Pet Shop Boys Community

PSB may have forgotten about you love, but we haven't! What a wonderful career she has had. I didn't know it was her on the Jimmy Nail record.

Solo album (produced by Voyage)


Jimmy Nail - Ain't no Doubt


Chicane - Strong in Love


Sounds of Eden - Scott and Leon (Shades of Rhythm cover)


Freemasons - Nothing but a heartache

She was on the ID parade on Never Mind the Buzzcocks recently.

I'm 99% sure Sylvia sings backing vocals in this minor Aussie hit from 1994

Here's another minor Aussie hit with Sylvia (same artist as the video above, but under a different name)

We're talking about Sylvia Mason-James, right? She was invaluable to PSB, especially live. Neil's an okay singer, but her voice could and did fill stadiums.

(Was watching old YouTube clips: Live 8 in Russia most recently. "West End Girls" is usually a crowd-pleaser, but not there, it seems. Maybe they didn't hear it in 1986 when it was still the USSR, I dunno. Russians in the audience seemed really indifferent to the song. )

Sylvia was great, I hope PSB treated her well, financially. Ain't no romance without finance. I always got the impression she was uh, not necessarily happy with the arrangement though. That she knew she could be replaced. I hope they treated her well.

I think she has reverted to Sylvia Mason now.

transforce wrote:I think she has reverted to Sylvia Mason now.

Ah, thanks. Like Meredith Baxter-Birney. Merci. Sylvia's alwaya been a sourpuss though. I get the feeling she hated PSB's music and felt she never got paid enough. Which could quite be the case! Wonderful singer, always seemed unhappy working for PSB.

why? She worked with them on and off for 16 years, it can't have pained her that much, or indeed been awkward for them. If she did hate their music and it was purely financial I wouldn't have thought she would have worked with them if she felt she was underpaid. I hope she's back at some point. She was Sylvia Mason in her early records, produced by Voyage and took longer name later, I would have thought from marriage, but who knows

They NEED to bring her back

Sorry but she was awful. She is the antithesis of where they went of track and watered down their very essence and lost their presence and canon.

They don't need some 3rd rate diva warbling though their near immaculate tracks and losing the very edge that sets them apart.

Flaffer wrote:why? She worked with them on and off for 16 years, it can't have pained her that much, or indeed been awkward for them. If she did hate their music and it was purely financial I wouldn't have thought she would have worked with them if she felt she was underpaid. I hope she's back at some point. She was Sylvia Mason in her early records, produced by Voyage and took longer name later, I would have thought from marriage, but who knows

You're right Flaffer, "hated" was way too strong a word to use. "Didn't much care for" PSB's music is what i personally have always thought, just my opinion. She's a souls singer. And, as for not working for them if she felt underpaid, please note Sylvia hasn't worked with them in years. Do you really think it's outlandish to wonder if money might have been part of that? It's not like PSB paid her a retainer when they weren't touring. PSB have stripped down their tours, it's them and a couple of dancers. I don't know what or how Sylvia feels about her time working with PSB, but i never got a very happy vibe from her about it. Just my impression. She was their employee. I don't know the financials. Now she's free to sink or swim like the rest of us, whatever.

So....all supposition. ..

redsock wrote:Sorry but she was awful. She is the antithesis of where they went of track and watered down their very essence and lost their presence and canon.

They don't need some 3rd rate diva warbling though their near immaculate tracks and losing the very edge that sets them apart.

Chris is a frustrated house producer.

raggatwin wrote:So....all supposition. ..

"Didn't much care for" PSB's music is what I personally have always thought, just my opinion."

"I don't know what or how Sylvia feels about her time working with PSB, but I never got a very happy vibe from her about it. Just my impression. She was their employee. I don't know the financials."

"I get the feeling she ..always seemed unhappy working for PSB."

" I always got the impression she was uh, not necessarily happy with the arrangement though."

Yes, everything I wrote about Sylvia is supposition, as I don't personally know her. Along with commenting on her huge talent and contribution to PSB's success, I think I made it clear that it was mere "supposition". As opposed to the hundred thousands of posts about N&C here? Don't we "suppose" and conjecture about them all the time?

Chill out, mate. ..