Pet Shop Boys - Volume

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Richard-Eastham
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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#346 Post by Richard-Eastham »

Choliux wrote: Tue 31 Mar 2026, 4:57 pm I know this is a long shot but if anyone has a double I would love to purchase it, please 😎
I have an unsigned second copy of the standard (non slip case) version if you are still looking. Let me know. Richard.
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the8thark
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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#347 Post by the8thark »

Yes the first half of volume is not a carbon copy of Catalogue. Some people are unhappy about it and the fact that the second half is not similar.

I get it but what do you expect?
The book is already 500+ pages long. If Volume had everything it would be 1000 pages long. What they have done is the best compromise in terms of content, completeness and size of the book, so it’s not too huge to hold or read.

I feel they did not want it in 2 volumes.
It’s just a greatest hits of their career in visual format.
Sure it’s not perfect or 100% complete in terms of every version of every release. But in terms of what we got and the price it is, it’s still a great book.

The only downside is trying to buy Catalogue now is near impossible as it’s long out of print and the few second hand copies being sold are being sold at extortionate prices

negative_0ne
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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#348 Post by negative_0ne »

the8thark wrote: Mon 13 Apr 2026, 4:15 am Yes the first half of volume is not a carbon copy of Catalogue. Some people are unhappy about it and the fact that the second half is not similar.

I get it but what do you expect?
The book is already 500+ pages long. If Volume had everything it would be 1000 pages long. What they have done is the best compromise in terms of content, completeness and size of the book, so it’s not too huge to hold or read.

I feel they did not want it in 2 volumes.
It’s just a greatest hits of their career in visual format.
Sure it’s not perfect or 100% complete in terms of every version of every release. But in terms of what we got and the price it is, it’s still a great book.

The only downside is trying to buy Catalogue now is near impossible as it’s long out of print and the few second hand copies being sold are being sold at extortionate prices
yes, it is best to have both books, even though neither one is 'complete'.

but at least you have most of the infromation.

there is no way to address everything, unless you do it yourself, or with others.
and even then you will still miss things.

for the price of the regular one, it is well worth it.

and who knows if they will ever do another book or listing again.
===

ebay prices for catalogue might be expensive, but other bookstores
are selling it for $50-$100 which is fine.

later
| | | | ||
ne gative 1

zukunft
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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#349 Post by zukunft »

If anyone finds this interesting: „Volume“ (standard edition) from the official PSB online store is Printed in China, the signed „Volume“ (standard edition) from the Electric Ballroom is Printed in Italy.
The paper inside the Chinese print is glossier than the Italian print.

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madsnielsen
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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#350 Post by madsnielsen »

zukunft wrote: Tue 14 Apr 2026, 6:04 pm If anyone finds this interesting: „Volume“ (standard edition) from the official PSB online store is Printed in China, the signed „Volume“ (standard edition) from the Electric Ballroom is Printed in Italy.
The paper inside the Chinese print is glossier than the Italian print.
Wow, that is interesting. How does that make any sense? It's not the IKEA catalogue, is it?
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ElectriCity
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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#351 Post by ElectriCity »

the8thark wrote: Mon 13 Apr 2026, 4:15 am Yes the first half of volume is not a carbon copy of Catalogue. Some people are unhappy about it and the fact that the second half is not similar.

I get it but what do you expect?
The book is already 500+ pages long. If Volume had everything it would be 1000 pages long. What they have done is the best compromise in terms of content, completeness and size of the book, so it’s not too huge to hold or read.

I feel they did not want it in 2 volumes.
It’s just a greatest hits of their career in visual format.
Sure it’s not perfect or 100% complete in terms of every version of every release. But in terms of what we got and the price it is, it’s still a great book.

The only downside is trying to buy Catalogue now is near impossible as it’s long out of print and the few second hand copies being sold are being sold at extortionate prices
I think there is a misunderstanding about the idea that either Catalogue or Volume aim to present all editions of their work. It is a matter of presenting their work on the graphics of their products, there is no need to be complete, but to present the essence of their design, without showing all the variations of the main design. In this sense, these two books do the job perfectly

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thomashenry
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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#352 Post by thomashenry »

the8thark wrote: Mon 13 Apr 2026, 4:15 am The only downside is trying to buy Catalogue now is near impossible as it’s long out of print and the few second hand copies being sold are being sold at extortionate prices
Catalogue is easy to buy. Prices are not that high.
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leesmapman
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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#353 Post by leesmapman »

thomashenry wrote:
the8thark wrote: Mon 13 Apr 2026, 4:15 am The only downside is trying to buy Catalogue now is near impossible as it’s long out of print and the few second hand copies being sold are being sold at extortionate prices
Catalogue is easy to buy. Prices are not that high.
German versions are easy to get, the english one is much more expensive

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daveid
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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#354 Post by daveid »

I'm nearly at the end of Volume now. Generally pretty good but have noticed a few errors, omissions and inconsistencies. Shame the Christmas EP promos were left out too.

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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#355 Post by mgkoeln »

y3potential wrote: Thu 02 Apr 2026, 2:55 pmA pity they didn't insist on the same layout for Volume.
They actually insisted on the changed layout, Neil says in the "World In Your Ear"-podcast (near the end of the conversation). He doesn't like coffee table books as nobody reads them and they might as well just be called coffee tables. So, he wanted a book that people would actually pick up and read.

Personally, I'd have preferred "Catalogue 2", but there you have it: Making it smaller was a very conscious decision.

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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#356 Post by Shasha »

zukunft wrote: Tue 14 Apr 2026, 6:04 pm If anyone finds this interesting: „Volume“ (standard edition) from the official PSB online store is Printed in China, the signed „Volume“ (standard edition) from the Electric Ballroom is Printed in Italy.
The paper inside the Chinese print is glossier than the Italian print.
The unsigned normal version I got from Rough Trade was printed in Italy, and had a promo postcard (did the ones from other sources have that?).
IMG_4504.jpeg
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thomashenry
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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#357 Post by thomashenry »

leesmapman wrote: Wed 15 Apr 2026, 12:20 pm
thomashenry wrote:
the8thark wrote: Mon 13 Apr 2026, 4:15 am The only downside is trying to buy Catalogue now is near impossible as it’s long out of print and the few second hand copies being sold are being sold at extortionate prices
Catalogue is easy to buy. Prices are not that high.
German versions are easy to get, the english one is much more expensive

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Here's one on ebay now, BIN for less than £50

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/287121823901 ... 26.m162918
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nonesuch
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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#358 Post by nonesuch »

This whole article is full of PSB puns!
https://www.thebookseller.com/news/book ... number-one

Book Shop Boys: Visual record of Pet Shop Boys hits indie number one
Bestsellers
Apr 15, 2026
by Alex Call

It has been something of a red letter day for authors Chris Heath and Philip Hoare as Pet Shop Boys Volume (Thames & Hudson), a complete visual record of the synth-pop duo, has been released in the UK and gone straight to the top of the Independent Bookshop Top 20, according to NielsenIQ BookScan.

While volume sales data is not released for the indie sector, the title has sold an absolutely fabulous 5,581 copies in its first week across BookScan’s overall Total Consumer Market (TCM), delivery a rent-busting £215,569. Second-placed Katie Kirby must be asking, "What have I done to deserve this?" as Heath and Hoare’s success means she is unable to do the double and replicate her TCM number one with The Seriously Epic Holiday of Lottie Brooks (Puffin). But it is alright – she potentially has one more chance to take the top spot next week as copies of Pet Shop Boys Volume signed by the boys themselves likely helped boost their week-one sales.

It's a sin that Florence Knapp’s The Names (Phoenix) drops to third place, one place lower than her TCM position – but she does at least take the crown as the bestselling fiction paperback among indies for the first time, and with her closest competitor, Mark Morris’ The New Flesh (British Library), that it is not so hard.

We go west to London where west end girls (and boys) are all reading London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe (Picador). While the title has done well in the full TCM, debuting in 20th place, it has outperformed with the indies by claiming the fourth spot.  

New releases are always on my mind and there are 10 of them in the Indie Top 20 this week, including two from the British Library: the aforementioned The New Flesh and Joseph Shearing’s Airing in a Closed Carriage. It is likely that the majority of their sales come from the British Library’s own shop and subscription but, without retail channel data, it is impossible to say.  

Even if the British Library titles’ sales do not come from traditional bricks-and-mortar bookshops, the indies have not let jealousy stop them as there is success for new fiction such as Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (Fourth Estate), The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke (HQ) and The Predicament by William Boyd (Penguin), all of which appear in higher positions in the indie chart than they do in the wider TCM.

British Library books aside, Alan Bennett’s Enough Said (Profile) is the biggest over-indexing title of the week, appearing in 19th place with the indies compared with 202nd place in the TCM – proving that indies still have plenty of sales opportunities (let’s make lots of money).  

The full Independent Bookshop Top 20 can be found on The Bookseller’s bestseller pages.

The Bookseller has adjusted the Independent Bookshop chart to remove some titles where sales do not derive from traditional bricks-and-mortar bookshops, such as exhibition catalogues and those featured on conglomerates’ subscription boxes. 

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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#359 Post by zukunft »

Shasha wrote: Wed 15 Apr 2026, 3:55 pm The unsigned normal version I got from Rough Trade was printed in Italy, and had a promo postcard (did the ones from other sources have that?)
The promo post card is a Rough Trade exclusive.

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Danny C
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Re: Pet Shop Boys - Volume

#360 Post by Danny C »

thomashenry wrote: Wed 15 Apr 2026, 10:30 am
the8thark wrote: Mon 13 Apr 2026, 4:15 am The only downside is trying to buy Catalogue now is near impossible as it’s long out of print and the few second hand copies being sold are being sold at extortionate prices
Catalogue is easy to buy. Prices are not that high.
I think I got mine for about £4 in HMV.

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