Further listening 2013-2024

[Dog]

As I’ve posted before, I have Spotify “Further listening” style playlists for their four most recent albums, where I’ve sequenced available tracks in the order in which they were recorded, according to Neil’s Literally/Annually diaries, as per the Further Listening “rules”. I know some of you have done the same. And now, with the announcement of the New London boy / All the young dudes tracklistings, we seemingly have a complete view of the bountiful Nonetheless era. Hopefully one day we’ll see official multi-disc reissues of their post-Elysium output, complete with exclusive unreleased material. Until then, these playlists will have to be my next best thing.

Maybe more than any other, the Nonetheless era has seen them plunder their own archives. It’s not a crime and I’ve got plans date from way back in 1982, but were only recorded recently. Clean air hybrid electric bus and Everybody will dance were written and recorded during the Super era - as were four fifths of the Lost EP. And Sense of time was written and recorded while they were working on Hotspot.

So far Electric Further Listening is slim pickings, given Electric is effectively Elysium’s Further Listening disc. I’ve added the two versions of Oppressive, but arguably these would be deemed collaborations (with Panti Bliss) and not qualify. But hopefully they’ll have a few more tracks to pull out of the archive when it comes to the official release of all four - with Super, Hotspot and Nonetheless already looking nailed on to be triple disc sets.

I’ve added placeholder positions on the Nonetheless playlist for the expanded edition extra tracks, and the two qualifying tracks from the New London boy / All the young dudes single release. While we’re obviously yet to hear the majority of the Nonetheless demos, I would suggest both those we have heard - A new bohemia and the German version of Schlager - should qualify, given the extra verse and Chris vocal respectively.

Electric: Further listening 2013-2014

1. Odd man out
2. No more ballads
3. Get it online
4. Entschuldigung!
5. Fluorescent (Indio mix)
6. Fluorescent (Cali mix)
7. Oppressive (the best gay possible) (dance mix)
8. Oppressive (the best gay possible) (slow mix)

Super: Further listening 2015-2016

1. One-hit wonder
2. Clean air hybrid electric bus
3. The dead can dance
4. A cloud in a box
5. The white dress
6. Everybody will dance
7. Kaputnik
8. Wiedersehen
9. The lost room
10. Skeletons in the closet
11. Inner sanctum (first demo)
12. Inner sanctum (second demo)
13. I will fall
14. In bits
15. The Pop Kids (the full story)
16. The Pop Kids (PSB deep dub)
17. Left to my own devices (Super version)

Hotspot: Further listening 2017-2020

1. New boy
2. Sense of time
3. The forgotten child
4. What are we going to do about the rich?
5. Give stupidity a chance
6. On social media
7. An open mind
8. Dreamland (PSB remix)
9. No boundaries
10. Angelic thug
11. Johnny’s dark side
12. Beautiful laundrette
13. Night sings (Popa’s theme)
14. Decide
15. At rock bottom
16. West End girls (new lockdown version)
17. Cricket wife

Nonetheless: Further listening 2020-2024

1. A new bohemia (demo version)
2. Schlager-Hitparade (Deutsches demo)
3. Party in the Blitz
4. Through you (extended mix)
5. Heart (new version)
6. It’s a sin (new version)
7. Being boring (new version)
8. Always on my mind (new version)
9. Love came down at Christmas
10. If Jesus had a sister
11. I’ve got plans (involving you)
12. Living in the past
13. Adrenaline
14. Miserere
15. It’s not a crime
16. All the young dudes
17. The dark end of the street
18. Beauty has laid siege to the city
19. All the young dudes (delinquent version)

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

Electric has "radio edits" worthy of inclusion.

Another thing to consider is when you draw the line between Hotspot and Nonetheless, keeping in mind that it's when a track was recorded, rather than when it was released, which is the consideration for FL releases... so where you put the "lockdown era" stuff is flexible.

Retro.

[daveid]

Super: Further listening 2015-2016

1. One-hit wonder
2. Clean air hybrid electric bus
3. The dead can dance
4. A cloud in a box
5. The white dress
6. Everybody will dance
7. Kaputnik
8. Wiedersehen
9. The lost room
10. Skeletons in the closet
11. Inner sanctum (first demo)
12. Inner sanctum (second demo)
13. I will fall
14. In bits
15. The Pop Kids (the full story)
16. The Pop Kids (PSB deep dub)
17. Left to my own devices (Super version)

Hotspot: Further listening 2017-2020

1. New boy
2. Sense of time
3. The forgotten child
4. What are we going to do about the rich?
5. Give stupidity a chance
6. On social media
7. An open mind
8. Dreamland (PSB remix)
9. No boundaries
10. Angelic thug
11. Johnny’s dark side
12. Beautiful laundrette
13. Night sings (Popa’s theme)
14. Decide
15. At rock bottom
16. West End girls (new lockdown version)
17. Cricket wife

Nonetheless: Further listening 2020-2024

1. A new bohemia (demo version)
2. Schlager-Hitparade (Deutsches demo)
3. Party in the Blitz
4. Through you (extended mix)
5. Heart (new version)
6. It’s a sin (new version)
7. Being boring (new version)
8. Always on my mind (new version)
9. Love came down at Christmas
10. If Jesus had a sister
11. I’ve got plans (involving you)
12. Living in the past
13. Adrenaline
14. Miserere
15. It’s not a crime
16. All the young dudes
17. The dark end of the street
18. Beauty has laid siege to the city
19. All the young dudes (delinquent version)

For Super, I would add:

Brick England (licensing aside)
Will you love me? *
Method in your madness*

For Hotspot I would add:

Any longer*
You know where you are with Winter*
Collector’s item*
Mongrel*
Wallish walls*
Travelling*
And I was like*
Beautiful mistake*
He’s not coming home*
Ich bin music*
Soup*
For every moment*

And remove:

West End girls (Lockdown version)
Cricket wife

For Nonetheless I would add:

West End girls (Lockdown version)
Cricket wife
Purple zone (licensing aside)
Ice remembers*
New year’s eve*
Why can’t I?*
You don’t love me*
Living in a lonely time*
Sugar man*
Your thing*
Putin’s underpants*

Plus any number of forthcoming demos

*only if Neil thinks they’re good enough

[Dog]

Greetings,

Electric has "radio edits" worthy of inclusion.

Another thing to consider is when you draw the line between Hotspot and Nonetheless, keeping in mind that it's when a track was recorded, rather than when it was released, which is the consideration for FL releases... so where you put the "lockdown era" stuff is flexible.

Retro.

I think they’d have to be slightly desperate to add the radio edits but maybe that will be the case. I don’t think they contain anything that’s not in the full length versions, do they?

Fair point re the lockdown tracks. It looks like they were recorded around May 2020 when they were already writing the tracks that ended up on Nonetheless, so I guess it could go either way. And I guess thematically lockdown pulls them into the Nonetheless era. Neil doesn’t cover them as part of his Nonetheless diary though.

[Dog]

Super: Further listening 2015-2016

1. One-hit wonder
2. Clean air hybrid electric bus
3. The dead can dance
4. A cloud in a box
5. The white dress
6. Everybody will dance
7. Kaputnik
8. Wiedersehen
9. The lost room
10. Skeletons in the closet
11. Inner sanctum (first demo)
12. Inner sanctum (second demo)
13. I will fall
14. In bits
15. The Pop Kids (the full story)
16. The Pop Kids (PSB deep dub)
17. Left to my own devices (Super version)

Hotspot: Further listening 2017-2020

1. New boy
2. Sense of time
3. The forgotten child
4. What are we going to do about the rich?
5. Give stupidity a chance
6. On social media
7. An open mind
8. Dreamland (PSB remix)
9. No boundaries
10. Angelic thug
11. Johnny’s dark side
12. Beautiful laundrette
13. Night sings (Popa’s theme)
14. Decide
15. At rock bottom
16. West End girls (new lockdown version)
17. Cricket wife

Nonetheless: Further listening 2020-2024

1. A new bohemia (demo version)
2. Schlager-Hitparade (Deutsches demo)
3. Party in the Blitz
4. Through you (extended mix)
5. Heart (new version)
6. It’s a sin (new version)
7. Being boring (new version)
8. Always on my mind (new version)
9. Love came down at Christmas
10. If Jesus had a sister
11. I’ve got plans (involving you)
12. Living in the past
13. Adrenaline
14. Miserere
15. It’s not a crime
16. All the young dudes
17. The dark end of the street
18. Beauty has laid siege to the city
19. All the young dudes (delinquent version)

For Super, I would add:

Brick England (licensing aside)
Will you love me? *
Method in your madness*

For Hotspot I would add:

Any longer*
You know where you are with Winter*
Collector’s item*
Mongrel*
Wallish walls*
Travelling*
And I was like*
Beautiful mistake*
He’s not coming home*
Ich bin music*
Soup*
For every moment*

And remove:

West End girls (Lockdown version)
Cricket wife

For Nonetheless I would add:

West End girls (Lockdown version)
Cricket wife
Purple zone (licensing aside)
Ice remembers*
New year’s eve*
Why can’t I?*
You don’t love me*
Living in a lonely time*
Sugar man*
Your thing*
Putin’s underpants*

Plus any number of forthcoming demos

*only if Neil thinks they’re good enough

Yes, here’s hoping for some choice unreleased tracks. I don’t think they’d include Brick England or Purple Zone though, given collaborations don’t seem to usually be in the running.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

I think they’d have to be slightly desperate to add the radio edits but maybe that will be the case. I don’t think they contain anything that’s not in the full length versions, do they?

If you think of them as "single versions" rather than "radio edits", there's definitely precedent for it.

Three "single versions" appeared on SMASH. There's also the edit of Axis which appears on the video, which would be a must have, in my opinion. In addition to that, there's another radio edit of Love Is A Bourgeois Construct (I forget whether SMASH did the Night or Day version - I think it was the Night Version), plus if memory serves me correctly, I think there's also a No Rap version of Thursday that appeared on a promo.

If they include stuff from promos that wasn't on the publicly released singles, it would certainly be appreciated by folk like me who rarely get our hands on promo singles.

Retro.

[Dog]

Greetings,

I think they’d have to be slightly desperate to add the radio edits but maybe that will be the case. I don’t think they contain anything that’s not in the full length versions, do they?

If you think of them as "single versions" rather than "radio edits", there's definitely precedent for it.

Three "single versions" appeared on SMASH. There's also the edit of Axis which appears on the video, which would be a must have, in my opinion. In addition to that, there's another radio edit of Love Is A Bourgeois Construct (I forget whether SMASH did the Night or Day version - I think it was the Night Version), plus if memory serves me correctly, I think there's also a No Rap version of Thursday that appeared on a promo.

If they include stuff from promos that wasn't on the publicly released singles, it would certainly be appreciated by folk like me who rarely get our hands on promo singles.

Retro.

That’s SMASH though. They tend to avoid any repetition on the Further Listening discs, and don’t tend to include shorter versions of tracks that can be included in a longer form. Of course given the slim pickings likely to be available for Electric, normal rules may not apply.

[DopeFiend]

To me the whole point of Further Listening is the previously unreleased tracks. I ignore all the rest.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

They tend to avoid any repetition on the Further Listening discs, and don’t tend to include shorter versions of tracks that can be included in a longer form. Of course given the slim pickings likely to be available for Electric, normal rules may not apply.

I hear you, but I think we need to take Introspective as the closest analogue here - an album of long-form songs, with shortened single versions, surrounded by a couple of albums in reasonably quick time (Actually 1987, Behaviour 1990).

In that instance, Introspective Further Listening had the 7" mixes of It's Alright and Left To My Own Devices, and obviously that overlapped with Discography.

Even with zero duplication with SMASH, which contains the edit of Vocal, they could include:

- Axis (Edit)
- Love Is A Bourgeois Construct (Daytime Radio Edit)
- Thursday (No Rap Radio Edit)

When the time comes, I hope they do. What we can be almost certain about is that there will not be 2 Further Listening discs for Electric.

Retro.

[Dog]

Greetings,

They tend to avoid any repetition on the Further Listening discs, and don’t tend to include shorter versions of tracks that can be included in a longer form. Of course given the slim pickings likely to be available for Electric, normal rules may not apply.

I hear you, but I think we need to take Introspective as the closest analogue here - an album of long-form songs, with shortened single versions, surrounded by a couple of albums in reasonably quick time (Actually 1987, Behaviour 1990).

In that instance, Introspective Further Listening had the 7" mixes of It's Alright and Left To My Own Devices, and obviously that overlapped with Discography.

Even with zero duplication with SMASH, which contains the edit of Vocal, they could include:

- Axis (Edit)
- Love Is A Bourgeois Construct (Daytime Radio Edit)
- Thursday (No Rap Radio Edit)

When the time comes, I hope they do. What we can be almost certain about is that there will not be 2 Further Listening discs for Electric.

Retro.

But the difference with both the 7”s of Left to my own devices and It’s alright is that they aren’t just edits. They went back into the studio to work further on Devices for the 7”. And It’s alright is a complete re-record. They both contain exclusive content, which isn’t the case for any of the Electric single edits. It’s the same reason the 7”s of Suburbia, Always on my mind, Heart, Domino dancing, Being boring, Streets, Was it worth it?, Red Letter Day and Somewhere aren’t included on any Further Listening discs - they would be considered musically superfluous as they are all pretty much just edits of longer tracks which are already included as part of the package, with no extra or different lyrics or music.

Sorry, I’m boring myself

[DopeFiend]

Excuse me bumping this thread, but I felt like gathering a list of Further Listening songs released in the Nonetheless period.
Firstly I'll add to this non-album single, in-between period that has been discussed.

Fair point re the lockdown tracks. It looks like they were recorded around May 2020 when they were already writing the tracks that ended up on Nonetheless, so I guess it could go either way. And I guess thematically lockdown pulls them into the Nonetheless era. Neil doesn’t cover them as part of his Nonetheless diary though.

True. It's sort of open for debate isn't it.
To me, Hotspot and it's singles, and Musik are the last pieces of material before the drastic shift in public life in the pandemic. Nonetheless as a title directly refers to the end of the covid, it's the eventual fruits of those writing sessions. Finally they can bring out and properly promote new music.
Cricket Wife and the Lockdown Mix of W​EG are clearly within the Covid era opposed to prior it.
Nonetheless is mostly thematically free from that era, but songs like Love Is The Law can be interpreted as being about the virus (catch it like a cold, no one is immune) especially considering social bubble rules, where we were only permitted to visit someone or leave the house if it's to visit a lover, love is the law indeed.
Same can be said for Cricket Wife, in my opinion. The song isn't at all about covid-19 but to me it encapsulates the eerie, disturbing environment we were experiencing.
How about Living In The Past? I feel it sounds similar to Cricket Wife and these home made songs that the Hotspot era didn't have. So out of Hotspot and Nonetheless I'd say Cricket Wife and Living In The Past fit Nonetheless better. Thematically and even production wise. Oh, and as seen in my list, the WE​G update fits in with the Furthermore tracks.

So, here's my rundown of songs that can be considered for Nonetheless Further Listening.
It's material we already have, that has been released.
(Order of them isn't necessarily definitive)

Standard album
1. Loneliness
2. Feel
3. Why Am I Dancing?
4. New London Boy
5. Dancing Star
6. A New Bohemia
7. The Schlager Hit Parade
8. The Secret of Happiness
9. Bullet for Narcissus
10. Love Is the Law

Demo album
1. Loneliness (Demo version)
2. Feel (Demo version)
3. Why Am I Dancing? (Demo version)
4. New London Boy (Demo version)
5. Dancing Star (Demo version)
6. A New Bohemia (Demo version)
7. The Schlager Hit Parade (Demo version)
8. The Secret of Happiness (Demo version)
9. Bullet for Narcissus (Demo version)
10. Love Is the Law (Demo version)

Leaked instrumental version
1. Loneliness (Instrumental)
2. Feel (Instrumental)
3. Why Am I Dancing? (Instrumental)
4. New London Boy (Instrumental)
5. Dancing Star (Instrumental)
6. A New Bohemia (Instrumental)
7. The Schlager Hit Parade (Instrumental)
8. The Secret of Happiness (Instrumental)
9. Bullet for Narcissus (Instrumental)
10. Love Is the Law (Instrumental)

Furthermore deluxe edition, re-recorded tracks
1. Heart (New PSB version)
2. Being Boring (New PSB version)
3. Always On My mind (New PSB version)
4. It’s a Sin (New PSB version)

Single radio edits:
Loneliness - Radio Edit (3:17 opposed to 5:37)
A New Bohemia - Radio Edit (3:45 opposed to 4:00
Feel - Radio Edit (3:31 opposed to 5:02)
New London Boy - Radio Edit (3:48 opposed to 4:52)

Single package demo versions:
A New Bohemia - Demo Version (4:23, Expanded edition is 4:25)
Schlarger-Hitparade - Deutsches Demo

Single package b-sides:
Party in the Blitz
Through You - Extended Mix
Sense of Time
If Jesus Had A Sister
It's Not A Crime
I've Got Plans (Involving You)
Everybody Will Dance
Beauty Has Laid Siege To The City
Clean Air Hybrid Electric Bus (originally a Japanese edition bonus track)

Non-album singles:
All The Young Dudes
Hymn (In memoriam Alexei Navalny) - Dance Mix

Remixes, alternative mixes:
Dancing Star - Solomun Remix
Dancing Star - Solomun Extended Remix
Dancing Star - Solomun Dub
Party In The Blitz - Superchumbo Remix
Party In The Blitz - Superchumbo Dub
A New Bohemia - Alex Metric Remix
Everybody Will Dance - Superchumbo Remix
Everybody Will Dance - Superchumbo Dub
Loneliness - Floorplan Remix
Loneliness - Floorplan Remix Instrumental
New London Boy - Boy Harsher Remix
All The Young Dudes - Delinquent version (made by PSB)
All The Young Dudes - Richard X Longest Mix
All The Young Dudes - Richard X Radio Edit (Rare and exclusive)
All The Young Dudes - I. Jordan remix
All The Young Dudes (With the Manchester Camerata)
All The Young Dudes (With the Manchester Camerata) - Orchestral Version
Hymn (In memoriam Alexei Navalny)
Hymn (In memoriam Alexei Navalny) Choral Mix

Expanded Edition bonus tracks:
Adrenaline
The Dark End Of The Street
Miserere

Neil Tennant live exclusives:
Rebel Rebel - feat. Neil Tennant - Live (Johnny Marr 'Look Out Live')
Getting Away With It - feat. Neil Tennant - Live (Johnny Marr 'Look Out Live') (Contains additional lyrics)
Rent duet with Jake Shears - Radio 2's Piano Room
Everybody’s Talkin’ (London Soundtrack Festival 'Great Movie Songs')

Social media oddities:
Happy Birthday 0:21
We're Going To Benidorm 0:15
The Angel - Louis Dunford (PSB remix) 1:58

From Super era, but released during Nonetheless:
Lost EP:
1. The Lost Room
2. I Will Fall
3. Skeletons in the Closet
4. Kaputnik

Dictator Decides, social media demo intro snippet 0:46

Lockdown oddities, 2 standalone singles debatably belonging to the Hotspot era:

Cricket Wife
West End Girls - New Lockdown Version
Living In The Past
Living In The Past - Home Demo (Youtube music video exclusive)

Hotspot era but released during Nonetheless era:
Ich bin Musik (PSB remix)

Elysium era but released during Nonetheless Era
The Way Through The Woods (Short Version)

Performed live but not recorded or properly demoed: (live bootleg exists)
I Dream Of A Better Tomorrow

Barely worth mentioning but, soundtracks:
Opportunities credits ('Tetris' Film full version) (re-mixed by Steve Lipson)
It's A Sin - Bryce Miller Monster Mix
West End Girls - instrumental Smash Blu-ray menu version 1:26
Opportunities - instrumental Smash Blu-ray menu edit 1:15

Also just mentioning, side projects released during the Nonetheless era:
Mark Springer - Sleep Of Reason (Neil Tennant vocals on 6 "songs")
Disco 5 compilation

Soft Cell - Purple Zone alternative remixes, various.

Neil Tennant collabs not included in Disco 5:

Bronkski Beat - Why? (Superchumbo Mix Edit) 3:48
Bronkski Beat - Why? (Superchumbo Extended Mix) 6:20
Bronkski Beat - Why? (feat. Neil Tennant) (Superchumbo Super Extended Mix) 8:17
Michael Berkeley - Zero Hour
CASISDEAD – Skydive
Kae Tempest - Sunshine on Catford

Unreleased but recorded during Nonetheless Era:
A Man From The Future

Misc:
Pet Shop Boys Strictly Come Dancing Medley It's A Sin/What Have I Done To Deserve This/WE​G/Suburbia/Devices/Heart/Always On My Mind/Go West 4:45 (Performed live for television with audience noise, but a studio version may exist)
It's A Sin feat. Olly Alexander (Live NYE '22)

I would have to go through Annually to find any unreleased title names such as Sugar Man and Ice Remembers (Annually 2024)
There's the whole Folkocracy Neil Tennant folk project recorded in 2022 and worked on in 2023.

Anyway, aside from unheard hypotheticals, here's a draft tracklist:

1. Loneliness
2. Feel
3. Why Am I Dancing?
4. New London Boy
5. Dancing Star
6. A New Bohemia
7. The Schlager Hit Parade
8. The Secret of Happiness
9. Bullet for Narcissus
10. Love Is the Law

11. Party in the Blitz
12. Through You - Extended Mix
13. Sense of Time
14. If Jesus Had A Sister
15. It's Not A Crime
16. I've Got Plans (Involving You)
17. Everybody Will Dance
18. Beauty Has Laid Siege To The City
19. Clean Air Hybrid Electric Bus
20. All The Young Dudes
21. Adrenaline
22. The Dark End Of The Street
23. Miserere

24. All The Young Dudes - Delinquent version
25. Through You (previously unreleased regular version)
26. Loneliness - Radio Edit
27. A New Bohemia - Radio Edit
28. Feel - Radio Edit
29. New London Boy - Radio Edit
30. West End Girls (New Lockdown Version)
31. Heart (New PSB version)
32. Being Boring (New PSB version)
33. Always On My mind (New PSB version)
34. It’s a Sin (New PSB version)
35. Strictly Come Dancing Medley (Previously unreleased studio version)
36. New London boy (Boy Harsher remix)

37. I Dream Of A Better Tomorrow - Demo - Previously unreleased
38. Benidorm
39. Hymn (In memoriam Alexei Navalny) - Dance Mix
40. The Angel - Louis Dunford (PSB remix)
41. Hymn (In memoriam Alexei Navalny) Choral Mix
42. All The Young Dudes/West End Girls - Orchestral Version
43. Living In The Past
44. Cricket Wife
45. Everybody's Talkin' (Live)

That's my tracklisting. It's open for changes and additions.
I think there isn't much point to re-releasing demo versions.
New unreleased material could be included. Release Further Listening had 9 previously unreleased tracks.
I do strongly believe these FL compilations are mainly a vessel for previously unheard material, but it's nice to see and have the body of work in one contained collection.
Disc 2 may need to be changed if they're going to bring out a b-sides compilation. The tracks could be interspliced
with rarities. Disc 4 would likely receive low streaming numbers I will admit.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

Elysium era but released during Nonetheless Era
The Way Through The Woods (Short Version)

This just got me thinking that Electric FL need not strictly speaking begin in 2013.

Actually and Introspective FL discs both drew upon 1988 material, so Electric could plausibly stretch back to 2012, which may allow it to rope in this track and potentially demo versions too.

Retro.

[NotInvisible]

All The Young Dudes - Richard X Radio Edit (Rare and exclusive)

Where can this be found?

Social media oddities:
Happy Birthday 0:21

What is this?

[Future Lover]

A New Bohemia - Demo Version (4:23, Expanded edition is 4:25)
All The Young Dudes - Richard X Radio Edit (Rare and exclusive)

Safe to say the two Bohemias are the same... I might even go and check out the waveforms to confirm.
On the other hand, the Dudes Richard X Edit is widely available, wasn't it basically track 01 on CD2?

36. New London boy (Boy Harsher remix)

This isn't happening. Only stuff they've worked on directly ever makes it on the discs.

17. Everybody Will Dance
19. Clean Air Hybrid Electric Bus

These two will end up on "Super".

Mark Springer - Sleep Of Reason (Neil Tennant vocals on 6 "songs")

"songs"

Two bonus discs might be unrealistic, let alone three.

[Sandy Shaw]

''There's the whole Folkocracy Neil Tennant folk project recorded in 2022 and worked on in 2023.''

Isn't this the Rufus album!?