Pet Shop Boys Community

The dictator decides x

minimal wrote: Thu 05 Jun 2025, 5:29 am They are professional musicians who can put together a 40-minute live set at short notice. Stuart's involvement is not essential.

They are professional musicians, but they haven’t ever programmed and arranged any of their live songs.
I can imagine they will do stripped down versions of Hymn and No Time For Tears. Just Chris on keyboards and Neil on vocals.

They'll be in Dreamworld mode so I highly suspect it'll be a selection of songs from the main set list with the usual tour musicians a la Koko or Funny Girls. Sadly the days of exclusive arrangements and set lists - Hacienda and Barfly for example - are loooong gone.

MikeyC wrote: Thu 05 Jun 2025, 6:45 am The dictator decides x

and PSB get jailed for that!

Dog wrote: Thu 05 Jun 2025, 5:48 am Potentially unlikely, but it would be amazing if this was a bespoke concert - maybe it could even give rise to something they could tour more widely. Potential song choices:

Hymn (in memoriam Alexei Navalny)
West End girls
Integral
My October symphony
Happiness is an option
Silver age
Twentieth century
No time for tears
Living in the past
Up against it
The dead can dance
Bolshy
Hell
Skeletons in the closet
Kaputnik
Dancing star
A red letter day
Go West

After All would be an amazing choice but really needs the orchestra. Also, Wiedersehen for that whole fleeing repression thing.

Or Decide?

petshopgrrl wrote:

Dog wrote: Thu 05 Jun 2025, 5:48 am Potentially unlikely, but it would be amazing if this was a bespoke concert - maybe it could even give rise to something they could tour more widely. Potential song choices:

Hymn (in memoriam Alexei Navalny)
West End girls
Integral
My October symphony
Happiness is an option
Silver age
Twentieth century
No time for tears
Living in the past
Up against it
The dead can dance
Bolshy
Hell
Skeletons in the closet
Kaputnik
Dancing star
A red letter day
Go West

After All would be an amazing choice but really needs the orchestra. Also, Wiedersehen for that whole fleeing repression thing.

Or Decide?

If we’re allowed the setlist, I’m sure we’re allowed the orchestra

Why doesn't Depeche Mode, Erasure or Duran Duran care what happens in Russia? They don't care. They don't have Ukrainian flags on their websites. No Oasis, Pulp, Blur, Suede, Coldplay and so on, nobody posts anything and nobody says anything. Why?
Option 1.
Because time will pass and they will come back with concerts in Russia, maybe it will be difficult to answer questions from the press there.
Option 2.
They are not going to come to Russia at all, they don't care about what is happening in Russia.

James Ford posts news from Palestine and Israel, but nothing about Ukraine.
Pet Shop Boys post a lot about Ukraine, Russia, but nothing about Gaza.

It's very strange.

So that‘s going to be the non-Dreamworld-song they will perform in Berlin on June 28th?

I have no doubt about it.

Be great to hear Living in the past live, one of my favourite recent-era tracks.

They don't care.

They probably do care. They just perhaps don't feel a personal responsibility.

PSB were a western band that actively promoted Russia. For them to be so clear that they still love Russia, but stand against Putin, is obviously very personal and important to them.

Why doesn't Depeche Mode, Erasure or Duran Duran care what happens in Russia? They don't care. They don't have Ukrainian flags on their websites.

https://www.careinternational.org.uk/pr ... in-poland/

https://duranduran.com/2022/watch-duran ... nian-flag/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMlECr2urH0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEQpspayPC0

Spittingcat wrote: Sat 07 Jun 2025, 12:52 pm

They don't care.

They probably do care. They just perhaps don't feel a personal responsibility.

PSB were a western band that actively promoted Russia. For them to be so clear that they still love Russia, but stand against Putin, is obviously very personal and important to them.

Now I see.
It's just that Pet Shop Boys have a lot of things about Russia, Putin and Ukraine, but I, for example, haven't seen any posts or songs about migrants and crime growth in England, although it's also a very important topic for everybody, not only for England, for Europe and for Russia, USA, for everybody.... But apparently they don't care much about it.

It is clear that PSB are interested in my country and they care about what is going on. But, there are things that are happening in your own country and it's strange that they don't write anything about it.

I haven't heard an opinion from them about Palestine and Israel, for example. From Neil, to be exact. Clearly Chris doesn't like to discuss anything publicly.

Parkol 7000 people have died in the Congo genocide this year alone

Why didn't you list that?

Very puzzling that you haven't commented on that as a topic you need Neil to, in turn, comment on.

PSB have picked a topic to contribute to, good on them for having focus.

Dog wrote: Thu 05 Jun 2025, 6:15 am

nonesuch wrote:^ No Time for Tears

Definitely! Added

I was going to say....needs some Potemkin in there! Good choice.

Needs to end with 'For Freedom'. Listen to it in context of the now and feel the passion and the uplift retro-actively inspired!

For Freedom!