Wayne's Little Online Book of PSB Lists
(Part 2)

My "Lists page" had grown so large that I've decided to split it into three parts so that they will load more quickly for you. The Table of Contents below still displays all of the lists, although the earlier links will take you back to Part 1 and the later ones will take you to Part 3.

I've moved my tables of UK/US chart performance and PSB songs "live" to my new "Extras" section.

Artists with whom PSB have collaborated

I'm limiting this list to major artists with whom both Boys have collaborated on officially released studio recordings. Also, with one or two exceptions, I'm not including producers, remixers, and assorted people with whom they've shared songwriting credits. Why? Because if I didn't impose such a limit, this list would be much longer and much more difficult to manage. So I've made it easy on myself.

Alcazar

It may be questionable to call it a "collaboration" since they merely turned over one of their own "rejected" songs, but Chris and Neil did write (though didn't produce) the Swedish group Alcazar's 2003 hit "Love Life."

Atomizer

The Pet Shop Boys have done a 2003 production and mix of this British electroclash duo's track "Hooked on Radiation."

Bloodhound Gang

Neil and Chris mixed the sample-laden single and extended versions of this controversial American band's notorious name-dropping song "Mope." (The artists they sampled in the process were Falco, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Metallica.)

Blur

The Boys remixed their hit song "Girls and Boys," which was later incorporated into their own "DiscoVery" tour performance setlist and was released as a b-side.

David Bowie

PSB produced the re-recorded single version of Bowie's "Hallo Spaceboy." Neil provided supporting vocals. Again, the Boys decided to include this song in subsequent performances—in this case, their "Somewhere" stage show.

Boy George

Chris and Neil produced Boy George's hit rendition of "The Crying Game" for the soundtrack of the film of the same name. Neil sang background vocals on the track.

Pete Burns

The Pet Shop Boys wrote and produced "Jack and Jill Party" for Dead or Alive frontman Pete Burns, who contributed additional lyrics to the song. The single was released on the Boys' own label, Olde English Vinyl.

Cicero

The Boys signed this young Scottish singer-songwriter to their own Spaghetti label and produced several of his tracks. Neil also sings backup on some of his songs.

Eighth Wonder

In their first outside collaboration, Neil and Chris wrote and produced the song "I'm Not Scared" (and its French-translation b-side) for this band featuring Patsy Kensit. PSB later recorded it themselves, of course.

Electronic

Electronic consists of New Order singer/guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner and former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr—both of them friends of the Boys'. Neil and Chris co-wrote and performed on the track "Patience of a Saint." Also, apparently without Chris's active participation, Neil co-wrote and performed on the songs "Getting Away with It" and "Disappointed." Johnny Marr has in turn played guitar on a number of PSB recordings, most prominently on more than half of the tracks on Release.

Fat Les 2000

This somewhat ad-hoc novelty act, consisting primarily of actor/comedian Keith Allen, artist Damien Hirst, and Blur bassist Alex James, scored an unexpected hit in 2000 with their orchestrated football/soccer-anthem rendition of the English hymn "Jerusalem." The Pet Shop Boys remixed it, giving it their now familiar hi-NRG/techno treatment; Neil also reportedly sings backup.

Elton John

Although PSB and Elton had collaborated years before on "Believe/Song for Guy," which so far has seen official release only on the video An Audience with Elton John (originally a 1997 U.K. TV special), a more readily available official studio collaboration didn't surface until 2006 with their duet remake of "In Private" on the Fundamentalism bonus disc (and subsequently a bonus track with the "Minimal" single).

The Killers

The Pet Shop Boys have done a remix of their song "Read My Mind," slated for early 2007 single release.

Little Britain

Not only did this British comedy duo appear in the Boys' "I'm with Stupid" video but (more importantly from my perspective) Neil and Chris have remixed their song "I'm Gay." The PSB remix, however, has not yet been released.

Madonna

Chris and Neil remixed her song "Sorry" for single release, and Neil provides additional vocals.

Liza Minnelli

Neil and Chris produced her Results album and also wrote and performed on many of its songs.

Kylie Minogue

The Boys provided her with the song "Falling," though she decided against relying on their services for its production. Later she duetted with Neil on the PSB track "In Denial."

Miyuki Motegi

Chris and Neil supplied this Japanese singer with the music and demo production for the song "All or Nothing" on her 2002 debut album MIU. Neil also sings background vocals on the track. Calling this a "collaboration," however, stretches the term a bit. You see, they haven't actually worked with her; in fact, they didn't even meet her until after the track was recorded and released.

Yoko Ono

In what is perhaps one of the most surprising collaborations of their career, Chris and Neil remixed and provided "additional production" for a reissue of Ono's classic "Walking on Thin Ice," which became a major dance club hit all over again in 2003.

Rammstein

Two remixes by the Boys are included on the 2004 single "Mein Teil" by the notorious German "alternative metal" band. Although the original lyrics are in German, Neil added a few words of English to their remixes.

Torsten Rasch and the Dresdner Sinfoniker

The Pet Shop Boys' original score for The Battleship Potemkin was orchestrated by the German orchestral composer Tosten Rasch, himself having written several film scores. And they performed it with the Dresdner Sinfoniker (Dresden Chamber Orchestra), conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer.

Peter Rauhofer

Rauhofer is the man behind the popular Club 69 dance tracks. Not only did he remix "I Don't Know What You Want…", but he also worked with the Boys (or perhaps just Neil) on the dance-hit remake of "Break 4 Love," which is apparently not an "official" Pet Shop Boys track but rather by "Peter Rauhofer + Pet Shop Boys = The Collaboration."

Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley

Neil and Chris created the notorious "Absolutely Fabulous" charity single with them.

Dusty Springfield

Surely their best-known collaboration by virtue of the huge international hit "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" Subsequently Chris and Neil produced half of her Reputation album, for which they also wrote four songs.

Sam Taylor-Wood

This British photographer/videographer created the "backstage conversation" films from which the Boys seem to step directly onto the stage in their "Somewhere" show and concert video. But more like a true collaboration is their performance together of "Je T'Aime…Moi Non Plus," with Ms. Taylor-Wood supplying a, shall we say, orgasmic vocal. Chris and Neil have also produced a remake of the classic Donna Summer song "Love to Love You, Baby," performed by Ms. Taylor-Wood under the stage name of Kiki Kokova.

Caroll Thompson

A British singer in diverse styles—including reggae, funk, dance, and ballads—her long and prolific career has enabled her to achieve only middling success. Neil and Chris produced her remake of the classic disco hit "Let the Music Play," which appeared on the soundtrack of The Crying Game.

Tina Turner

Chris and Neil wrote and produced "Confidential" for her; Neil also sings backup on her rendition. Their own version later appeared as a b-side.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus sang lead on "Casanova in Hell" as a guest vocalist at the Boys' May 2006 show with the BBC Radio Orchestra, documented on the live Concrete album. Neil is also serving a "consulting producer" role on Wainwright's next studio album, currently scheduled for early 2007 release.

Robbie Williams

Neil and Chris co-wrote with Robbie and produced the song "She's Madonna" on his 2006 album Rudebox. They also produced his cover of "We're the Pet Shop Boys" for the same album. Other collaborative activities have included Neil singing backup on Robbie's track "No Regrets" and Robbie returning the favor by performing "Jealousy" at the show documented on the live album Concrete.

Allee Willis

The Pet Shop Boys co-wrote "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" with this multi-talented woman, who boasts a fascinating résumé. An author, director, singer, songwriter, painter, ceramist (one who works in ceramics), set designer, and performance artist, she has a number of other hit co-writing credits, including the theme for Friends, "I'll Be There for You," as well as Earth, Wind and Fire's "September" and "Boogie Wonderland," and Maxine Nightingale's "Lead Me On." As her alter ego "Bubbles the Artist" she has collaborated with Lily Tomlin and done portraits of assorted luminaries, including Jesse Jackson, Tracey Ullman, and PeeWee Herman. She has directed several short films, designed sets for a variety of TV shows and music videos (receiving several awards in the process), and served as a consultant for Disney, Microsoft, and America Online. And more recently she has co-composed the scores for two Broadway musicals, The Color Purple and Hot Feet. But even if she had done nothing else, she would deserve our eternal gratitude for having discovered and promoted the astonishingly camp Del Rubio Triplets—three elderly, somewhat overweight women (yes, actual identical triplets) sporting blonde wigs, miniskirts, go-go boots, and acoustic guitars. They subsequently guested on PeeWee's Playhouse and even recorded a cover of "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" on their 1988 album Three Gals, Three Guitars. Of such stuff legends are made.

And though it's not really a "PSB collaboration" since apparently only Chris was involved, we shouldn't neglect "Do the Right Thing" by British soccer star Ian Wright. By the same token, other "solo" moments—such as Neil's collabortion with Tom Stephan (Superchumbo) on "Tranquilizer" and his guest vocal on Dan Fresh's "Throw," and such occasions as when Neil performed on stage with Suede—don't really count here.


Notable guest appearances in PSB videos—plus 2 possibilities and 2 notable "nonappearances"

This list, with one exception, includes only those people who also have a substantial number of media credits outside of Pet Shop Boys videos. For that reason I don't include, for instance, Donna Bottman, the lovely young woman featured in the "Domino Dancing" video. My one exception is the special case of Dainton Connell, who makes it into the list by virtue of his repeat appearances—and because I was tempted to create a separate list just for him. But I decided to combine the two lists into this one.

  1. Ron Moody as the "chief executioner" in "It's a Sin"

    British actor Moody has appeared in scores of films and television shows. Among his more memorable roles have been as Fagin in the 1968 film musical Oliver!, as Iago in the 1981 BBC TV production of Othello, and as Merlin in the 1995 film A Kid in King Arthur's Court.

  2. Dusty Springfield in "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"

    It almost goes without saying, but if I hadn't included the legendary British pop diva here, someone would have called me to task for the omission.

  3. Margi Clarke as the "kept woman" in "Rent"

    Known for her starring role in the 1985 film Letter to Breshnev as well as her numerous subsequent appearances on U.K. television, including recurring roles on Making Out and Coronation Street.

  4. Alexander George Thynn, Seventh Marquess of Bath, as the "kept woman's 'keeper'" and dinner party host in "Rent"

    A wealthy British aristocrat, politician (once a member of the House of Lords and an unsuccessful candidate for the European Parliament), and author of several novels, famed for his eccentricity.

  5. Joss Ackland, Barbara Windsor, Gareth Hunt, and Neil Dickson in various roles in "Always on My Mind"

    Featured in the Pet Shop Boys' film It Couldn't Happen Here, these four veterans of British film and television also crop up in this video cobbled from film exceprts.

  6. Ian McKellan as the vampire in "Heart"

    If you don't count Dusty, this is probably the single most famous guest appearance in a PSB video. For more than thirty years a giant of the modern Shakespearean stage, Sir Ian has more recently earned a much wider audience with his many prominent film roles, among them Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movies, Magneto in the X-Men films, John Profumo in Scandal (for which Neil and Chris wrote the song "Nothing Has Been Proved"), and his Oscar-nominated turn as James Whale in Gods and Monsters.

  7. Jack Bond in "Heart"

    This British television and film producer/director, who directed the Boys' film It Couldn't Happen Here as well as their "Always on My Mind" and "Heart" videos, makes a brief cameo appearance in the latter as a farmer standing on the side of the road as the limousine approaches the castle.

  8. Eagle-Eye Cherry in "Being Boring"

    Son of trumpeter Don Cherry, half-brother of singer Neneh Cherry, and an actor/singer in his own right, Eagle-Eye had a huge 1997 hit with "Save Tonight." He has also appeared in a number of films, among them The Doors and Born on the Fourth of July, and on television, including The Cosby Show and South Beach. On the PopArt DVD, he appears at timing 1:08:06 (and elsewhere).

  9. David Walliams and Matt Lucas in "I'm with Stupid"

    The comic duo, stars of the wildly popular U.K. TV show Little Britain, take center stage both literally and figuratively, with Chris and Neil a captive audience.

  10. Dainton Connell

    A fan favorite, the Boys' longtime minder/bodyguard, nicknamed "The Bear," appeared in no fewer than five videos before his sudden and untimely death in an October 5, 2007, automobile accident in Moscow:
    • "So Hard" (one of the two large men who hover behind Chris and Neil throughout)
    • "Jealousy" (that's him closing the doors at the end)
    • "Was It Worth It?" (wearing the "Behave" sweatshirt, he even gets to dance!)
    • "A Red Letter Day" (a brief glimpse as one of the many people standing in line)
    • "Somewhere" (in a fleeting backstage scene)

—plus two pre-fame possibilities:

1. Is that Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in "Jealousy"?

A number of online fans have speculated that this Nigerian-British actor, who would later gain fame as recurring characters in the TV series Oz and Lost, appeared in the Pet Shop Boys' "Jealousy" video. The actor portraying the guy who has a quick tryst with a woman in a public restroom could be a young Akinnuoye-Agbaje—there is a resemblance—and it's known for a fact that he appeared in a few music videos by other artists during the late 1980s and early 1990s. But so far there's no absolute confirmation that's him in "Jealousy."

2. Is that Eva Mendes in "Se A Vida É"?

Similarly, several fans have tentatively identified American actress and "supermodel" Eva Mendes as appearing "pre-fame" in the "Se A Vida É" video. Again, there's a strong resemblance (the lovely dark-haired young woman who is seen for a moment adjusting her top), so it's a distinct possibility, but I've seen no confirmation one way or the other.

—and two notable "nonappearances":

  1. Geena Davis not appearing in "It's a Sin"

    A widespread Internet rumor, replicated on various sites, holds that this famous American actress (Tootsie, Beetlejuice, Thelma & Louise, A League of Their Own, etc.), appears in this video. The only female roles are three of the Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony, Lust, and Pride. But the actresses credited as portraying those three sins are, respectively, Naomi Gryn, Amanda Metro, and Paola Pieroni. In the audio commentary track of the PopArt DVD, however, Neil identifies "Pride" as Margi Clarke (see #3 above). So either Neil is mistaken or Clarke used "Paola Pieroni" as a pseudonym. If that's the case, is Geena Davis also using a pseudonym? Personally, I doubt it; "Gluttony" and "Lust" look nothing like her. Unless and until I see convincing evidence to the contrary, I firmly believe that Geena Davis is not in "It's a Sin."

  2. Tiffany not appearing in "Heart"

    The actress who portrays the bride in "Heart" admittedly bears a remarkable resemblance to the 1980s teen pop star Tiffany, thereby engendering a once-common rumor, but it's not her. Rather, her name is Daniella Coli.

A partial list of artists interviewed by Neil when he was with Smash Hits

The following are all that I'm currently aware of, although I'm sure there must have been others. If you know of any and can provide documentation for it (such as by citing the particular issue of Smash Hits in which the interview appears or providing some other evidence, such as an online reference), . Incidentally, this list has nothing to do with the many records that Neil reviewed for Smash Hits during his tenure there. That's fuel for yet another list somewhere down the road.

  • The Alarm
  • Marc Almond (of Soft Cell)
  • Bananarama
  • The Belle Stars
  • Marc Bolan
  • China Crisis
  • Depeche Mode
  • Dollar (David Van Day and Thereza Bazar)
  • Duran Duran
  • Genesis
  • Haircut One Hundred
  • Nick Heyward
  • Billy Idol
  • Kajagoogoo
  • Jonathan King
  • Kool and the Gang
  • Madness
  • Malcolm McLaren
  • Madonna
  • Marilyn (reportedly Neil's final Smash Hits interviewee)
  • Sting (when he was still with The Police)
  • Bonnie Tyler
  • Paul Weller (formerly of The Jam, having recently formed The Style Council)
  • Wham! (George Michael and Andrew Ridgely)
  • Pete Wylie (of Wah!)
  • Yazoo/Yaz (Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet)

At least 29 PSB songs that have been used in films and "non-musical" TV shows

This list doesn't include:

  • films or shows primarily concerning the Pet Shop Boys themselves, such as It Couldn't Happen Here, Pet Shop Boys: A Life in Pop, or the episode of The South Bank Show focusing on them;
  • live performances by the Boys appearing as guests, even on shows that aren't primarily known for music;
  • renditions in variety shows or music-related documentaries (both of which I would consider "musical" TV programs);
  • occurrences as "bumper music" (such as when a news show uses a brief segment of a song as a lead-in to or lead-out from a commercial break) or as easily overlooked "ambiance" or "background noise" (such as the song playing faintly on the radio during a scene); and (of course)
  • the Boys' own score for Battleship Potemkin.

1. West End Girls

Not just one but several occurrences, which isn't surprising considering it's the Boys' biggest hit:

  • Its first appearance was very early on—a Christmas Day 1985 episode of the British comedy Only Fools and Horses titled "To Hull and Back." Denzil is playing the song on his boom box while walking to work.
  • Another early use (April 1, 1986) was in "Sleep Talkin' Guy," a second-season episode of the lighthearted U.S. "romantic action show" Moonlighting.
  • Years later, it appeared in the November 18, 2002 episode of tlc, a short-lived U.K. "hospital comedy."
  • It played in an episode of The Simpsons ("Three Gays of the Condo") that originally broadcast on April 3, 2003. It's featured during a sequence in which Homer—temporarily living with a gay couple in the aftermath of a spat with Marge—tries on some new clothes while on a shopping spree with his new friends. (At least they had the good sense not to use "Shopping.")
  • It barely counts considering its extreme brevity, but a fragmentary segment of "West End Girls" can be heard in the April 23, 2006, episode (titled "Roger 'n Me") of another U.S. animated comedy, American Dad. A one-second snippet can be heard during a phone message instructing a character to to go to the "West End" of a shopping mall.

2. In the Night

The version of this track that appears on the Disco album served as the theme music for the long-running British fashion program The Clothes Show (1986-2000).

3. Left to My Own Devices

The popular U.K. television game show The Krypton Factor ran for almost two decades, from 1977 to 1995 (and reruns are still airing even now), challenging teams of contestants to compete in assorted challenges that tested their mental and physical abilities. The music that regularly played in the 1988 episodes during the scoring at the end of one of the rounds was the Pet Shop Boys' "Left To My Own Devices."

4. So Hard

Neil once referred to the fact that this song was used in an episode of the popular nineties U.S. nighttime soap Beverly Hills, 90210. It played during a party scene in the first-season episode titled "BYOB," which originally aired on January 10, 1991.

5. Can You Forgive Her?

Portions of this song, relatively new at the time, were heard during the third season (set in San Francisco) of MTV's pioneering reality show The Real World—more specifically in the episode titled "You Gotta Have Art," which first aired on July 21, 1994.

6. Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)

Surpassing "West End Girls" in frequency of use—almost certainly on account of its salient topicality—this song boasts the following occurrences:

  • It's featured in a scene set in (wouldn't you know it?) a gay dance club in an episode of the U.S. sitcom Living Single titled "Swing Out Sisters," which first aired on March 20, 1997. (To be fair, the producers probably chose that song not merely for the "gay connection" but also to serve as sly commentary on the surprise revelation of a heterosexual male character working at the club as a bartender, which he explains by the unusually large tips he gets there.)
  • It appears in the American TV drama Joan of Arcadia; in the episode titled "Wealth of Nations," which was originally broadcast on October 29, 2004, Joan and a friend were selling clothes to raise money while "Opportunities" played in the background.
  • In a particularly high-profile usage, "Opportunities" serves as the opening theme music of the U.S. "reality show" Beauty and the Geek, which premiered on June 1, 2005. (It has also served the same function for the Dutch version—as it almost certainly will for any other version that should appear.) The line "I've got the brains, you've got the looks" proved irresistible for this program, in which stereotypically brainy/nerdy guys are teamed with stereotypically attractive/dumb gals in a competition to see which pair can learn and benefit the most from each other and thereby win a big cash prize. "Let's make lots of money"—a perfect match!
  • It appears as background music to a montage depicting "yuppies" on cell phones in the fourth episode (titled "Revolution!") of the BBC 2 documentary Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain (focusing on the years 1979-1990), which first aired on June 12, 2007.
  • Maybe it's a stretch, but on the September 14, 2007 edition of the HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher, there was a discussion of Bill and Hillary Clinton's marriage, during which guest Drew Carey briefly sang the chorus ("I've got the brains, you've got the looks …").
  • Getting back to the Boys' own version, "Opportunities" also plays in the November 18, 2007 episode of The Simpsons, titled "Husbands and Knives," during a montage of Marge appearing on magazine covers in the wake of her success with her own women's fitness center.
  • The February 8, 2008 episode of the U.S. crime drama Psych includes a portion of the song during a segment in which several characters are walking through an alley toward their waiting limousine.
  • The February 20, 2008 edition of the U.S. morning news institution Today (I say "institution" because it was the first U.S. nationally broadcast news show and has been a fixture on NBC for more than fifty years now) played this song during a story about celebrity baby pictures being sold to magazine.
  • On March 9, 2008, BBC Four first aired a documentary titled The Rise and Fall of the Ad Man, which covered the British advertising industry during the 1970s and '80s. "Opportunities" could be heard during a sequence focusing on the firm of Saatchi & Saatchi, which spent much of the early eighties expanding rapidly by buying out competitors.

7. Single

Reportedly plays during a bar scene—a singles bar, no doubt—focusing on the character Anna in a Series 2 episode of the popular mid-1990s BBC2 TV show This Life, which concerned a group of young solicitors and barristers (aka "lawyers" and "attorneys" in the States) sharing a house in London. I'm not sure of the precise episode or the original air date, but it would have been sometime from March to August 1997.

8. How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?

Plays over the closing credits of the "Fair Enough" episode of the U.S. "teen angst" cartoon Daria. This episode first aired on July 13, 1998.

9. Se A Vida É (That's the Way Life Is)

In what was likely an intentionally ironic act of foreshadowing, this song was playing in the background just before an unforgettable moment in the December 31, 1998 episoode of the popular, long-running U.K. soap opera Eastenders—unforgettable because it involved the sudden, unexpected death of one of the show's most popular characters, Tiffany Mitchell (portrayed by Martine McCutcheon), struck and killed by an automobile outside the Queen Vic Pub. (As testament to its status, Eastenders fans voted this the single episode they most wanted to watch again, resulting in its being reshown on the show's 15th anniversary in February 2000.)

10. Too Many People

Again playing over Daria's closing credits, this time the episode titled "Lane Miserables," which was originally broadcast on July 14, 1999. The producers of Daria must have liked the Pet Shop Boys.

11. I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing

Not the Boys' original version but a cover by Robbie Williams, which plays in an episode of Friends ("The One with the Routine") that originally aired on December 16, 1999. It appears during a dance sequence in which Joey pursues his current love interest, Janine. Robbie's version also appears on the Friends Again soundtrack album as well as on his 1998 album Let Me Entertain You.

12. Shopping

Occurs in an episode of the U.S. show Lizzie McGuire titled "Last Year's Model," first broadcast on September 28, 2001. In deeply clichéd (and misguided) fashion, it plays while Matt is—what else?—shopping. (Apparently it's extremely popular "bumper music" on home shopping shows. No further comment needed.) Much more intelligently, it's also used during a sequence about the selling off of publicly owned companies in the aforementioned fourth episode of the BBC 2 documentary Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain, which first aired on June 12, 2007.

13. Break 4 Love

This PSB/Peter Rauhofer collaboration plays a prominent role in the tense, overlapping closing scenes (continuing into the closing credits) of Episode 209 of the U.S. version of Queer As Folk, which first aired on March 10, 2002.

14. Music for Boys

Considering the relative obscurity of the song, this is one of the more surprising PSB tracks to be used on a TV show. It can be heard in "The Beast of Royston Valley," the fourth episode (first airing on February 1, 1999) of the BBC comedy series The League of Gentlemen, in which it serves as background music during a segment about a school theatre production on the subject of homosexuality.

15. A Different Point of View

This song was used during the fourth episode (originally airing October 8, 1995) of the relatively short-lived U.S. TV drama Central Park West.

16. Always on My Mind

The Pet Shop Boys' hit version of this song could be heard during the opening scenes of the third-season premier episode of the U.S. crime drama Cold Case, originally broadcast on September 25, 2005. It was also used by the BBC on April 28, 2007 in a special titled The Return of 'Allo 'Allo featuring the original cast of that popular 1980s sitcom. A montage of clips focusing on the character of Lt. Gruber—the gay character (wouldn't you know?) played by Guy Siner—was accompanied by this track. And it featured prominently in a scene set in a gay dance club in the 2007 Adam Sandler comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.

17. Suburbia

First airing on May 28, 2005, the second-season "Witches" episode of the British crime drama Murder in Suburbia featured a scene in which a school choir is singing this PSB classic.

18. It Always Comes as a Surprise

On January 2, 2007, BBC2 broadcast This Life + 10, a one-off sequel to This Life (described above in this list's entry for "Single"). This song plays in the background during a scene in which the gay character, Warren, is having a lengthy conversation—which soon turns into a political argument—with several of his heterosexual friends.

19. One More Chance

This song plays during an illusion performed by the famous magician David Copperfield in his March 3, 1989 U.S. (CBS) television special The Magic of David Copperfield XI: The Explosive Encounter.

20. "Comrades!"

Used several times in the fourth episode (titled "Revolution!" and originally broadcast June 12, 2007) of the BBC 2 documentary Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain, most notably during a sequence concerning Margaret Thatcher's fall from power largely as a result of the poll tax controversy. (The site visitor who was kind enough to tell me about this documentary cites the intense irony of the use of this song—the opening track from the PSB score to a film classic associated with Russia's communist revolution—in an program that deals largely with the victory of capitalism over trade unions in Thatcherite Britain.)

21. It's a Sin

Considering that it's one of the three or four most popular PSB songs, it's astounding that (as far as I know) it took until the new millennium for this song to be used in a substantial manner in a film or non-musical TV show: it's one of two PSB songs appearing in the 2005 Italian film Melissa P. Also, the July 4, 2007 episode of the hit show Big Brother (U.K. edition) featured "It's a Sin" being played in its entirety during the housemates' "Sinful Party." The cast seemed to be having a great time dancing to it. Also, on the March 13, 2008 edition of the BBC1 political news show This Week, they used "It's a Sin" during a segment about the Vatican having recently announced a list of "modern sins," including such things as damaging the environment, experimenting on humans, and excessive wealth.

22. Being Boring

This is the other Pet Shop Boys song used in the 2005 erotic Italian film drama Melissa P.

23. It Coudn't Happen Here

Hurricanes are by no means unheard of in Britain, but they're certainly a rarity. So it's perhaps not surprising that in 1997, when the BBC ran The Great Storm—a tenth-anniversary documentary on what was technically not a hurricane but a hurricane-like system that struck southern England and northern France on October 15-16, 1987, doing massive damage and claiming at least 19 lives—they included this song at one point as background music.

24. I'm with Stupid

The TV movie Clapham Junction, which first aired on U.K. Channel 4 on July 22, 2007 as one of a series of special programs in its 40 Years Out series (commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexual acts in Britain), includes a disturbing segment that makes use of this song. One of the main characters, portrayed by Paul Nicholls, is picked up by a guy at a London gay club and goes back to his apartment. His host puts on some music and they start talking. The man starts to make a pass at Nicholls's character, who says he that likes the track playing ("I'm with Stupid") and asks him to turn it up. As he does so, Nicholls approaches from behind and strikes him with a glass ashtray. The dazed, bloodied man pleads with Nicholls, asking why he did that, to which Nicholls replies, "'Cause I hate the fucking Pet Shop Boys!" (or words to that effect; I've read differing reports). He then proceeds to beat the guy up, forces the contents of the ashtray down his throat, and urinates on him. Not a pretty scene. Neil and Chris were absolutely livid when they learned that their music had been used in this way—and who can blame them? After they made their intense displeasure clear to the appropriate authorities, both "I'm with Stupid" and the reference to the Pet Shop Boys themselves were deleted from subsequent reruns of the program.

25. Birthday Boy

The August 26, 2007 episode of the ongoing BBC documentary project Child of Our Time, which follows the lives of 25 children from all over the United Kingdom born in the year 2000, included a brief portion of this song.

26. Integral

The same episode of Child of Our Time noted just above for "Birthday Boy" featured this PSB track as well, playing during a segment in which children were asked whether various "cartoon stereotypes" (such as person with green hair, a very slow runner, and so on) should be included or excluded from the group.

27. I Want a Dog

The February 11, 2008 broadcast of the NBC morning news show Today included a bit of the Introspective mix of this song during a report on employers reading their employees' email. (It obviously wasn't chosen for its theme but probably for its sound.) Considering that less than two weeks later the same program used "Opportunities" (see above), it makes you suspect that someone who makes decisions about their on-air music must be a PSB fan.

28. I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More

Part of this song plays near the conclusion of the 1999 Italian film comedy Vacanze Di Natale 2000.

29. Flamboyant

The June 9, 2008 episode of the BBC2 show Mary Queen of Shops—a sort of "fashion store makeover" program starring fashionista Mary Portas—included this song. I haven't seen the show myself, but I imagine it was incredibly appropriate.

Also worth considering—

Maybe it doesn't really count, but a modified version of the Pet Shop Boys' "Absolutely Fabulous" video was featured in an "Ab Fab" TV special titled Absolutely Fabulous Moments, which was originally broadcast on July 24, 1994. (I'm not sure on which network it first ran, although I believe it has been shown on both BBC America and Comedy Central.)

I also distinctly remember a Pet Shop Boys song being played over the closing credits of an episode of the U.S. public television "gay features" show In the Life sometime around 2003-2004, give or take a year. But, for the life of me, I can't remember which song it was or find any information as to when precisely it aired. (Something tells me that it may have been "New York City Boy," but I wouldn't bet the mortgage on it.)

Finally, falling into a somewhat more obscure category is the fact that "Paninaro" was used for several years as the theme music of a Portuguese educational television program titled Universidade Aberta (Open University). Since he didn't own a copy of the recording at the time, one of my site visitors in Portugal used to get out of bed early every Saturday morning just to hear it! Now that's dedication!

3 feature films that mention the Pet Shop Boys by name

This brief list deals only with non-documentary feature films created for theatrical release (as opposed to films for television).

1. Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998)

This mildly comic film's lovelorn title character, portrayed by Sean Hayes (who would shortly go on to much greater fame in the role of Jack on TV's Will & Grace) is speculatively described in terms of his musical tastes as being a "Pet Shop Boys kind of guy"—shorthand, as if any were needed, for his being gay.

2. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

A good-natured "racecar comedy," this movie includes a scene in a racing-themed bar in which one of the characters is wondering about some of the selections offered in the jukebox. Among them are Pet Shop Boys and Seal, which the bartender says are there "for profiiling purposes." The implication is that only gay men would pick music by the Pet Shop Boys—or at least that's what the bartender thinks. It's difficult to say what's being satirized more: PSB fandom or the attitudes of racing-themed bar habitués. I'm still trying to figure out just whom Seal is supposed to help them profile.

3. The Bubble (2007)

This somewhat tragic tale focuses on the love between two gay men—which isn't unusual in itself except that one is Israeli and the other Palestinian. When Noam, one of the two central characters, is asked whom he fantasized about when he was 15 years old, he cites River Phoenix, Morrissey, and "Chris Lowe from the Pet Shop Boys."

6 perhaps surprising influences on the Pet Shop Boys

1. "California Love" by 2 Pac

This major rap hit was released while Chris and Neil were in the late stages of recording Bilingual. They've stated that it influenced the sound and style of the track "Electricity."

2. Coal Miner's Daughter

Neil saw this 1980 film biography of country music star Loretta Lynn shortly before he began to write the song "Betrayed." Hence he had originally envisioned it recorded in a country-western style, but it obviously came out quite differently in the final wash.

3. "Legs" and "Sharp-Dressed Man" by ZZ Top

Who would have thought that this blues-based, hard-rockin' trio would prove an influence on the Pet Shop Boys? Yet Neil has confessed that these two techno-boogie classics, in which the self-described "little band from Texas" successfully experimented with a synthesized rhythm track punctuated with guitar counterpoint, greatly influenced their rendition of "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)."

4. Sonic the Hedgehog and other video games

Chris has noted this influence on the overall sound and mood of the Very album—a fact given more or less direct attribution in the song "Young Offender."

5. Roger Scruton

In his 1998 possibly mistitled book An Intelligent Person's Guide to Modern Culture, this British philosopher/academician ignorantly stated:

Sometimes, as with the Spice Girls or the Pet Shop Boys, serious doubts arise as to whether the performers made more than a minimal contribution to the recording, which owes its trade mark to subsequent sound engineering, designed precisely to make it unrepeatable.

The Boys promptly sued him for libel. Within a few months they had won their case, with Scruton agreeing to pay them reported damages of £10,000 along with their court costs. Nevertheless, it seems highly likely that Scruton's statement influenced Chris and Neil to present themselves more obviously than ever before as musicians for their album Release and its accompanying tour. That is, if Scruton could think such a blatantly untrue thing about them, then others could as well—so why not set about demonstrating just how very wrong they are?

6. Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady

In the book Pet Shop Boys, Literally, Neil tells author Chris Heath that his occasional "speaking-singing" style (as heard in such songs as "West End Girls" and "Opportunities," among others) was influenced by the late, great British actor Rex Harrison's performance as Professor Henry Higgins in the musical My Fair Lady. Harrison was by no means a great singer, but the musical's songwriting team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe knew that he was nevertheless perfect for the part, so they wrote "his" songs to accommodate a special style of blended speaking and singing that they worked with him in developing. At one time Neil lacked confidence in his own singing, so in many of their songs (particularly the early ones) he adopted a similar "speaking-singing" style.

8 perhaps surprising influences by the Pet Shop Boys on others

It's not at all surprising that the Pet Shop Boys have influenced many other artists. In addition to a host of synthpop bands, they have provided varying degrees of inspiration to such artists as Robbie Williams (who once referred to "Nervously" as his all-time favorite song), Madonna, George Michael, the Magnetic Fields, St. Etienne, and Belle & Sebastian. But I'm more interested in the cases that really do surprise me, such as the following.

1. Guns n' Roses' "November Rain"

In what is probably the most surprising influence of the Pet Shop Boys on another artist, Axl Rose—lead singer of this notorious hard-rock group of the late eighties and early nineties—is an avowed PSB fan who has affirmed that his band's big 1991 hit "November Rain" (from the album Use Your Illusion I) was influenced by the Boys' "My October Symphony" and "Being Boring."

2. Post-Joshua Tree U2

As reluctant as many U2 fans are to admit it, there can be little doubt that Bono and company were somewhat perversely inspired by the double-edged deflation/inflation they received at the hands of the Pet Shop Boys, whose 1991 treatment of their "Where the Streets Have No Name" both deconstructed the burgeoning U2 mythology and emphasized its dance-rock potential. On their subsequent albums Achtung Baby and especially Zooropa and Pop, U2 set about deconstructing themselves and delving more overtly into dance rock.

3. The Bee Gees' "Fallen Angel"

While the Pet Shop Boys have acknowledged the Bee Gees' influence on them, Maurice and Robin Gibb readily acknowledged the "return influence" of PSB on this song from their 1993 album Size Isn't Everything. As Maurice stated simply, "I like the Pet Shop Boys," to which Robin added, "Although they are traditional dance grooves, there's something about Pet Shop Boys that American groups don't use in their grooves." Groovy!

4. Keane

One might think that a hot young "quasi-alternative" band like Keane (whose 2004 debut album Hopes and Fears, incidentally, is terrific) would eschew comparative geezers like the Pet Shop Boys—who are quite literally old enough to be their fathers. On the contrary! "We grew up listening to great eighties bands like the Pet Shop Boys," drummer Richard Hughes told interviewer Emma Swann, specifically citing our heroes as among their favorite recording acts and a major source of inspiration. "I guess it's classic songwriting that is the main influence…." In fact, in a separate interview he designated PSB as their "most favorite" band. Still elsewhere Hughes has stated how excited he is by each new PSB single release, noting that he finds their b-sides "superb." And Hughes isn't the only fan in the band. Keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley feels strongly enough about it to have appeared in the documentary Pet Shop Boys: A Life in Pop discussing his great appreciation for them and their music.

5. Coldplay

Lead singer Chris Martin has said that when he was growing up he wanted to be "a cross between Bono and Neil Tennant." I can't quite visualize that, but I can hear it in their music.

6. The Killers

Among younger bands, it's not just the British on whom the Boys have left their mark. As noted in the October 12, 2004 issue of The Advocate, singer-keyboardist Brandon Flowers of the young American band the Killers cites both Morrissey and the Pet Shop Boys as particular influences. He also appears as a commentator in Pet Shop Boys: A Life in Pop. And it's not just Flowers; guitarist David Kueing placed "Home and Dry" in his iTunes playlist. I wouldn't have thought it of a band who call themselves the Killers. Nor would I have expected it in light of the apparent fact that Flowers is a practicing Mormon. Just goes to show how risky it is to ascribe to stereotypes.

7. Joy Electric

Speaking of stereotypes—in one sense, it's hardly surprising that the Pet Shop Boys are an influence on the one-man synthpop act Joy Electric, aka Ronnie Martin, formerly of the duo Dance House Children. But considering that Joy Electric makes overtly Christian music, the forthrightness with which Ronnie speaks of the Boys' influence on him may indeed be surprising. (Of course, just because an artist is outspokenly Christian certainly doesn't mean he or she is automatically a right-wing fundamentalist.) On his online forum he has cited them—along with New Order, the Smiths, After the Fire, Kraftwerk, and "old Christian/Gospel bands"—as among his primary influences. To quote him speaking specifically of the Pet Shop Boys on November 3, 2005:

I think they've been amazingly consistent over the years…. The early albums were obviously classics, but you'd be hard pressed not to find some absolutely great songwriting on Very and Nightlife. In my opinion, albums like Bilingual and Release showcased their weakest material overall, but even those albums have unarguable gems on them, like "Red Letter Day," for instance, off of Bilingual…. I bought PopArt on import when it came out and "Flamboyant" proves that they know how to write a perfect, no frills pop single when they feel like it.

He has also cited Neil Tennant as one of his favorite vocalists. To sum it up, he writes, "I've always been a massive Pet Shop Boys fan."

8. Bollywood

Several scores from Indian film industry (aka "Bollywood") betray profound PSB influences. For instance, the soundtrack of the 1989 Indian film Love Love Love, written by veteran Bollywood composer Bappi Lahiri, includes two songs, "We Are in Love" and "Hum to Hain Dil Ke Diwane," with musical passages essentially lifted outright from "It's a Sin." (One might say that, although the lyrics and primary melodies of those songs are original, they're more or less built around "re-recorded samples" of instrumental themes from that particular PSB song.) Another 1989 Indian film, Tridev, boasts an opening theme (composed by brothers Kalyanji Virji Shah and Anandji Virji Shah, working under the collective name Kalyanji Anandji) that borrows rhythmically and stylistically from the Boys' "One More Chance." And the 1992 film Vishwatma features a song titled "Saat Samundar," written by Viju Shah (who happens to be the son of the aforementioned Kalyanji Virji Shah), with an opening that bears a striking similarity to "Heart." It's interesting that all three of these PSB songs are from the same album, 1987's Actually. I wonder whether that album was especially popular in India.

Real people mentioned by name or title in PSB lyrics

The Pet Shop Boys mention a surprisingly large number of real people by name or title in their lyrics. These people are listed in alphabetical order below, followed in parentheses by the name of the song in which they're mentioned. In many cases only their first or last names or titles are mentioned in the song, but I've included their full names here.

Note that this list doesn't include people who are merely alluded to but whose names aren't mentioned. For example, I don't include Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, both of whom are alluded to but not named in "Being Boring." If I were to include such allusions, this list would surely be more than twice as long. I've also left out fictional characters, such as Don Juan and the Phantom of the Opera.

Real places mentioned by name in PSB songs

Much like the preceding list, this list includes only places that are actually mentioned by name in PSB songs. Those many places merely alluded to without their names being mentioned aren't included here. I also don't include celestial bodies: the sun, the moon, planets, stars, etc.

Neil's 12 most memorable lyrical personae

During the Pet Shop Boys' long career, Neil has assumed literally dozens of different lyrical personae—in essence, "characters"—in their songs. Some are particularly memorable for their cleverness, vividness, and/or poignancy. The following twelve are, at least in my opinion, his greatest, presented in chronological order:

1. The crass aspiring hitmaker in "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)"

A character so effectively drawn that many listeners failed—and still fail—to grasp the irony and to distinguish between the singer and the song.

2. The kept woman (or rent boy, depending on your perspective) in "Rent"

In some ways an absolutely shocking narrative, one that invites endless speculation, yet piquant enough to make this one of the Pet Shop Boys' most covered songs.

3. Himself in "Being Boring"

It's always risky to identify a lyrical persona as truly being the singer-songwriter himself, but in this case there's no doubt about it. And it's quite possibly the Pet Shop Boys' single most touching, unforgettable lyric.

4. The bewildered Russian composer in "My October Symphony"

How would it feel if your world were suddenly to change so radically that everything you've ever believed and done is called into question? It's not a situation in which we'd like to find ourselves, but Neil forces us to confront it.

5. The AIDS-haunted surviving partner in "Dreaming of the Queen"

The Boys do a magnificent job of conveying the horror of waking up from a merely unpleasant dream to an utter nightmare. Is there a more anguished line in the entire PSB canon than "There are no more lovers left alive"?

6. The glib, hapless Euro-businessman in "Single"

One of the Pet Shop Boys' greatest comic creations, yet not without a poignant edge.

7. The bitter lip-synching drag queen in "Electricity"

Another shocker, almost painful to listen to. But you can still hear the character's stubborn, almost begrudgingly admirable pride beneath the unpleasant exterior.

8. The AWOL Russian soldier longing for a better life in "London"

As great a lyric as it is, one line pretty much sums it up: "I want to live before I die."

9. The naive (but not too naive) teenage fan in "The Night I Fell in Love"

An especially clever lyrical persona that enables the Pet Shop Boys to make multi-layered commentary about homophobia—both actual and alleged—in the music of Eminem, rap in general, and, even more generally, popular culture overall.

10. The rejected lover in "I Made My Excuses and Left"

Drawing inspiration from the story of Cynthia Lennon discovering her husband John's love for Yoko, Neil delivers one of his most heartbreaking narratives (given no small assist by Chris's equally heartbreaking melody), particularly in the last verse's distant retrospection.

11. Tony Blair—or not—in "I'm with Stupid"

An ingeniously ambiguous persona, which can be interpreted either as an ordinary guy rationalizing his romantic relationship with an apparent dim bulb or as U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair talking about his international political relationship with U.S. President George W. Bush. (Honorable mention goes to "I Get Along," which also features a Tony Blair-inspired narrator.)

12. The sardonic Victorian graverobber in "The Resurrectionist"

Neil's protagonist exhibits every bit of the macabre graveyard humor that we would expect from such a character.

7 pop songs mentioned by title in the lyrics of PSB songs

1. "Tainted Love" by Gloria Jones (and later by Soft Cell)

2. "Love Is Strange" by Mickey & Sylvia (and later by Peaches & Herb)

These two classics were mentioned as poignant signifiers of mood (T.S. Eliot might have called them "objective correlatives") in "I Want to Wake Up."

3. "Please Please Me" by the Beatles

Mentioned for its ironic historical context in "Nothing Has Been Proved."

4. "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" from Evita (specifically as sung by Madonna)

5. "Into the Groove" by Madonna

These two are mentioned as aesthetic contrasts (the former as "bad Madonna" as opposed to the latter as "good Madonna") in the officially unreleased song "Tall Thin Men."

6. "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"

This romantic standard, written way back in 1915, has been performed by numerous artists. Its biggest hit rendition was in 1940 by the Glenn Miller Band; in more recent times it has been covered by the Manhattan Transfer (1981), among others. It's mentioned as a bit of "period setting" in the Pet Shop Boys' "Bright Young Things."

7. "Lay Lady Lay" by Bob Dylan

Dylan's 1969 classic, one of his biggest hit singles, is mentioned in the Pet Shop Boys' "Girls Don't Cry" as a song favored by its female protagonist—chosen probably because it underscores her sexual orientation.

7 PSB songs based on classical compositions (and a few others with "classical connections")

1. Delusions of Grandeur

The chord progression is derived from the first movement Ludwig van Beethoven's 1802 work Piano Sonata Opus 27 No. 2, better known as the Moonlight Sonata. In fact, the Boys' pre-lyric working title for the track was "Moonlight."

2. Go West

Courtesy of the Village People, the chord progression and melody of this song are derived from the well-known Canon in D by the 17th-century German composer Johann Pachelbel.

3. Happiness Is an Option

The music playing behind the spoken verses is from Russian composer Sergey Rachmaninoff's 1915 work Vocalise.

4. Jack the Lad

Neil describes the opening piano motif as "a pastiche of Erik Satie," and indeed that as well as the song's overall chord progression are highly reminiscent of Gymnopedie Number 1—one of the Trois Gymnopedies written in 1887 by French composer Satie. In addition, the melody bears a passing similarity to that work, but closer comparison reveals that the melodies are not at all the same.

5. A Red Letter Day

The chord structure comes from the choral "Ode to Joy" in the fourth movement of Beethoven's Symphony Number 9 in D Minor (1824).

6. Liberation

This one stretches it, but Neil has noted that the first two notes of this song—"just the first two notes"—were taken from the theme for Friar Lawrence in the ballet Romeo and Juliet by the twentieth-century Ukrainian/Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. Neil was listening to it while taking a bath at home, when those two notes "triggered" in his mind the melody for "Liberation." This caused him to leap from the tub and rush downstairs to his piano. Must've been an interesting scene.

7. Time on My Hands

Neil has said that the strings heard in the background of this track are based on Gustav Mahler—as he put it, "a few bars from the adagio of one of his symphonies." Although Neil stated that he's unsure which one because he chose it "at random," one of my site visitors has positively identified it as Mahler's Fifth Symphony, familiar to many as the evocative music used extensively in the 1971 film Death in Venice starring Dirk Bogarde.

… and a few others that aren't, though they have distinct "classical connections"

My October Symphony

Although it opens with a "choral shout" of the Russian word for "October" sampled from a recording of Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 2, and it boasts a string coda performed by the Balenescu String Quartet that's written "vaguely in the style of Shostakovich," the song "My October Symphony" doesn't seem to be based on any particular classical composition.

Miserablism

This track contains a brief sample from Shostakovich’s Twelfth Symphony during the middle instrumental break. As Neil puts it—probably with tongue in cheek—he was in his "Shostakovich phase."

Indefinite Leave to Remain

Neil has said that this song was based at least partly on "a Bach chord change" that Chris modified slightly. The introductory brass chorale serves to heighten its rather "hymnal" feel.

This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave

As I note in my list of PSB songs with "Russian connections," this track contains a very brief snippet taken from composer Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 2.

31 PSB "cover songs" and who first recorded them

For such prolific songwriters, Neil and Chris have certainly recorded and performed their share of "covers"—that is, songs originally recorded by other artists. Here's a complete list of such songs that the Pet Shop Boys are known so far to have recorded or otherwise performed, along with the names of the songwriters and the original artists. I don't include, however, other artists' songs that have merely been interpolated into PSB originals, such as Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" (interpolated into "Between Two Islands") and KC and the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way (I Like It)" (interpolated into "Party Song"), nor do I include songs that the Pet Shop Boys have merely sampled, such as Barry White's "You're My First, My Last, My Everything" (sampled in "Positive Role Model").

1. Always on My Mind (Wayne Carson Thompson*/Mark James/Johnny Christopher)

Originally recorded by Brenda Lee in 1972, but made more famous by Elvis Presley later that same year.

*Note: "Wayne Carson Thompson" wrote songs under two different names: Wayne Carson and Wayne Thompson. You will therefore find the songwriters of "Always on My Mind" sometimes listed as "Thompson/James/Christopher" and at other times as "Carson/James/Christopher." It's all the same.

2. Believe (Elton John/Bernie Taupin)

Originally recorded by Elton John in 1994 (released in early 1995). The Boys performed this with Elton John as part of a medley with "Song for Guy" on a U.K. television show; so far it has not been officially released.

3. Break 4 Love (Vaughan Mason)

Originally recorded by Raze in 1988.

4. Climb Every Mountain (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein III)

From the 1959 musical The Sound of Music, in which it was originally sung by Patricia Neway. Chris and Neil performed this song live at the 1997 Stonewall Concert, but haven't yet released it officially.

5. Do Anything You Wanna Do (Graeme Douglas/Ed Hollis)

A 1977 U.K. hit for Eddie and the Hotrods. The Boys performed this song at some of the dates on their 2002 "Uni" tour, but haven't yet released it officially.

6. Girls and Boys (Damon Albarn/Graham Coxon/Alex James/Dave Rowntree)

Originally a 1994 hit for the band Blur and remixed for them by the Pet Shop Boys, who subsequently performed it live and released one such live performance as a bonus track on their "Paninaro '95" single.

7. Go West (Henri Belolo/Jacques Morales/Victor Willis)

Originally recorded by the Village People in 1979.

8. Hallo Spaceboy (David Bowie/Brian Eno)

Originally recorded by David Bowe in 1996, the single version of which was remixed by the Pet Shop Boys. They later performed it live during their "Somewhere" shows.

9. Homosexuality (Morey Goldstein/Ken Kessie)

Originally recorded in 1985 by Modern Rocketry. Neil and Chris performed this song live at the 2000 "Equality Rocks" concert in Washington, D.C. but haven't yet released it officially.

10. I Can't Take My Eyes Off You (Bob Gaudio/Bob Crewe)

Originally recorded in 1967 by Frankie Valli, whose version was a U.S. hit. Andy Williams shortly afterward recorded the U.K. hit version. The Boys of course blended it into their cover of "Where the Streets Have No Name." Oddly, it was they who added "I" to the title; the song's original and "official" title is simply "Can't Take My Eyes Off You."

11. I Will Survive (Dino Fekaris/Freddie Perren)

Originally recorded in 1978 by Gloria Gaynor. On many occasions the Boys have performed this song as a medley with their own "It's a Sin."

12. If Love Were All (Noël Coward)

From the 1929 musical Bitter Sweet, in which it was originally sung by Ivy St. Helier.

13. It's Alright (Sterling Void/Paris Brightledge/Marshall Jefferson)

Originally recorded in 1988 by Sterling Void.

14. It's Not Unusual (Gordon Mills/Les Reed)

Originally recorded by Tom Jones in 1965. Chris and Neil performed it live at the 1997 Stonewall Concert, but haven't yet released it officially.

16. Je T'Aime … Moi Non Plus (Serge Gainsbourg)

Originally recorded in 1967 by Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot, but that version remained unreleased for many years. The first actual release was in 1969, a recording by Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin.

17. Losing My Mind (Stephen Sondheim)

From the 1971 musical Follies, in which it was originally sung by Dorothy Collins.

18. Mr. Vain (Nosie Katzmann/Steven Levis)

Originally recorded in 1993 by Culture Beat. The Boys performed it live as part of a medley with their song "One in a Million" during their DiscoVery shows.

19. My Girl (Mike Barson)

Originally recorded in 1979 by Madness and a major U.K. hit for them early the following year. The Pet Shop Boys performed their rendition with two members of Madness (Suggs and Chas) at a May 2, 2008 benefit at London's Heaven nightclub in memory of their mutual friend Dainton Connell, who died in an automobile accident the previous year. Shortly afterward, Chris and Neil made their demo version available for listening on their official website.

20. Numb (Diane Warren)

Although Chris and Neil didn't write this song, I'll concede that it might not really be a "cover" since the Pet Shop Boys did record the first officially released version. Diane Warren's unreleased demo, however, made the rounds on the Internet well before the PSB version became public, so from that perspective it makes the list.

21. Philadelphia (Neil Young)

Originally recorded by Neil Young for the 1994 film of the same name. Neil and Chris performed it live on U.K. television and in some of their 2002 concerts. So far they haven't released it officially, although Neil has intimated that they will eventually.

22. Rhythm of the Night (Francesco Bontempi/Peter Glenyster/Michael Gaffey/Annerley Gordon/Giorgio Spagna)

Originally recorded by Corona in 1994. The Boys performed this song live during the DiscoVery tour as part of a medley with their own "Left to My Own Devices."

23. Sail Away (Noël Coward)

From the 1950 musical Ace of Clubs, in which it was originally sung by Pat Kirkwood.

24. Sixteen Going On Seventeen (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein III)

From the 1959 musical The Sound of Music, in which it was originally sung by Brian Davies. Chris and Neil performed it live in 1997 at the Royal Albert Hall, but haven't yet released it officially.

25. So Long, Farewell (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein III)

Yet another song from The Sound of Music, in which it was performed by the cast members portraying the Von Trapp Family Singers. (This is the third song from The Sound of Music recorded by the Boys. Do you get the impression that they're rather fond of this particular musical?) Recorded by Neil and Chris for U.K. radio's The Simon Bates Show, but officially unreleased.

26. Somewhere (Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim)

From the 1957 musical West Side Story, in which it was originally sung by Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence.

27. Song for Guy (Elton John)

Originally recorded by Elton John in 1978. The Boys performed it with Elton in medley with "Believe" on U.K. television, but they haven't released it officially.

28. Try It (I'm in Love with a Married Man) (Bobby Orlando)

Originally recorded in 1983 by one of Bobby O's "girl groups," Oh Romeo.

29. We're the Pet Shop Boys (Howard Robot)

In an unexpected and frankly fascinating move, Neil and Chris covered this tribute to them written and first recorded in 2002 by My Robot Friend (aka Howard Robot).

30. What Keeps Mankind Alive? (Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill)

From the 1928 musical The Threepenny Opera, in which it was originally sung by Lotte Lenya.

31. Where the Streets Have No Name (Paul Hewson/Dave Evans/Larry Mullen/Adam Clayton)

Originally recorded in 1986 by U2 (released in 1987).

8 songs written by PSB that were inspired by AIDS (plus 3 more debatable interpretations)

1. Hit Music

"But it's really all about AIDS, this song, though I sort of hid it at the same time," says Neil in the booklet accompanying the 2001 reissue of Actually. "It's about how sex had gone out of the entire nightclubbing ethos because of AIDS."

2. It Couldn't Happen Here

Neil again from the Actually reissue booklet: "The lyric is about this friend of mine who was diagnosed with AIDS.… [We] were discussing AIDS, and how people said it wasn't going to develop in England like it had in America."

3. Your Funny Uncle

"The words are about one of my best friends who died of AIDS," states Neil in the Introspective reissue booklet. "This is a description of his funeral. All the details are true."

4. Being Boring

"All the people I was kissing—some are here and some are missing…." All but unmistakeable from the beginning. Neil has noted that this song emerged from his memories of a party thrown back in 1972 by the same friend whose funeral nearly twenty years later inspired "Your Funny Uncle."

5. Dreaming of the Queen

Another one recognized for what it was from the start. "The idea of the song," says Neil in the 2001 Very reissue booklet, "is that the person singing it has got AIDS."

6. Postscript

Neither Neil nor Chris will discuss this song at any length. "It's personal," Chris has said. But it's generally acknowledged that he wrote this brief "hidden" song at the end of Very in honor of his friend Peter Andreas, who died of AIDS not long after the album's release.

7. Discoteca

Although it didn't start out that way, Neil notes (in the 2001 Bilingual reissue booklet) that this song evolved into the story of "someone dealing with HIV or AIDS.… How do you deal with something going so wrong?"

8. The Survivors

Even before Bilingual was released, the Boys had described this song as a response of sorts to the recurring rumors that one or both of them were HIV-positive or had AIDS. Certainly it's about surviving more than just AIDS, but that's just as certainly part of it.

… plus 3 more debatable interpretations:

A Man Could Get Arrested

Although Neil has asserted that this song's lyric is "heterosexual," some listeners believe that the sense of sexual frustration that it so clearly expresses may have been inspired at least in part by the AIDS crisis. And, to be sure, gay men aren't the only ones who can contract the disease. In this context, the line "You want to see a doctor before our love is tested" is particularly trenchant.

Domino Dancing

The Boys don't mention any connection of this song to AIDS in the 2001 Introspective reissue booklet, yet the "watch them all fall down" references have so often been linked to AIDS by various commentators that, rightly or wrongly, it seems an indisputable part of PSB lore by now.

Only the Wind

Neil maintains that it's about domestic violence, and it is their song, so from that perspective that is what it's about. But art—or at least good art—must be more than what the artist says it is. Much of the greatness of great art lies in its ability to mean different things to different people. And to me it sounds very much like this song is also about AIDS. Take it for what it's worth.

31 PSB songs with literary references

The Pet Shop Boys are an uncommonly "literary" group. So far I've found (or been alerted to) the following, but I'd be willing to bet there are plenty more. I'll add them as they come to my attention.

1. Being Boring

The title and spirit of this song were inspired by a line from a 1922 article written by Zelda Fitzgerald (wife of the great American author F. Scott Fitzgerald), "… she refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn't boring."

2. Betrayed

The lines "And still you need to justify yourself to others but not me with that more-in-sorrow-than-anger routine" echo the words of Horatio in Shakespeare's Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 2) when he describes the ghost as having "A countenance more in sorrow than in anger."

3. Bright Young Things

This song was written for (but, as it turns out, wasn't actually used in) the 2003 film of the same name, which itself is loosely based on the Evelyn Waugh 1930 novel Vile Bodies. The title phrase does appear repeatedly in the novel, but otherwise the lyrics have little or nothing to do with the book. So the "literary reference" here is tenuous at best. (Thanks to my frequent site contributor Jeffrey Durst—a fan of Waugh as well as of the Pet Shop Boys—for confirming the "tenuousness" of this connection.)

4. Can You Forgive Her?

The title is borrowed from an 1864 novel by the British author Anthony Trollope.

5. Casanova in Hell

Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) wrote his famous (and infamous) Memoirs in his old age, as described by the Pet Shop Boys in this song, though they almost certainly take some liberties with the details. The song itself, however, was more immediately inspired by another literary work, the short 2005 novel Casanova's Homecoming by the Viennese writer Arthur Schnitzler.

6. Delusions of Grandeur

In the booklet that accompanies the 2001 reissue of Bilingual, Neil notes that this song was inspired by the novel Hadrian VII by the relatively obscure late nineteenth/early twentieth-century British author Frederick William Rolfe, alias Baron Corvo. He also states that the "ring the bells" portion was inspired by the poem "A Sane Revolution" by a far better-known British author, D.H. Lawrence. The poem concludes with the line "Let's make a revolution for fun!"

7. Discoteca

The reference to "where angels fear to tread" may be a familiar metaphor, even a cliché, but it originated with the brilliant British neo-classical poet and satirist Alexander Pope (1688-1744), who wrote, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread" in his 1711 work An Essay on Criticism.

8. DJ Culture

The line "And I, my lord—may I say nothing?" is a slight rearrangement of the words actually spoken by Oscar Wilde immediately after he was sentenced in 1895 to two years of hard labor: "And I? May I say nothing, my lord?" Despite Wilde's plea, the judge adjourned the court.

9. Don Juan

The legend of the amoral Spanish nobleman received its earliest known literary treatment more than 350 years ago in a drama written by Gabriel Tellez, using the pseudonym Tirso de Molina. In subsequent centuries artists as diverse as Molière, Mozart, Shadwell, Byron, Browning, and Shaw have told his tale in one way or another. So the Pet Shop Boys put themselves in very good company indeed when they decided to use him as a metaphor for Adolph Hitler. In an additional literary connection, Neil has stated that he tried to compose the lyrics somewhat in the style of the 1922 abstract poetic sequence Façade, written by the British poet Edith Sitwell (1887-1964).

10. Dreaming of the Queen

The chorus ("There are no more lovers left alive") was inspired by the title of the 1964 novel Only Lovers Left Alive by British author Dave Wallis.

11. Happiness Is an Option

When Neil speaks the line "This is neither old nor new," he is directly quoting the English translation of the title of a poem by the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966).

12. I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)

The line "We're lying in the gutter, but we're looking at the stars" is a paraphrase of Oscar Wilde, who actually wrote, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" in his 1892 play Lady Windermere's Fan.

13. If There Was Love

This song, written by Neil and Chris for Liza Minnelli's Results album, concludes with Liza reading William Shakespeare's Sonnet 94 in its entirety.

14. I'm Not Scared

The line "Take these dogs away from me…" is, according to Neil, a "quote, or a misquote" from the poem "Senex" by the twentieth-century British poet John Betjeman.

15. In the Night

The lyrics were inspired by the 1981 book Paris in the Third Reich: A History of the German Occupation, 1940-1944 by historian David Pryce-Jones.

16. It Couldn't Happen Here

A slight variation on It Can't Happen Here, the title of a 1935 novel by American author Sinclair Lewis.

17. It Must Be Obvious

Neil has stated that the line "I didn't intend to interrupt your own shadowplay" is a reference to Shadowplay, a dramatic work by Noël Coward.

18. Jack the Lad

The line "To feast with panthers every night" is again adapted from Oscar Wilde, who in his 1897 apologia De Profundis wrote of his scandalous life, "It was like feasting with panthers. The danger was half the excitement."

19. Jealousy

The "Extended Version" of this song opens and closes with Neil's recitation of a brief quotation from one of world literature's greatest works focusing on jealousy, Shakespeare's Othello.

Incidentally, in addition to quoting him in "Jealousy" and "If There Was Love" (noted above), the Boys also mention Shakespeare in the "New Version" of "Discoteca." I've put that reference in my list of people mentioned by name in PSB songs, but it's certainly worth mentioning here as well.

20. Luna Park

Although it was not the first PSB song to make this particular literary reference (see "The Sound of the Atom Splitting," below), it does come first alphabetically. The "circuses and bread" reference here inverts the classic phrase "bread and circuses," coined nearly 2,000 years ago by the ancient Roman satirist Juvenal (Decimus Junius Juvenalis), who wrote in the late first and early second century. Juvenal's original Latin phrase was "panem et circenses," which more literally translates as "bread and games." It refers, of course, to the means by which governments—then and now—strive to keep the masses in ignorant contentment by meeting their basest needs and distracting them with crude entertainments.

21. No Time for Tears

The song's "one for all and all for one" cliché, borrowed from the subtitles of The Battleship Potemkin, originated with The Three Musketeers, written in 1844 by the French novelist Alexandre Dumas. More accurately, the Dumas original has it the other way around: "Tous pour un, un pour tous" ("All for one, one for all"). The line recurs in "For Freedom," the final track of the Boys' Potemkin score, but I'll give "No Time for Tears" the credit since it appears there first.

I could also cite "Our Daily Bread" for its quoting from The Lord's Prayer, but that has such familiarity beyond a purely biblical context that to call it a "literary reference" is perhaps questionable.

22. Nothing Has Been Proved

Long before the Boys were asked to write the theme song for the film Scandal, about the Profumo Affair, Neil had written a song inspired by his reading of the 1964 book The Trial of Stephen Ward by Ludovic Kennedy. Having unearthed this old song, he and Chris modified and completed it to create "Nothing Has Been Proved."

23. A Red Letter Day

One line in this song refers clearly (by title) yet somewhat cryptically to Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot. And the line "What on earth does it profit a man?" is clearly derived from the words of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew (16:26): "What does it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"

24. The Sodom and Gomorrah Show

Sodom and Gomorrah were the biblical "cities of the plain" that were destroyed by God for their wickedness, as described in Genesis 19:1-29. Of course, the song isn't "about" Sodom and Gomorrah, but the reference is absolutely vital to its understanding. Neil was also drawing upon French author Marcel Proust (1971-1922), the fourth volume (1921) of whose great work À la recherche du temps perdu (variously translated into English as Remembrance of Things Past and In Search of Lost Time) is titled Sodome et Gomorrhe (translated either as Sodom and Gomorrah or as Cities of the Plain). And the lyrics contain another reference to Alexander Pope's "where angels fear to tread," described in the entry above for "Discoteca."

25. The Sound of the Atom Splitting

This song preceded "Luna Park" by roughly 18 years with its "bread and circuses" reference, courtesy of Juvenal.

26. This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave

While it's possibly coincidental, in all likelihood the line "History, someone had blundered" is a meaningful echo of the second stanza of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's famous (and quite historical) 1854 poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade":

"Forward, the Light Brigade!"