Pet Shop Boys Community

And how many copies did Popart, Alternative, Format, Discography and Ultimate sell?

Just out of interest, has anyone actually ever seen any evidence that Introspective is their best selling album? I know Neil always said so, but it's always seemed a bit suspicious to me.

The global figures I've got, downloaded from I've no idea where (possibly this forum, maybe around the time Yes came out?) are as follows:
- Please - 3.5m
- Disco - 2.2m
- Actually - 5.7m
- Introspective - 3.7m
- Behaviour - 2.1m
- Discography - 4.7m
- Very - 4.0m
- Disco 2 - 700k
- Alternative - 700k
- Bilingual - 1.2m
- Essentials - 39k
- Nightlife - 900k
- Release - 600k
- Disco 3 - 200k
- PopArt - 800k
- Fundamental - 450k

Apologies if I'm reposting someone else's research there.

Edit: found it, thanks to GalataPSB - http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=59684 - obviously these are estimates too, but the poster seems to have at least done some grunt work to justify the numbers!

See also - http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=60413 and http://www.petshopboys-forum.com/viewto ... =1&t=25284

Those numbers are probably all based on estimates and press releases, but they're guidance if nothing else.
It does make me wonder where EMI got their "50 million" figure from? Neil said they've certainly never been paid for 50 million but that's what they'd apparently sold by the time they left Parlaphone.

rollo wrote:Just out of interest, has anyone actually ever seen any evidence that Introspective is their best selling album? I know Neil always said so, but it's always seemed a bit suspicious to me.

The global figures I've got, downloaded from I've no idea where (possibly this forum, maybe around the time Yes came out?) are as follows:
- Please - 3.5m
- Disco - 2.2m
- Actually - 5.7m
- Introspective - 3.7m
- Behaviour - 2.1m
- Discography - 4.7m
- Very - 4.0m
- Disco 2 - 700k
- Alternative - 700k
- Bilingual - 1.2m
- Essentials - 39k
- Nightlife - 900k
- Release - 600k
- Disco 3 - 200k
- PopArt - 800k
- Fundamental - 450k

Apologies if I'm reposting someone else's research there.

Edit: found it, thanks to GalataPSB - http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=59684 - obviously these are estimates too, but the poster seems to have at least done some grunt work to justify the numbers!

See also - http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=60413 and http://www.petshopboys-forum.com/viewto ... =1&t=25284

I think these sales represent pretty well the quality of the albums:

1 - Actually
2 - Very
3 - Introspective
4 - Please
5 - Disco (better than Behaviour because it is)

And well Discography like the second best selling album. Well Actually is the quintessence of the PSB sound and iconic image. You only have to take a look at the cover. It's not strange why it's so imitated.

nickname wrote:

rollo wrote:Just out of interest, has anyone actually ever seen any evidence that Introspective is their best selling album? I know Neil always said so, but it's always seemed a bit suspicious to me.

The global figures I've got, downloaded from I've no idea where (possibly this forum, maybe around the time Yes came out?) are as follows:
- Please - 3.5m
- Disco - 2.2m
- Actually - 5.7m
- Introspective - 3.7m
- Behaviour - 2.1m
- Discography - 4.7m
- Very - 4.0m
- Disco 2 - 700k
- Alternative - 700k
- Bilingual - 1.2m
- Essentials - 39k
- Nightlife - 900k
- Release - 600k
- Disco 3 - 200k
- PopArt - 800k
- Fundamental - 450k

Apologies if I'm reposting someone else's research there.

Edit: found it, thanks to GalataPSB - http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=59684 - obviously these are estimates too, but the poster seems to have at least done some grunt work to justify the numbers!

See also - http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=60413 and http://www.petshopboys-forum.com/viewto ... =1&t=25284

I think these sales represent pretty well the quality of the albums:

1 - Actually
2 - Very
3 - Introspective
4 - Please
5 - Disco (better than Behaviour because it is)

And well Discography like the second best selling album. Well Actually is the quintessence of the PSB sound and iconic image. You only have to take a look at the cover. It's not strange why it's so imitated.

Cheers for clearing this up. You;re right, Disco IS better than Behaviour. I'd been a bit lost on that one for years. Could have done without the local wildlife killers on the cover though

they have repeatedly stated that Introspective is their best selling album of all time, internationally

TheGhostOfMyself wrote:Those numbers are probably all based on estimates and press releases, but they're guidance if nothing else.
It does make me wonder where EMI got their "50 million" figure from? Neil said they've certainly never been paid for 50 million but that's what they'd apparently sold by the time they left Parlaphone.

It's not totally crazy, once you add in the singles. Or was it "50 million albums"?

"50 million records" is the term used i believe.

I have a question.Looking at Ebay for some old vinyls,there is a person who sells some golden singles of the boys,for example "its a sin" for 1 milion sold copys.And there was a big surpise for me.There is another golden copy for "Rent" for 500000 sold copys,ok...but then I found a golden single for "D.J.Culture"!!!!This is a double surpise for me-first that the single sold such a lot of copys and then more than "Rent"???
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Pet-Shop-Boys-DJ ... 1125446453

Someone here who knows if its true?

all of those gold/platinum discs on ebay are totally fake

they make them to order for stupid people who think you can buy a genuine gold certified sales award for 50 euros

Christmas - The Collection containing IDOSAC, has been upgraded from a silver certification to a gold certification for sales of 100,000 copies in the U.K.

Disco. wrote:Christmas - The Collection containing IDOSAC, has been upgraded from a silver certification to a gold certification for sales of 100,000 copies in the U.K.

That can't be correct can it. 1 week in the sales chart at number 40 and probably a few sales the subsequent weeks = 100,000.

Dude, that's released like 5 years ago, and there's 30 million residents in the uk.

Christmas-The Collection was released last year in October on Rhino Records. It has spent several weeks on the Compilation chart both last year and this year, and in last weeks chart it was at nr.19

Yes, it's not the EP, it's this compilation album:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-The-C ... B00FOT22GM