The Catalogue Interviews - Julian Mendelsohn answers questions from forum members

[BlackPanther]

Excellent interview! Well done!

[Dog]

Thanks everyone. Glad you like it. It was fun to do and Julian seemed to enjoy it too so obviously massive thanks to him, and to those that asked questions.

[Synthrobot]

Great interview, thanks again!

[Drico One]

Their single choices went off a cliff from 1994 onwards, with the odd moment of brilliance being the exception rather than the rule, sadly.

I think they lost momentum in 1994. Rather than releasing five singles off Very, they should have kept it to four at a maximum and released a brand new standalone to go with a new album - Disco 2 reimagined, because the real thing was hair-raising even when bald. The problem, of course, is that the brand new standalone single was Absolutely Fatuous - so beside the point that they didn't even put their name to it.

Drico.

I'm going slightly off topic but there's a question that comes to my mind every now and then.
I've always thought and I completely agree with you, that after the success of Very the PSB didn't go for a rush exploiting their great commercial success as they did in the imperial phase.
I mean after Very we have Disco2, Alternative, a latin america tour only and then back again after 3 years with a strange album that was Bilingual.

The question is: do you think that not exploiting their success in 1993/1994 releasing another Very-esque album but dealing with very different projects did extend thier carreer until our days? Do you think that a double-punch Very-Very2 with huge commercial success could let them burn as quick as a paper fire?

I don't think they needed to release a Very 2 in that period - they never repeated themselves, so why would they repeat Very. I don't think Disco 2 extends anyone's career.

I remember reading on the ITV Chart Show in 1996 that they were not going to promote Bilingual and found that strange, but I put it down to the upheaval in Chris's life around that time. I think by the mid 1990s, Britpop was all-ecompassing and Pet Shop Boys were part of the pop culture landscape, albeit now in the background. Go West and the greater openness Neil embraced about his private life pigeon-holed them to some extent, and you either appreciated Pet Shop Boys as pop musicians at that point or you didn't. Some that had previously done so lost interest as the "mystery" had been solved.

Bilingual is a fascinating album, but is arguably the first seriously flawed Pet Shop Boys record. It doesn't seem to know what it's about. The album itself is as lost as our protagonist in Discoteca.

Yet, I don't think anything they did in this period extended their career. I think the maturity and depth showcased on Behaviour had more to do with that, but overall I think the very fact that they were songwriters and recognised that in themselves even when the hits dried up was decisive. These days, they explicitly state that "that is what we do". Back in the 1990s, they possibly needed to believe that there was life after Top of the Pops.

Drico.

[Parkol]

Thank you.

[ArtHist]

[/quote] I'm going slightly off topic but there's a question that comes to my mind every now and then.
I've always thought and I completely agree with you, that after the success of Very the PSB didn't go for a rush exploiting their great commercial success as they did in the imperial phase......The question is: do you think that not exploiting their success in 1993/1994 releasing another Very-esque album......Do you think that a double-punch Very-Very2 with huge commercial success could let them burn as quick as a paper fire?
[/quote]

Isn't Very described as their (or at least Neil's) 'coming out' album? You can only come out the once .....Unless you're the Scissors Sisters or Sam Smith and try and make a career out of it.