Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls (1985)
February 262010
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 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 documentary 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
Duration : 0:3:39
[youtube WAKk9XhX_GA]
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
ther 1983 version …
ther 1983 version of this song was great. it was pulled off of youtube.
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
classic! and from …
classic! and from totp too!
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
THE COOLEST SONG …
THE COOLEST SONG EVER!
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
j’adoreeeee !
j’ai …
j’adoreeeee !
j’ai dansé sur cette chanson un nombre incalculable de fois lorsque je vivais à Monaco !
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
excellente !!! …
excellente !!! j’adorais danser sur cette chanson lorsque je vivais à Monaco
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
I live about 15 …
I live about 15 miles from Lake Geneva!! Thats my favorite part of the song!! Whoda thunk these guys woulda mentioned this place so close to me!!
I think he mentions it around 2:48 !!
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
I was just in my …
I was just in my 20s when this tune came out. watchin this video brings back memories. Lip syncing to music was big then and I see by this video pet shop boys were into that as well. 5* for bringing back memories of fake music lol
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
who would want …
who would want robert pattinson when you have the wonderful Neil Tennant ;P
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
Excelent music…! …
Excelent music…! congratulation and thank´s for this great moment…! God bless..!
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
Yes.The singer,Neil …
Yes.The singer,Neil Tennant,is gay.He ”came out” in 1994.
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
Yes he was,but I …
Yes he was,but I like him so much,in 2009…Call me odd,but these are my feelings!
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
…was
…was
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
Neil is very sexy.. …
Neil is very sexy… ; )
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
en que programa …
en que programa estan??
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
Neil Tennant (the …
Neil Tennant (the singer) is indeed gay, Chris Lowe (the other bloke) hasn’t said whether he’s one way or another. And we all like Tennant’s jacket. Very “Top Gun”.
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
LOL
LOL
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
Absolutley…Pet …
Absolutley…Pet Shop Boys are queer as a three dollar bill…
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
OMG! I had that …
OMG! I had that jacket in baby pink! They were called parachute jackets and were popular for a while in the 80’s! Yikes!
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
Nevermind, Brandon …
Nevermind, Brandon Flowers said they were in his interview.
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
I mean this with …
I mean this with ALL DO RESPECT!!!! Is the singer gay? He’s seems like it. I mean, Great song, great band. Dont get me wrong. Im not being a retard by any means? Just curious. Im NOT gay lol. I The singer just seems a little out there. IDK might just be me. Still a GREAT song! Please guys not hate mail. I was just asking. Its a yes or no answer.
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
great song but …
great song but playback…
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
VIVA PET SHOP BOYS, …
VIVA PET SHOP BOYS, VIVA ANOS OITENTA
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
TOTP Top of the Pops
TOTP Top of the Pops
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
What show is this ? …
What show is this ? does anyone Know?
February 26th, 2010 at 12:11 am
he’s definitely …
he’s definitely rockin’ those shades & that jacket man LOL… AWESOME SONG! “From Lake Geneva to the Finland Station”