Will PSB ever have another big hit?

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Danger · #31 Post by **Danger** » Tue 12 Jun 2007, 9:11 pm

DJ Danny C wrote:If they release Integral anything is possible!

Another Integral topic, please

Henrik Powers · #32 Post by **Henrik Powers** » Wed 13 Jun 2007, 1:23 am

PopArt wrote:I think the conditions were as favorable in 2006 as they will ever be (or at least for quite a long time). Electro has made a bit of a comeback over recent years. PSB have re-gained the credibility they lost with Go West/ Ab Fab/ New York city boy. Alot of the current music establishment- The Killers, Keane, Scissor Sisters etc- have been saying what an influence they were. Even David Walliams and Matt Lucas' endorsement was significant in showing the PSB influence on modern culture.

And to cap it all, PSB produced one of their best albums in a very long time which had, in my opinion, 3 big hit singles on it (I'm with Stupid, Minimal and Integral). However, it didn't happen. The fact that Minimal only scraped its way to number 19 highlighted the PSB plight in terms of ever having a big hit again- the people that buy records in vast quantities these days don't want to buy PSB.

I honestly have given up hope of the Boys ever having a massive hit again unless it is a duet with a very "of the moment" star (and let's face it, when they did a song with Robbie Williams it made a very unfair number 16 in the charts). The other alternative will be some kind of mash up, remix thing which is always possible I guess but not really a big hit in their own right.

However, I don't think it matters. PSB are no longer about having big hits. Let's face it, they haven't really been since the Bilingual era. They have become more of a cult band who do exactly what they want to do for artistic reasons- from a musical, to Battleship Potemkin. The fact that their output has remained so a) prolific and b) of such an amazingly high standard is huge credit to Neil and Chris and of far greater significance than if they were simply chasing another Number One by covering loads of old Sixties tracks in a hi-nrg style (a la Always on my mind).

The fact that they don't have Number One's anymore shouldn't really bother us too much. It's the record buying public that is wrong.

Exactly...

Dipso · #33 Post by **Dipso** » Wed 13 Jun 2007, 2:03 am

Frequency wrote:Its very easy to fall into the trap of romanticising the music of one's youth. There are many brilliant bands/artists out there today and to simply dismiss them all in one fell swoop is sheer lunacy.

Sure, it seems we're swamped with mediocre pop songs and novelty records, but that's always been the case. I think with youth comes an eagerness and earnestness to look beyond the dirge and find those diamonds in the rough. That sort of enthusiasm wanes with age and we're left with this illusion that all modern music is rubbish.

I totally agree - it's utterly subjective. In twenty years' time my currently teenaged nieces will no doubt be bemoaning the state of music in 2027 and nostalgically recalling the days when quality pop songs such as Umbrella topped the charts.

Naughty Zoot · #34 Post by **Naughty Zoot** » Wed 13 Jun 2007, 6:15 am

I'm an optimist -- I think PSB will hit the top 3 again.

And it'll be one of those : Just when you least expect it, just what you'd least expect : kind of things.

glennjridge · #35 Post by **glennjridge** » Wed 13 Jun 2007, 6:24 am

with neil and chris's luck they will have a number 1 hit again...... by some new teen band covering one of their songs. it would be tragic in a way if someone else shoots to the top with one of their songs and the buying public probably wont even know it was an earlier groups song.

Radiophonic · #36 Post by **Radiophonic** » Wed 13 Jun 2007, 7:55 am

I think you have to put thingsinto perspective.

1. The Pet Shop Boys do very well in comparrison to the artists who were their chart contemporaries in the mid-late 1980s.

2. The record-buying, music-downloading public today probably think the Pet Shop Boys are 'oldies' and would rather buy Mika, Scissor Sisters and he Artic Monkeys. Even though their tracks are retro-sounding.

3. Top three records or not, I don't think it seems to have an impact on the Boys creativity or input.

Eldritch · #37 Post by **Eldritch** » Wed 13 Jun 2007, 8:09 am

Radiophonic wrote: 3. Top three records or not, I don't think it seems to have an impact on the Boys creativity or input.

I agree. I think they are now well over that. In retrospect I see Nightlife as their last and slightly desperate attempt to be a commercially huge band: the costumes, the videos, New York City Boy, different producers, Kylie, orchestrations, trance and so on. When it failed, they followed up it with a deliberately understated and low budget reinvention/hangover album Release, with which they cleaned the slate from the over-excesses of Nightlife and the musical and were free to start being Pet Shop Boys again as Disco 3, Miracles, Flamboyant and Fundamental

Undertaker · #38 Post by **Undertaker** » Wed 13 Jun 2007, 8:19 am

I always see Nighlife as a poor mans attempt to ressurect the Very era. They had done it already, it didn't need doing again. Still, Nightlife is an album that stood the test of time.

There is a lot more crap about these days though. We have always had novelty records, cover versions and manufactured bands but today, it's just become boring. It's happening every week. There now seems to be a trend of t'v reality shows. It's getting stupid. Picking the next Joseph, Prancing on Ice, Celebrity love island and now Britains got talent

I'm still not convinced that the embarressing acts go on thinking they are good. They must have been paid. Anyway, drifting away a bit. PSB wont have another number one unless they degrade themselves into doing one of these reality tv shows. They wont do that because 1) They don't need to and 2) They aren't desperate. I'm happy with a top 5 album though.

Dave

Frequency · #39 Post by **Frequency** » Wed 13 Jun 2007, 8:36 am

I've never been a huge fan of Nightlife, played it death when it came out, but these days there's nothing really that draws me back to it unlike other psb albums. The production was far too slick and polished and lacked those classic psb hooks and nuances that their best records have.

They're doing enough to survive, worldwide they have a healthy, interested fan base and whenever they put out an album they can guarantee at least a million sales so I think they've found a comfortable niche to work within and consequently there's little pressure to deliver the type of mega-hits they once had.

Eldritch · #40 Post by **Eldritch** » Wed 13 Jun 2007, 8:55 am

The problem with Nightlife was that they were clearly distracted by the musical they were working on at the time. Which resulted in a wildly uneven album, which tries to be rich and diverse but ends up being unfocused. The first eight tracks are up there with almost any other PSB album, but the third half falls apart in a spectacular fashion. Boy Strange, In Denial, New York City Boy and Footsteps are all below-par tracks for PSB, and the fact that every one of them tries something different but fails in its own way makes the last third of the album a very uncomfortable listening experience.

The lack of decent b-sides from the Nightlife era just confirms this. Only The Ghost Of Myself is a quality b-side, all others are previously released and/or otherwise throwaway. It's clear that at no point they sat down and really thought about what tracks should be on the album (or even if they have enough good songs for it) and how the album should flow.

Frequency · #41 Post by **Frequency** » Wed 13 Jun 2007, 11:23 am

For the most part, the songs I don't really have a problem with, however the production is too slick and consequently a little bland for my tastes. The musical proved to be an unwelcome distraction and perhaps they spread themselves too thin and what we got was neither here nor there in terms of Nightlife and Closer to Heaven.

whateverman42 · #42 Post by **whateverman42** » Wed 13 Jun 2007, 1:06 pm

However, I don't think it matters. PSB are no longer about having big hits. Let's face it, they haven't really been since the Bilingual era. They have become more of a cult band who do exactly what they want to do for artistic reasons- from a musical, to Battleship Potemkin. The fact that their output has remained so a) prolific and b) of such an amazingly high standard is huge credit to Neil and Chris and of far greater significance than if they were simply chasing another Number One by covering loads of old Sixties tracks in a hi-nrg style (a la Always on my mind).

The fact that they don't have Number One's anymore shouldn't really bother us too much. It's the record buying public that is wrong.

Heexactly. Popart, thank you, you explained way better than I ever could just why the PSB are my favourite band. They write what they want now, not what they think the public will like, which is the mark of all great artists and why pop is a trashy genre. If they continued releasing massive albums like Actually or Very, they'd be like Madonna in my book; good enough, but generic. The fact that they are so unknown gives me great pleasure, because everyone else is missing out on such great material due to their bad taste and stereotyping. Of course, I'd love to see them do well, but in truth they're too good to have a hit song anymore, and good on 'em!

Also, in relation to the earlier argument, I do believe that music has gone downhill as time has passed. As much as I hate to say it, the gap between intelligent people and dumb corporate sheeps has grown, and guess which one is bigger? Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, American Idol, etc. are/were massive, but most of us agree they are throwaway trash. It's ridiculous how big these Idol's and all they do is promote bland, inoffensive, unimaginative 'music'. Mass amounts of people watch these things and think this is what music is about, as if the judges critiques are teaching them about songcraft. Neil would never get past the first round, but his voice(to me) is so much better than the cookie-cutter divas, and he writes his own lyrics and material and... urgh, it's beyond frustrating, and completely unfair.

It comes down to this: PSB's are not popular because they write great music. I hate people. Stupid f*** people.

gregf · #43 Post by **gregf** » Thu 14 Jun 2007, 6:03 am

A #1 is like love, go looking and you wont find it.

N&C should stay true to their styles, be themselves, and enjoy making quality music.

DJAMIX · #44 Post by **DJAMIX** » Thu 14 Jun 2007, 3:11 pm

Naughty Zoot wrote:I'm an optimist -- I think PSB will hit the top 3 again.

Paul McCartney signed with Hear Music, the new label by Starbucks and Concord Music Group, and he reached the top 3 with his new album Memory Almost Full.

So everything is possible.