The Pet Shop Boys' work with Cicero
David Cicero—who goes professionally only by his surname—is an American-born but Scotland-raised singer-songwriter-keyboardist whom the Pet Shop Boys took on as a protégé in 1989. Apparently he attended a PSB concert that year, at which he managed to get a demo tape to their friend and assistant Peter Andreas. He passed it on to Chris and Neil, who liked what they heard.
Cicero proved to be the most prolific artist on the Boys' own short-lived Spaghetti Recordings label. All of his Spaghetti releases appeared during the two-year period 1991-92, although he remained signed to the label until 1996, at which time his professional relationship with PSB was amicably severed. Since then he has maintained a low profile in the music industry with little recorded output.
Aside from simply being mentors and label-owners, the Boys were directly involved in one way or another with each of the following tracks, most of which appear on his 1992 album Future Boy (the cover of which is depicted here).
Heaven
Must Have Sent You Back to Me
by Cicero
Writers - Cicero
First released - 1991
Original album - Future Boy (Cicero)
Producer - David Jacob, Pet Shop Boys
Subsequent albums - (none)
Other releases - single (UK #70)
Chris and Neil provided "additional production" for this 1992 release. It's actually a remix of Cicero's debut single released the previous year with little if any direct PSB involvement (aside from being released on their label; the producer of the original track was David Jacob), but it had failed to reach the UK Top 100. The Boys beefed it up, giving it more of a "PSB sound," and upon re-release it got as high as #70 the second time around. What's more, Chris directed the video.
Love Is Everywhere
by Cicero
Writers - Cicero
First released - 1991
Original album - Future Boy (Cicero)
Producer - Pet Shop Boys
Subsequent albums - (none)
Other releases - single (UK #19)
Again,
the Pet Shop Boys served as producers for this 1991 single, the second release
by their young discovery. Neil also sings background vocals. It proved to be Cicero's
biggest hit, reaching #19 on the UK singles chart.
Mixes
Officially released
- Mixer: Pet Shop Boys
- Album version (3:36)
- Single version (3:41)
- Extended version (7:59)
That
Loving Feeling
by Cicero
Writers - Cicero
First released - 1992
Original album - Future Boy (Cicero)
Producer - Pet Shop Boys
Subsequent albums - (none)
Other releases - single (UK #46)
Another track produced by Chris and Neil. Once more Neil sings backup. Cicero's third single, it reached #46 on the UK charts.
Here's an interesting bit of related trivia: the video for this song—again directed by Chris Lowe—features PSB Riverside, a football (soccer) team sponsored by the Pet Shop Boys. (Did you know that PSB sponsored a football team?) In the video, Cicero adopts the role of a goalkeeper (goalie) for the team.
Mixes
Officially released
- Mixer: Pete Schwier and the Pet Shop Boys
- Album version (5:51)
- Extended Mix (7:06)
My
Middle Class Life
by Cicero
Writers - Cicero
First released - 1992
Original album - Future Boy (Cicero)
Producer - David Jacob, Pet Shop Boys
Subsequent albums - (none)
Other releases - (none)
The Boys co-produced this non-single track from Cicero's 1992 Spaghetti album Future Boy.
Live for Today
by Cicero with Sylvia Mason-James
Writers - Cicero
First released - 1992
Original album - The Crying Game (original soundrack - various artists)
Producer - Pet Shop Boys
Subsequent albums - (none)
Other releases - single (didn't chart)
The Boys produced this 1992 single for Cicero and also saw fit to include it (in two versions) on the soundtrack for The Crying Game. Unfortunately, unlike their production of the film's title track for Boy George, this release failed to chart.
List cross-references
- None of these songs appear in any of my lists, although there is an entry for Cicero himself among "Artists with whom PSB have collaborated."
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