In Depth - a new fan podcast recorded by forum members

[Dog]

Very evocative! Made me wish a TV drama of The Pets formative years existed.

Thanks Oakey - that could be amazing Part two tomorrow.

[Dog]

Episode 35 – Please (pt 2)

Graham and Chris return to 1986 for the second half of their 40th-anniversary Please deep dive, placing Pet Shop Boys’ debut into the wider world it landed in - Cold War tension, Chernobyl panic, post-Live Aid earnestness, brick-sized mobile phones and a pop landscape buzzing with the likes of A‑ha, Five Star and Madonna.

From there they go track‑by‑track, and enter Advision’s world of talking calculators, existential mathematics, singing lessons, sax solos, misfiring sequencers, kebab-house retsina, studio parties, drunken TV appearances, tubular bells and truculent trombonists. Along the way they unearth lost demos, unlikely influences, rare remixes, and some of Neil’s first and finest lyrical blueprints. 

What emerges is a love letter to London, to escape, to youth and to hedonism. Forty years on, and Please still sounds like the beginning of something.

Listen now!
Spotify: http://tiny.cc/e0m0101
Apple: http://tiny.cc/g0m0101

[leesmapman]

Just listening to it now, during my blood donation. A fine listen, I love these deep dives into albums.

[Dog]

Just listening to it now, during my blood donation. A fine listen, I love these deep dives into albums.

Great stuff - really glad you enjoyed it Thanks for the early review!

[psbnyc]

Wonderful episode, loved how you put the album into various contexts. Not sure I was yet a superfan, I think that actually didn’t happen fully until Behaviour, but Please later became a very important album for me - and still is. I can really relate to so many aspects of the lyrics and music. Thanks again for doing these podcasts, always look so much forward to hearing them. Makes me relive so many important moments of my life that have to do with PSB.

[303krs]

Great episode ! I had to listen to Please just after it…

Just a quick question: you’ve mentioned the name of a kebab restaurant (?) where Neil and Chris used to go during the recording and you said it still exists; as I’ll be in London for an Obscure concert and I’ll probably be hungry, do you have the address… ? Cheers.

[Dog]

Great episode ! I had to listen to Please just after it…

Just a quick question: you’ve mentioned the name of a kebab restaurant (?) where Neil and Chris used to go during the recording and you said it still exists; as I’ll be in London for an Obscure concert and I’ll probably be hungry, do you have the address… ? Cheers.

Glad you enjoyed it!

From the Further Listening booklet:

“Please was recorded with Stephen Hague at Advision studios in London between November 1985 and January 1986, working from midday until midnight, breaking mid-evening to visit Efe's Turkish kebab house down the road. "We would drink a bottle of retsina, if not two bottles, and come back half-drunk," says Neil.”

In the 80s Advision studios was at 23 Gosfield Street, Fitzrovia - now The Sound Company is at the same address: https://www.sound.co.uk There is (was?) a plaque in the window - Pet Shop Boys aren’t mentioned but T Rex, Yes, Pink Floyd, Status Quo, Elton John, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Madness, Ultravox and Paul McCartney all are.

The specific nearby Efe’s that Neil and Chris went to opened in 1974 but has since closed. However they reopened in 2021 and now have a number of branches - the one closest to Advision is five minutes walk away at 56 Maple Street:
https://www.efesrestaurantbar.co.uk/about-us/

I’m sure I also remember them mentioning eating regularly at Andy’s Greek Taverna in Camden but can’t remember the source. If this rings a bell with anyone please let me know! I’d been eating there for many years without realising the link.

[303krs]

Thanks a million !

[OakeyDokey]

Best ep to date!

[Dog]

Best ep to date!

Really glad you enjoyed it

[Dog]

Episode 36 – Obscure

With Pet Shop Boys preparing to dive deep into their catalogue for five intimate Obscure shows at Camden’s Electric Ballroom, Graham and Chris roll up their sleeves for their most forensic fan investigation yet: can two amateurs really predict the ultimate non‑singles setlist?

First they uncover the historical clues - the 40th anniversary of Please and a rediscovered 1986 photoshoot - before following the evidence to the duo’s early‑80s Camden stomping ground and a 1984 Pits and Perverts benefit, the Barfly’s legendary 200‑capacity War Child fundraiser, and the Electric Ballroom’s own independent wrestling pedigree.

Next they plunge into the outer edges of the Tennant/Lowe universe: Further Listening deep cuts, lost intros, 28‑minute Bobby O experiments, Japanese / Czech collaborations, and the question of which Pet Shop Boys track is the most obscure ever. Along the way they weigh up fan favourites, Radio 2 poll results, Chris Lowe’s own 2008 fantasy setlist, dream merch ideas, and the songs their own In Depth listeners most want to hear.

All this is boiled down into a gloriously over‑engineered, spreadsheet‑driven, “scientific” prediction of the Obscure setlist - complete with debates about staging, guests, new arrangements, and whether or not the shows will see them strip back to just two men and a very dependable laptop.

Part history lesson, part detective story, part love letter to Pet Shop Boys’ deepest cuts - this is the perfect warm‑up for the most anticipated Pet Shop Boys concerts in decades.

Listen now!
Spotify: http://tiny.cc/w9x0101
Apple: http://tiny.cc/z9x0101

[Morse]

Episode 36 – Obscure

With Pet Shop Boys preparing to dive deep into their catalogue for five intimate Obscure shows at Camden’s Electric Ballroom, Graham and Chris roll up their sleeves for their most forensic fan investigation yet: can two amateurs really predict the ultimate non‑singles setlist?

First they uncover the historical clues - the 40th anniversary of Please and a rediscovered 1986 photoshoot - before following the evidence to the duo’s early‑80s Camden stomping ground and a 1984 Pits and Perverts benefit, the Barfly’s legendary 200‑capacity War Child fundraiser, and the Electric Ballroom’s own independent wrestling pedigree.

Next they plunge into the outer edges of the Tennant/Lowe universe: Further Listening deep cuts, lost intros, 28‑minute Bobby O experiments, Japanese / Czech collaborations, and the question of which Pet Shop Boys track is the most obscure ever. Along the way they weigh up fan favourites, Radio 2 poll results, Chris Lowe’s own 2008 fantasy setlist, dream merch ideas, and the songs their own In Depth listeners most want to hear.

All this is boiled down into a gloriously over‑engineered, spreadsheet‑driven, “scientific” prediction of the Obscure setlist - complete with debates about staging, guests, new arrangements, and whether or not the shows will see them strip back to just two men and a very dependable laptop.

Part history lesson, part detective story, part love letter to Pet Shop Boys’ deepest cuts - this is the perfect warm‑up for the most anticipated Pet Shop Boys concerts in decades.

Listen now!
Spotify: http://tiny.cc/w9x0101
Apple: http://tiny.cc/z9x0101

Which Pet Shop Boys track is the most obscure ever?

Well, I agree with your intimation as it had crossed my mind that they'll play and subsequently release some updated versions of early demos recorded around 1981-84 and the Please era (i.e.the Ray Roberts, Camden period) as an EP if they go down well (which they will, let's face it).

Bubadadubadum, In The Club Or In The Queue, etc..... "I wish I could come across you in the club or in the queue, Finally changed your mind for an everlasting time..."

Fab podcast by the way, C&G. Absolutely loved that!!!

[Dog]

Episode 36 – Obscure

With Pet Shop Boys preparing to dive deep into their catalogue for five intimate Obscure shows at Camden’s Electric Ballroom, Graham and Chris roll up their sleeves for their most forensic fan investigation yet: can two amateurs really predict the ultimate non‑singles setlist?

First they uncover the historical clues - the 40th anniversary of Please and a rediscovered 1986 photoshoot - before following the evidence to the duo’s early‑80s Camden stomping ground and a 1984 Pits and Perverts benefit, the Barfly’s legendary 200‑capacity War Child fundraiser, and the Electric Ballroom’s own independent wrestling pedigree.

Next they plunge into the outer edges of the Tennant/Lowe universe: Further Listening deep cuts, lost intros, 28‑minute Bobby O experiments, Japanese / Czech collaborations, and the question of which Pet Shop Boys track is the most obscure ever. Along the way they weigh up fan favourites, Radio 2 poll results, Chris Lowe’s own 2008 fantasy setlist, dream merch ideas, and the songs their own In Depth listeners most want to hear.

All this is boiled down into a gloriously over‑engineered, spreadsheet‑driven, “scientific” prediction of the Obscure setlist - complete with debates about staging, guests, new arrangements, and whether or not the shows will see them strip back to just two men and a very dependable laptop.

Part history lesson, part detective story, part love letter to Pet Shop Boys’ deepest cuts - this is the perfect warm‑up for the most anticipated Pet Shop Boys concerts in decades.

Listen now!
Spotify: http://tiny.cc/w9x0101
Apple: http://tiny.cc/z9x0101

Which Pet Shop Boys track is the most obscure ever?

Well, I agree with your intimation as it had crossed my mind that they'll play and subsequently release some updated versions of early demos recorded around 1981-84 and the Please era (i.e.the Ray Roberts, Camden period) as an EP if they go down well (which they will, let's face it).

Bubadadubadum, In The Club Or In The Queue, etc..... "I wish I could come across you in the club or in the queue, Finally changed your mind for an everlasting time..."

Fab podcast by the way, C&G. Absolutely loved that!!!

Thank you Morse! Really glad you enjoyed it

[leesmapman]

Great listen again! Didn't know this is the same venue as the Pits and Perverts gig from the 80s. My girlfriend is jealous now.

[Finn]

Woo hoo. Got my name mentioned in the podcast. I had to play that section 3 times so my daughters could hear it. Thank you for the entertaining episode. I'm really enjoying listening to them all.