Pet Shop Boys Community

As a certain song goes…’Do you think they will put you in the rock n roll hall of fame?’

I noticed in the news that Sinead O’Connor and A tribe called quest !? have been shortlisted for the ‘hall’.

Have Psb ever been shortlisted, maybe the above lyrics have designated them as un-listable?

Maybe the boys have made it clear somehow they don’t want to be in there?

There must surely be a reason they have been overlooked over other artists?

I don't know how many electronic pop bands are in the Hall but I guess that PSB fullfil at least some of the formal criteria for induction. The question is rather if PSB want to be in there.

New Order were nominated last year, and Depeche Mode were inducted a few years ago, so there is precedent for the more electronic pop types to join.

I think Neil would secretly kind of love it, but could you really imagine Chris going along with it?

I was just loitering online and was pleasantly surprised to find this in a magazine (also a paragraph dedicated to the Smiths):

https://audiophix.com/posts/four-bands- ... hx4ryjhcw2

"Pet Shop Boys
If Eurythmics is worthy of induction, so are the Pet Shop Boys. Sure, Annie Lennox has a great voice, but the depth and quality of Eurythmics' catalog pales to that of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. The duo has been nominated for six Grammys and various Brit Awards, but one should not simply be inducted into the Rock Hall based on winning trophies. The songs are mostly what matters.

The Pet Shop Boys have tons of great songs, but some of those are iconic. "West End Girls" sounds just as brilliant currently as it did when it was released in 1984, for instance. New Musical Express gave the Pet Shop Boys the Godlike Genius Award in 2017 and Rolling Stone magazine named the duo the top dance duo/group ever. The Boys should be in the Hall."

Some other guy (in that magazine or somewhere else?) argues that the Smiths and the PSB will never be inducted because they are too British and that does not sit well with the Committee.

PSBForTheMasses wrote: Thu 09 Oct 2025, 11:09 pm Some other guy (in that magazine or somewhere else?) argues that the Smiths and the PSB will never be inducted because they are too British and that does not sit well with the Committee.

''Too British!?'' - well they are certainly British!
Maybe it's because the Pets dance to disco and don't like rock...

If you want to be part of Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, you shouldn't write a song called How I Learnt to Hate Rock n Roll.

It Must be Obvious.

The nominees are out (obviously no PSB) but New Order are back for a third time. I doubt they will ever get in based on voting alone, but they could be inducted outside of that by the "RRHOF board", but they're probably too scared about how that would work getting Peter Hook there to be with everyone else, and PH certainly wont take kindly if he's not invited.

The public voting mechanism is garbage anyway. Honestly PSB are better off without this nonsense, although I do secretly hope New Order gets the nod this year. Third time's a charm?

Embarrassing.

Phil Collins is romping it at the moment, who votes to get them nominated in the first place

Skybluearmy87 wrote: Thu 26 Feb 2026, 4:50 pm Phil Collins is romping it at the moment, who votes to get them nominated in the first place

https://rockhall.com/induction-process/

Nominating Committee Meets
The Nominating Committee includes current Inductees, artists, historians, journalists, and other members of the music industry. They come together to create a ballot of eligible Nominees for the year. To be eligible for Induction as an artist (performer, composer or musician) into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the artist must have had their first commercial release at least 25 years prior to the year of Induction and have demonstrated musical excellence, impact, and influence.

Voting Begins
Inductees are chosen by an international voting body of more than 1,200 Inductees, historians and members of the music industry, as well as the aggregate results of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s annual online Fan Vote, which counts as one ballot.

Class Announced
The list of Inductees for the current year is released with categories including Performer, Musical Excellence, Musical Influence, and the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

Some pretty cool nominees.

Joy Division/New Order, INXS, Billy Idol, The Black Crowes, Iron Maiden, New Edition, Phil Collins, Sade, Jeff Buckley, Mariah Carey, Melissa Etheridge, Lauryn Hill, Oasis, P!NK, Shakira, Luther Vandross, Wu-Tang Clan

I'm not going to vote, because I feel music is a fairly personal thing.

Someone said it'd be funny if New Order win because Peter Hook would have to reunite with the rest of the band when they receive the award. I think it'd be nice if Phil Collins gets it, because he has a lot of health issues at the moment. Billy Idol (Sir William of Idol) is also a pretty cool dude at the moment, I'd like him to receive it. P!nk people love her here in Australia but I feel like she hasn't done much recently. Oasis are super popular, overrated IMO but it wouldn't be unexpected if they were to win.
Sade, Mariah, people love. Wu-Tang just had their founder die, so they might get pity votes. Plus they're touring at the moment which should raise popularity. Anyway...

So! New Order are being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!
Along with Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Oasis, Sade, Luther Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan.
(It's billed as Joy Division/New Order)

Greetings,

Yes, it's an inherently US-centric institution. Which isn't to say that UK artists won't get a look in, but it's US sales, exposure, impact and renown which will shape eligibility. In the US, Pet Shop Boys were a mere pop footnote after Domino Dancing.

Retro.

retrofuturist wrote: Tue 14 Apr 2026, 6:52 am Greetings,

Yes, it's an inherently US-centric institution. Which isn't to say that UK artists won't get a look in, but it's US sales, exposure, impact and renown which will shape eligibility. In the US, Pet Shop Boys were a mere pop footnote after Domino Dancing.

Retro.

Yes, too US-centric. NO and DM are big in the US, PSB are perceived as a one hit wonder over there.

An institute that seriously considers a boy band like New Edition for the RRHoF cannot be taken seriously... nobody outside the US has heard of them (I know Bobby Brown was a member, but nobody would consider nominating N*Sync because Justin Timberlake was a member or One Direction because of Harry Styles...). Yes, I know they had a UK #1 but their other singles were minor hits at best.

The label 'rock' (let alone rock 'n' roll) is already problematic, as it is also a US-centric way of looking at music. Whereas we take pride (at least I do) that bands like Pet Shop Boys are ultimate pop bands, Americans use the label 'pop' in a derogatory way for what is in the current charts. They do not even consider a band like Erasure 'pop', as they had no hits in the US, so they are grouped under the indie label...
I had a discussion with US Duran fans who were offended that I consider Duran a pop band, they insisted on the rock label 'because they use guitars'. While I would consider the Wedding Album soft rock, their 80s hits are perceived as pop music by most if not all Europeans I would say. People would laugh at you if you would say that you are a fan of "rock band Duran Duran".

I would say rock music is AC/DC, Zeppelin, Muse, Live, Nirvana etc.