MEMORIES:
wldpuma remembers...*** PET SHOP BOYS *** I first heard of this pop group in the early 80's on a local radio ... More »
Posted on 12/01/06
PHOTOS:
CATCH PHRASE:
“I've got the brains, you've got the looks
Let's make lots of money
You've got the brawn, I've got the brains
Let's make lots of money” - “Opportunities”
While the average listener might categorize the Pet Shop Boys as ‘new wave,’ or perhaps even ‘synth pop,’ their sound went way beyond that – through disco and techno, house and jungle, tinged with lush instrumentality and cleverly melodic lyrics – the Pet Shop Boys kept their image and sound intact. They have remained popular throughout the world due to their constant innovation in sound and love of allowing others to remix and reinvent their music.
Pet Shop Boys came together in London in 1981 when vocalist Neil Tennant, met Chris Lowe at an electronics shop. Sharing a passion for dance music and electronic beats, they initially called themselves West End, because of their love of London’s famed West End, but came to the name Pet Shop Boys from some friends who worked at a pet shop. Plus, it just sounded like a good name for a rap group in the 1980s. The duo got their break when Tennant met Bobby “O” Orlando while on a writing assignment for the magazine Smash Hits. Bobby “O” went on to produce their first single, “West End Girls” which became a minor hit in the U.S. but went nowhere in the U.K. Their follow-up, the ironically titled “One Last Chance,” was also unsuccessful.
They left Bobby “O”, and headed over to EMI, releasing 1985’s “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money).” The song didn’t fare well at first, and the duo re-recorded “West End Girls.” The new version of West End Girls did so well it climbed its way to the top of the charts in the U.S. and around the world. The single has sold an estimated one and a half million copies worldwide, and remains their most played song to date. On the strength of “West End Girls” “Opportunities” was re-released to find a much greater success. Disco, a collection of dance remixes quickly found its way onto store shelves. Soon after, 1987’s Actually was released to have three singles find their way onto the Top Ten, “It’s a Sin,” a cover of “Always On My Mind” and “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” which featured the great Dusty Springfield.
At the end of 1987, the Pet Shop Boys began working on film that would incorporate their music from Actually. It grew into a full-scale movie and was released in 1988 to mixed reviews. The same year, the Pet Shop Boys released their third studio LP, Introspective. “Domino Dancing” became their last Top 40 hit in the U.S. though worldwide they have continued to find success. At the end of the 1980s, Pet Shop Boys collaborated with a number of other performers, including Liza Minnelli for 1989’s Results. After 1990’s Behavior, the duo came together to create a medly of U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” and Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” The song was a hit, and was released as a non-album single followed with their first-ever world tour, “Performance,” in 1990. Their soundtrack to the 1992 film, The Crying Game, was critically acclaimed and featured Boy George (of Culture Club fame) performing the title song, giving Boy George his first hit in years. Pet Shop Boys returned to the studio to create the critically acclaimed 1993 album, Very, before taking a few years off. They returned in 1996 with Bilingual expanding their sound into Latin rhythms, and in 1999 released Nightlife, which spawned the dance club hit “New York City Boy.”
The two have expanded their horizons into playwriting. From 1997 until its West End debut in 2001 with Jonathon Harvey, Tennant and Lowe collaborated on the musical Closer to Heaven. It had a year-long run, and the score with the original cast went on to become a hit in the U.K. In 2002, they released their won album Release, followed by Disco 3. In 2005, after compiling a volume for the Back to Mine series, they released a soundtrack meant to accompany the 1925 silent film, Battle Ship Potemkin.
The Pet Shop Boys started off 2006 by remixing Madonna’s single, “Sorry,” following it up an album of their own in the same year, Fundamental. Fundamental features a new single “I’m With Stupid,” which has performed well in the British charts. Soon again, a remixed version, Fundamentalism, hit the shelves – giving their fans so much more to explore in their music. Artists as wide ranging as Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses, to Madonna have cited the Pet Shop Boys as musical inspiration, as well as countless others. Their legion of fans can attest that their music will continue on and on, inspiring so many more.
