ah Ah Ah - Ah Aah Aah) I'm not scared (Ah Ah Ah Ah - Ah Aah Aah)
Tonight the streets are full of actors
I don't know why
Oh, debarasse-moi de ces chiens
Avant qu'ils mordent
Avant qu'ils mordent
Tonight I fought and made my mind up
I know it's right
I know these dogs still snap around me
But I can, I can fight
If I was you, if I was you
I wouldn't treat me the way you do
If I was you, if I was you
I wouldn't treat me the way you do - you
If I was you, if I was you
I wouldn't treat me the way you do
If I was you, if I was you
I wouldn't treat me the way you do - you
©2004 Pet Shop Boys Partnership Limited
©2004 EMI Records LTD.
--
Buy It:
http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Shop-Boys-Performance/dp/B0006L7UE2 |
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~ always on my mind - kartsonakis version
Views: 1412 |  |  |  |  | Elvis Presley version
Elvis Presley's version reached number 16 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart in 1972[1]. Brenda Lee's version had stalled at #45 on the country charts in 1972. Presley's version is famous for being played at the 200 ...More 6 FIFA World Cup and the album Voices from the FIFA World Cup.
[edit] Willie Nelson version
The song was also recorded by Willie Nelson. Released in the spring of 1982, the song raced to number one on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart that May, spending two weeks atop the chart. The song also did very well on Top 40 radio, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Apart from a Grammy Award for Song of the Year, "Always on My Mind" earned numerous other awards, including the 1982 and 1983 Country Music Association's "Song of the Year" honors (to songwriters Christopher, James and Thompson); and the 1982 CMA Single of the Year (to Nelson). "Always on My Mind" was named Billboard's number one country song for 1982.
[edit] Pet Shop Boys version
"Always on My Mind"
"Always on My Mind" cover
Single by Pet Shop Boys
from the album Introspective
B-side "Do I Have To?"
Released November 30, 1987
Format 7", 12", cassette, CD
Genre Synthpop
Length 3:56
Label Parlophone - 6171
Writer(s) Wayne Carson Thompson,
Mark James,
Johnny Christopher
Producer Julian Mendelsohn, Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"Rent"
(1987) "Always on My Mind"
(1987) "Heart"
(1988)
Alternate cover
Cover for the US release
Cover for the US release
In 1987, Pet Shop Boys performed a version of "Always on My Mind" on Love Me Tender, an ITV network television special commemorating the tenth anniversary of Presley's death, in which various popular contemporary acts performed cover versions of his hits. Their performance was so well-received that the group decided to record the song and release it as a single. This version became the U.K.'s Christmas number one single that year, beating "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, and topping the charts for four weeks in total. It also reached number one in Germany in 1988, and peaked at number four in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 the same year, becoming the duo's fifth and last Top 10 hit there.
In November 2004, The Daily Telegraph newspaper placed the version at number two in a list of the fifty greMaybe I didn't love you, quite as often as I should have,
And maybe I didn't treat you, quite as good as I could have.
If I made you feel second best, girl I'm sorry I was blind.
You were always on my mind, you were always on my mind.
Maybe I didn't hold you, all those lonely lonely times,
And I guess I never told you, I'm so happy that you're mine.
Little things I should have said and done, I just never took the time.
You were always on my mind, you were always on my mind.
Tell me,
Tell me that your sweet love hasn't died,
Give me,
Give me one more chance to keep you satisfied,
I'll keep you satisfied.
(Instrumental)
Little things I should have said and done,
I just never took the time.
You were always on my mind,
You were always on my mind.
Tell me,
Tell me that your sweet love hasn't died,
Give me,
Give me one more chance to keep you satisfied,
I'll keep you satisfied. |
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~ Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls [45t Prime Cut of Shep's Mastermix]
Views: 40428 |  | ![Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls [45t Prime Cut of Sheps Mastermix]](http://img2.everyvideoevermade.com/img.ashx?src=30Chv-E_1) | ![Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls [45t Prime Cut of Sheps Mastermix]](http://img3.everyvideoevermade.com/img.ashx?src=30Chv-E_2) | ![Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls [45t Prime Cut of Sheps Mastermix]](http://img4.everyvideoevermade.com/img.ashx?src=30Chv-E_3) | 1986's number one Mega-hit "West End Girls" by Pet Shop Boys. I re-edited my own-vid remix tribute from the "Shep Pettibone 45t Prime Cut-Dub Mastermix" (which also was enjoyed with the "Dub Mix" & "Ultimix" remix version). It could be probably, one of th ...More e singles with more remixes released at Music History. Hope you'll enjoy it!
Review.- Pet Shop Boys are an English synthpop/pop music/electronic music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant (born as Neil Francis Tennant in July 10, 1954, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, England)
who provides main vocals, keyboards and very occasionally guitar, and Chris Lowe (born as Christopher Sean Lowe in 4 October 1959, Blackpool, Lancashire, England) on keyboards and occasionally on vocals. The duo write the vast majority of their songs and have also written songs for other artists.
Pet Shop Boys formed in London in August 1981 when vocalist Neil Tennant (a former editor at Marvel Comics who later gained some notoriety as a journalist for Smash Hits magazine) first met keyboardist Chris Lowe (a onetime architecture student) at an electronics shop. Discovering a shared passion for dance music and synthesizers, they immediately decided to start a band. Dubbing themselves the Pet Shop Boys in honor of friends who worked in such an establishment -- while also obliquely nodding to the sort of names prevalent among the New York City hip-hop culture of the early 1980s -- the duo's career first took flight in 1983, when Tennant met producer Bobby "O" Orlando while on a writing assignment. Orlando produced their first single, 1984's "West End Girls." The song was a minor hit in the U.S. but went nowhere in Britain, and its follow-up, "One More Chance," was also unsuccessful.
Upon signing to EMI, the Pet Shop Boys issued 1985's biting "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)." When it too failed to attract attention, the duo's future appeared grim, but they then released an evocative new Stephen Hague production of "West End Girls," which became an international chart-topper. Its massive success propelled the Pet Shop Boys' 1986 debut LP Please into the Top Ten, and when "Opportunities" was subsequently reissued, it too became a hit. Disco, a collection of dance remixes, was quickly rushed into stores, and in 1987 the duo resurfaced with the superb Actually, which launched three more Top Ten smashes -- "It's a Sin," a lovely cover of the perennial "Always on My Mind," and "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," a duet between Tennant and the great Dusty Springfield. A do#@!&entary film titled It Couldn't Happen Here was released the following year.
Also in 1988, Pet Shop Boys issued their third studio LP, the eclectic Introspective. The single "Domino Dancing" was their final Top 40 hit in the U.S.
Neil Tennant is openly gay, although he refused to confirm rumours about his sexuality in the 1980s until finally coming out shortly after the release of 1993's Very in Attitude, a UK gay lifestyle magazine. Lowe, meanwhile, has remained tight-lipped on the subject. The duo are sometimes incorrectly assumed to be a couple (in the 1990 biography Pet Shop Boys, Literally, Tennant recalls that even their ex-manager, Tom Watkins, was under this impression for a time).
Pet Shop Boys are seen as significant figures in gay culture for such songs as "Can you forgive her?", "It's a sin" (for which gay director Derek Jarman produced the video), "New York City Boy" and their cover of Village People's "Go West". They have written a song about a young male fan spending a night with a rapper, based on Eminem, called "The night I fell in love" and a song about coming out, "Metamorphosis". Their 1990s single "Being boring" dealt with the gay experience and the devastation wrought by the AIDS crisis; the song (and its supporting video, filmed by Bruce Weber), remains one of their most popular. However, Neil Tennant has stated many times that his lyrics are not specifically gay. Many of their songs are written from an ambiguous view point that can be taken any way the listener perceives it, and this goes some way to explain why a large segment of their die-hard fans are heterosexual.
Pet Shop Boys have performed and worked with many artists considered to be gay and bisexual icons such as Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Dusty Springfield, Bananarama, Boy George, Kylie Minogue and Madonna. Pet Shop Boys attempted to organise and perform in a planned 2001 tour of out gay musicians, entitled 'Wotapalava'. However, the plans were later put on hold and the idea seems to have been discarded.
The Duo have sold more than 50 million records worldwide. The longevity of their career is generally attributed to their ability to create melodic and interesting pop/dance music. Since 1986, they have had thirty-nine Top 30 singles and twenty-two Top 10 hits in the UK, including four number ones: "West End Girls", "It's a Sin", "Always on My Mind" and "Heart". |
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