Track-by-Track: From Please to Nonetheless

[Patrick Bateman]

I like Paninaro '95, but it wasn't new. In fact, it was the fourth of their last five singles to be "old" - and the fourth in a row if you didn't consider Absolutely fabulous to be canonical. I wouldn't normally do, Liberation, Yesterday, and then Paninaro. Sure, three of them were remixed, but there's a sense they were coasting by 1995. To be fair, I also think Chris's personal tragedy had lots to do with that. I recall watching a video on the ITV Chart Show - I think it was Before - and the pop-up text accompanying it suggested that they wouldn't be doing any promotion for the record. So, they were semi-detached at this time, touring South America but not Europe and barely promoting their releases.

Alternative was a breath of fresh air - well, if not quite fresh, a reminder of what they really were after the annus miserabilis of Absolutely fabulous and Disco 2. I realise I am being overly picky and a little haughty about the mid-90s, but Alternative was Pet Shop Boys as I understood them, with its echoes of the glorious Disco, while Disco 2 was Pet Shop Boys on a bender. I think they let themselves go. The problem with that was one of their most interesting characteristics was their reserve, their slightly repressed hedonism, the battle between that yearning for freedom and the stiff upper lip. Once the floodgates opened, they were quaffing champers with "Pats", recording duets with Elton, and consorting with Tony at number 10.

Drico.

I think one of the most surprising things about the Pet Shop Boys is that Neil didn't go full Showbiz Neil until the mid-1990s. When you hear people talking about him when he was at Smash Hits, he sounds like exactly the kind of character who loved hanging round (and bitching about) other celebrities. During those early years, he came across as a bit more aloof but it was clearly an act. Absolutely Fabulous is the moment he really came out as a showbiz luvvie.

[NotInvisible]

I think one of the most surprising things about the Pet Shop Boys is that Neil didn't go full Showbiz Neil until the mid-1990s. When you hear people talking about him when he was at Smash Hits, he sounds like exactly the kind of character who loved hanging round (and bitching about) other celebrities. During those early years, he came across as a bit more aloof but it was clearly an act. Absolutely Fabulous is the moment he really came out as a showbiz luvvie.

I mean, he came out as a showbiz luvvie appearing on shows with Dusty and Liza...

I know we hold the '80s in aspic as pop perfection (and I agree it was), but their DNA is evident as far back as 1985.

[Patrick Bateman]

I mean, he came out as a showbiz luvvie appearing on shows with Dusty and Liza...

I know we hold the '80s in aspic as pop perfection (and I agree it was), but their DNA is evident as far back as 1985.

Oh, he was hiding in plain sight and it's in the interviews and the books but even after Results, he could still look like as mean and moody as Michael Caine in Get Carter in the So Hard video. Kind of.

[jasonjohn]

I'm continuously perplexed by fans complaining about Absolutely Fabulous missing on Best Ofs while hating on it as Down The Dumper

It was a charity single, released under the artist name "Absolutely Fabulous", and they clearly prefer to keep it as such.

The mistake is probably more Disco 2, which solidified the imagery/song beyond a one-off joke. And coming out of the Very era they maybe leaned too far into the disposable pop concept. The contrast between Disco 1 and Disco 2 shocked me at the time.

[jasonjohn]

And I guess we could analyse why Taylor didn't stick to folk, or U2 to their earnest guitar tracks, or Dylan going beyond poetic guitar strumming.

Seems to me after their Discography hiatus they made a deliberate decision to mix things up and enjoy themselves a little. The Discovery tour was loose

BUT then again MCMLXXXIX was probably the campiest of them all, so if you only noticed later Showbiz Neil and Sailor Chris you probably were in complete denial (less to do with them!)

But another thing to remember is that they evolved with the CD format and remix culture (which in the 90s expanded beyond a few well known expert producers to people at home) .... mass distribution and the business of remixing became more accessible, and they had product!

[NotInvisible]

It was a charity single, released under the artist name "Absolutely Fabulous", and they clearly prefer to keep it as such.

I think the complication is that at the time they clearly considered it a Pet Shop Boys single. It was on Various, it was on Disco 2 and it was on some versions of the Yesterday, When I Was Mad single. It feels like they changed their minds after the fact. IIRC the sleeve says "Produced by Pet Shop Boys" as part of the legal dance to secure the rights (which is also why it was charity single in the first place - they it was the only condition in which the BBC would grant permission for the clips).

[petshopgrrl]

In previous messages about the song "Yesterday," someone—I don't remember who, I'd have to look it up—talked about Chris's problems or situation at that time. He didn't appear in the video, and then there was very little promotion for "Bilingual." I had read something about it before, but it was vague. Does anyone know what happened to him?

I think the point was that we don't know. It might have just been that he was tired of promotion at that time, and in his mid-30s didn't feel like doing as much. Perhaps that was how he was able to continue to enjoy doing PSB at that time. He had definitely cheered up by the time they were at the Savoy.

I'm pretty sure that somewhere in the big pile of Literallys and Annuallys is a comment from Neil that Chris wasn't in one of the videos (and I'm also pretty sure it was Yesterday, when I was mad) because he was at the World Cup final in the US. So he was digitally scanned ahead of time and turned into a delightful and not at all creepy lampshade.

1994 seems as though it was an annus horribilis on the personal front - two significant deaths (Derek Jarman also passed that year) and a breakup, and I'd bet that coming out to the press wasn't without its stresses. Not surprising that they kind of went off the rails and decided to have some fun with Absolutely fabulous and then the DiscoVery tour.

BTW, because I can't keep up with the conversation:

Absolutely Fabulous: I'm already on record:

This song is the right amount of banger and bonkers and the music always lifts me up. Not sure how many other acts could have got away with doing this (and I know there's plenty of you who think they didn't!). Techno techno bloody techno darling!

Euroboy: Good workout warmup music. It always tickles me when Chris gets The Nation's Foremost Lyricist to do moronic chanting.

Some Speculation: Deliciously slinky and menacing. Shame it only has one verse - maybe they should have cut up the lyrics to West end girls or It's a sin? So far the only PSB song that I have managed to parody.

Yesterday, when I was mad: I much prefer the single version with the skittery intro - the album version is a bit too nuts. Who cares if it's self-referential? It's wicked, sarcastic poetry!

Pop Popes Forever. (Thank you again, xakrij!)

AbFabPopeDance.gif

Right, am I caught up now? Must be time to move on to the next number...

[markus]

They never really committed to being a dance act though did they? I suspect it was lack of confidence/concern about the media reaction as much as the quality of the material.

I think it's more that they just didn't want to be a dance act. They're a pop group influenced by dance, which is a different thing. Even on the debut album you're still getting Later Tonight.

I wouldn’t want to live in a world without Very, Bilingual or Nightlife either. That said, Release, Fundamental and Yes could easily have been contemporary 2000s trance-electro and dance-pop records.

I mean, we know from countless examples this isn't the case, and teaming them with Stuart Price didn't exactly set the pop world on fire even if we love Electric.

I totally disagree. Electric was a commercial success within its limits and restored belief when the fanbase had shrunk dramatically. Had this approach been taken earlier — around New York City Boy and Rollo’s club sound in 1999 — the 2000s might have played out very differently. With Stuart Price, they did find a recipe capable of setting the pop world on fire.

[NotInvisible]

Electric was a commercial success within its limits

The fact that you have to write "within its limits" says everything.

restored belief when the fanbase had shrunk dramatically

There's no real evidence of this. They were still landing Top 10 singles in the Fundamental era and Yes corresponded with their critical reevaluation as elder statesmen of pop.

Had this approach been taken earlier — around New York City Boy and Rollo’s club sound in 1999 — the 2000s might have played out very differently.

Nightlife was that approach - it didn't get too much bigger than Faithless at the time when it came to electronica. And yet we all know what happened there, general disinterest, half-sold concerts and Neil suggesting they pack it all in. They survived because they didn't take your advice; instead they rebuilt the fundamental idea of what Pet Shop Boys could be from the ground up, making their eventual return to electronics part of a broader palette instead of a tired stereotype. They wouldn't be here today if they hadn't done that.

With Stuart Price, they did find a recipe capable of setting the pop world on fire.

None of the songs were pop hits. Not one. Most of them were very nice, though.

[markus]

Electric was a commercial success within its limits

The fact that you have to write "within its limits" says everything.

restored belief when the fanbase had shrunk dramatically

There's no real evidence of this. They were still landing Top 10 singles in the Fundamental era and Yes corresponded with their critical reevaluation as elder statesmen of pop.

Had this approach been taken earlier — around New York City Boy and Rollo’s club sound in 1999 — the 2000s might have played out very differently.

Nightlife was that approach - it didn't get too much bigger than Faithless at the time when it came to electronica. And yet we all know what happened there, general disinterest, half-sold concerts and Neil suggesting they pack it all in. They survived because they didn't take your advice; instead they rebuilt the fundamental idea of what Pet Shop Boys could be from the ground up, making their eventual return to electronics part of a broader palette instead of a tired stereotype. They wouldn't be here today if they hadn't done that.

With Stuart Price, they did find a recipe capable of setting the pop world on fire.

None of the songs were pop hits. Not one. Most of them were very nice, though.

This is a discussion forum, not the CERN laboratory.

[markus]

Electric was a commercial success within its limits

The fact that you have to write "within its limits" says everything.

restored belief when the fanbase had shrunk dramatically

They survived because they didn't take your advice; instead they rebuilt the fundamental idea of what Pet Shop Boys could be from the ground up, making their eventual return to electronics part of a broader palette instead of a tired stereotype. They wouldn't be here today if they hadn't done that.

They should have rebuilt the fundamental idea of what Pet Shop Boys were. The people filling arenas by then were largely their ’80s fans — many of whom had had enough of the campness and just wanted to hear Always On My Mind.
What followed wasn’t a rebuild of their image, but a scattergun approach: trying a bit of everything. They never properly started over, and because of that they failed to attract a new audience in the 2000s.

[Patrick Bateman]

And I guess we could analyse why Taylor didn't stick to folk, or U2 to their earnest guitar tracks, or Dylan going beyond poetic guitar strumming.

Seems to me after their Discography hiatus they made a deliberate decision to mix things up and enjoy themselves a little. The Discovery tour was loose

BUT then again MCMLXXXIX was probably the campiest of them all, so if you only noticed later Showbiz Neil and Sailor Chris you probably were in complete denial (less to do with them!)

But another thing to remember is that they evolved with the CD format and remix culture (which in the 90s expanded beyond a few well known expert producers to people at home) .... mass distribution and the business of remixing became more accessible, and they had product!

It's not about them being camp or gay, that was obvious from day one, rather how they (particularly Neil, natch) presented themselves as the Pet Shop Boys. Rent is a song about rent boys with a rent boy in the video ffs but look at the sleeve or the Palladium performance: that was the essence of the early Pet Shop Boys. Insouciant, not smiling or waving on command, with pop songs to die for.

That changes in the mid-1990s, particularly with Absolutely Fabulous. Now they're hanging out at the Groucho and deciding that yes, that remix of Fat Les makes sense. Tony wants us to come to Number 10? Delightful, darling, see you by the vol-au-vents.

[rathound]

Electric was a commercial success within its limits

The fact that you have to write "within its limits" says everything.

restored belief when the fanbase had shrunk dramatically

There's no real evidence of this. They were still landing Top 10 singles in the Fundamental era and Yes corresponded with their critical reevaluation as elder statesmen of pop.

Had this approach been taken earlier — around New York City Boy and Rollo’s club sound in 1999 — the 2000s might have played out very differently.

Nightlife was that approach - it didn't get too much bigger than Faithless at the time when it came to electronica. And yet we all know what happened there, general disinterest, half-sold concerts and Neil suggesting they pack it all in. They survived because they didn't take your advice; instead they rebuilt the fundamental idea of what Pet Shop Boys could be from the ground up, making their eventual return to electronics part of a broader palette instead of a tired stereotype. They wouldn't be here today if they hadn't done that.

With Stuart Price, they did find a recipe capable of setting the pop world on fire.

None of the songs were pop hits. Not one. Most of them were very nice, though.

Nightlife is a strange album, was listening to it earlier. Maybe it's just my general tastes but I love the dance tracks (the opening trio + Radiophonic), quite like Drunk and genuinely dislike the rest, especially New York city boy which I find unlistenable. It was their first album I regularly skip the tracks on.

It may have been a bigger success if they'd fully gone in on the stadium trance/progressive sound of Rollo for the majority of the album. Of course it may have alienated more of their fans instead.

[jasonjohn]

Fair enough but I still think MCMLXXXIX was there for all to see in the 80s, and Ab Fab was fine as a fun comedy charity collab.

[NotInvisible]

This is a discussion forum, not the CERN laboratory.

You have a very strange way of admitting you're wrong.

They should have rebuilt the fundamental idea of what Pet Shop Boys were.

They did.

The people filling arenas by then were largely their ’80s fans — many of whom had had enough of the campness and just wanted to hear Always On My Mind.

There is no evidence for this.