NotInvisible wrote: Sun 18 Jan 2026, 2:03 pm
Absolutely Fabulous was #6 on the charts, which is pretty much the mission statement for a pop group and vindicates the track whether we like it or not. It's an example of having a very firm grip on the plot...
Number six is actually poor for a Comic Relief charity single.
Westlife had 14 number one hits - I assume by your definition that makes them a better pop group than the Pet Shop Boys.
markus wrote: Sun 18 Jan 2026, 12:14 pm
Not to my teenage ears they weren’t. Rent sounded ultra-commercial, just like Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money) — which even admits what it is in the title.
CD1 of Alternative is full of experimental synth work, and the lyrics are often so outlandish that the average listener wouldn’t be able to relate to much of it at all.
My point is that they either became oblivious to the fact that they were always too obscure beneath the surface for the hit charts, or they simply didn’t care. Because after the release of Alternative, they suddenly released a single like Somewhere, to everyone’s shock. Earlier, a song like that would likely have been relegated to the same fate as Shameless or If Love Were All.
In trying to figure out why they stopped having hits, the answer lies in what their true passion was all along: expressing what they wanted artistically, freely and without limitations — to the point where they lost touch with what was commercially viable.
The main reason they stopped having big hits was that they were old and their style of music went out of fashion. Very is really their last hurrah in terms of them being a major pop act.
I don’t think it was a triumph, though—it only seemed like one. “Go West” was the only commercially successful pop single from that album. From that point on, they were essentially living off loyal fans and collectors. The five million listeners who bought Very had shrunk to around 1.2 million by the time Bilingual was released. Very was already too complicated, self-absorbed, and artsy for the Discography audience. They’ve really only returned now, with the greatest hits tour.
markus wrote: Sun 18 Jan 2026, 6:16 pm
I don’t think it was a triumph, though—it only seemed like one. “Go West” was the only commercially successful pop single from that album. From that point on, they were essentially living off loyal fans and collectors. The five million listeners who bought Very had shrunk to around 1.2 million by the time Bilingual was released. Very was already too complicated, self-absorbed, and artsy for the Discography audience. They’ve really only returned now, with the greatest hits tour.
Very was their only number one album and arguably their most pop album. Yes, it was their last hurrah as major pop stars but they had a good run. I really don't think the likes of One in a Million Men needed too much decodifying nor were the public nonplussed by the abstruse nature of Go West or Liberation.
markus wrote: Sun 18 Jan 2026, 6:16 pm
I don’t think it was a triumph, though—it only seemed like one. “Go West” was the only commercially successful pop single from that album. From that point on, they were essentially living off loyal fans and collectors. The five million listeners who bought Very had shrunk to around 1.2 million by the time Bilingual was released. Very was already too complicated, self-absorbed, and artsy for the Discography audience. They’ve really only returned now, with the greatest hits tour.
Very was their only number one album and arguably their most pop album. Yes, it was their last hurrah as major pop stars but they had a good run. I really don't think the likes of One in a Million Men needed too much decodifying nor were the public nonplussed by the abstruse nature of Go West or Liberation.
I’d call what’s on Very Pop Art. It’s what many others—like Saint Etienne and Dubstar—are still creating. It has the oomph and the feel of hits, but it isn’t commercial and doesn’t really bother the charts. It’s an art form—and a genre—in its own right nowadays.
Young indie artists started making the same type of music: some of them have plenty of fans and Spotify streams, yet not a single chart hit. PSB were among the pioneers, driven first and foremost by a passion for music—perhaps always hoping to land another hit, but ultimately prioritising the joy of releasing music they liked.
markus wrote: Sun 18 Jan 2026, 6:16 pmI don’t think it was a triumph, though—it only seemed like one.
Very was a #1 album with an astonishing six Top 20 singles - including three Top 10 hits. It was so successful that it was able to propel Disco 2 to #6 and pave the way for the subsequent b-sides album to hit #2 in the chart. The idea that it wasn't a triumph is certifiably insane.
markus wrote: Sun 18 Jan 2026, 6:56 pmI’d call what’s on Very Pop Art. It’s what many others—like Saint Etienne and Dubstar—are still creating. It has the oomph and the feel of hits, but it isn’t commercial and doesn’t really bother the charts.
I'm not sure how familiar you are with Pet Shop Boys history, but it did bother the charts. Quite remarkably.
markus wrote: Sun 18 Jan 2026, 6:16 pmI don’t think it was a triumph, though—it only seemed like one.
Very was a #1 album with an astonishing six Top 20 singles - including three Top 10 hits. It was so successful that it was able to propel Disco 2 to #6 and pave the way for the subsequent b-sides album to hit #2 in the chart. The idea that it wasn't a triumph is certifiably insane.
The standard routine in the business when analysing artists’ careers is this: a successful album that’s popular with the audience propels the follow-up to achieve success easily on the wings of its predecessor. If that benefit of the doubt isn’t rewarded, the third album flops. Bilingual somewhat flopped, which suggests that people weren’t as happy with Very (or Disco 2) as it might have seemed.
Other factors are also important to take into consideration, all of which have been mentioned: age, shifting trends, and the perception of selling out with the Absolutely Fabulous charity single. But I think this is the most important factor: they were a tough sell to begin with, always destined for cult status. Their successful pop career — the so-called imperial phase — was only a fraction, a brief moment, of what they were ever going to achieve over the last 40 years. “We Make It So Hard” could almost be read as a premonition of things to come as early as 1990.
markus wrote: Sun 18 Jan 2026, 8:43 pmThe standard routine in the business when analysing artists’ careers is this: a successful album that’s popular with the audience propels the follow-up to achieve success easily on the wings of its predecessor. If that benefit of the doubt isn’t rewarded, the third album flops. Bilingual somewhat flopped, which suggests that people weren’t as happy with Very (or Disco 2) as it might have seemed.
No, that's nonsense. People buy records because they like the singles.
But I think this is the most important factor: they were a tough sell to begin with, always destined for cult status. Their successful pop career
This is just a bananas take for a group that's had 44 singles land in the UK Top 40. And considering their first single went to #1 around the world, they clearly weren't a tough sell to begin with.
the so-called imperial phase — was only a fraction, a brief moment, of what they were ever going to achieve over the last 40 years
telys wrote: Sun 18 Jan 2026, 5:40 pm
Time for the next track, please. I don't dare to start,,,, and have forgotten which track is the next one.
Here, allow me...
Track 82: If Love Were All
Chronology: Very, Further Listening, Track 11
This cover of a Noel Coward song was an extra track on the "Yesterday when I was mad" single and features a delightfully plaintive and wistful vocal from Neil. (Would I be right in guessing the vocal is single-tracked for once, for that extra added vulnerability?) Big band orchestration is by Richard Niles. Love that piano and trumpet work.
petshopgrrl wrote: Sun 18 Jan 2026, 9:19 pmTrack 82: If Love Were All
Chronology: Very, Further Listening, Track 11
I have to confess I've never much liked this one. I don't think Neil's vocals are strong enough to wend their way through the melody. But it's their first overtly gay song in terms of lyric, isn't it? And then we get Attitude and Metamorphosis to follow.
petshopgrrl wrote: Sun 18 Jan 2026, 9:19 pmTrack 82: If Love Were All
Chronology: Very, Further Listening, Track 11
I have to confess I've never much liked this one. I don't think Neil's vocals are strong enough to wend their way through the melody. But it's their first overtly gay song in terms of lyric, isn't it? And then we get Attitude and Metamorphosis to follow.
It's one of those songs that was originally written for a woman (a female character in Coward's musical "Bitter Sweet") that gets a little extra special something from being sung by a man. See also: Try it (I'm in love with a married man)
“If Love Were All” — fun, well-produced, rebellious and brave. Especially on Alternative, it feels like a welcome breath of fresh air. At the same time, the cynic in me can’t help thinking: career suicide in the making.
