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Behaviour was recorded in Munich with co-production by German analog synth wiz Harold Faltermeyer. It has acquired the reputation of being the Pet Shop Boys' "downer" album: it has more slow and mid-tempo tracks than any of their other albums (with the possible exception, more than a decade later, of Release), and many of the songs have decidedly somber lyrical themes. Yet it also boasts some of their most striking and memorable melodies and arrangements—in the words of one critic, this is the album on which Tennant and Lowe "demonstrate their songwriting chops"—and is thus very much a fan favorite. In fact, some critics have cited it as the Boys' first "fully mature" album, in which the seemingly frivolous concerns of the past (which had largely been the result of critical misinterpretations anyway) have been left behind and replaced by a much more serious, contemplative worldview. It is a very serious album in which, for one thing, AIDS weighs more heavily over the proceedings than ever before. Carefully listening to Behaviour all the way through in one sitting can be a very moving experience.

In light of the spectre of AIDS—more specifically, the AIDS-related death of a very dear friend of Neil's (as noted below with "Being Boring")—one of my site visitors has shared a fascinating observation. Alfina Wilson notes that all five of the stages of grief first described by Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her seminal 1969 work On Death and Dying are represented on the album:

1. Denial: "To Face the Truth"
2. Anger: "Jealousy"
3. Bargaining: "So Hard"
4. Depression: "The End of the World"
5. Acceptance: "My October Symphony," "Only the Wind"

Is Behaviour, at least in part, a reflection—perhaps even a "working through"—of the Boys' own grief processes during this time of their lives as they dealt with both personal and collective mourning in the wake of AIDS? Given the album's introduction with "Being Boring," that makes a good deal of sense. Then again, another site visitor has suggested that, while Behaviour may indeed express a grieving process, perhaps it concerns a different sort of death, namely the breakdown of a romantic relationship. That can certainly result in its own severe form of grief. The two closing songs, "The End of the World" and "Jealousy," particularly lend themselves to this interpretation.

Incidentally, the title of the original U.S. edition was spelled in the American style, Behavior, although for the 2001 reissue even the U.S. version was assigned the British spelling. And as for that title, regardless of its spelling—why? It's perhaps the single most cryptic album title in the PSB canon. What does it mean? Only the Pet Shop Boys can say for sure what they had in mind. But, as far as I know, they've always been fairly reticent about the subject, simply referring to their desire to choose a more "personal" title than those of their previous collections, one that was (in Neil's words) "sad and un-ironic," reflecting the album's general mood. To me, from an admittedly somewhat academic perspective, the title sounds rather sociological in nature. Indeed, Behaviour comes across as a sociological treatise on the 1980s, documenting in many ways the results of common attitudes and, yes, behavior of the decade. Whether it's the devastation of AIDS, the outcomes of greed, infidelity, and promiscuity, the poses of pop stardom, or the virtual collapse of communism, in one song after another the album details the sense of loss and confusion wrought by individual and collective behavior gone awry.

One other point worth noting: I've been asked about the possible inspiration for the image on the album's cover of Neil and Chris holding bunches of roses. It was apparently inspired by a 1951 photo by Richard Avedon of Judy Garland—indeed, holding a large bunch of roses.

• Being Boring
• This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave
• To Face the Truth
• How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?
• Only the Wind
• My October Symphony
• So Hard
• Nervously
• The End of the World
• Jealousy

Behaviour Japanese Special Edition

During the early CD era of the mid- and late 1980s, it became almost a cliché for the Japanese editions of albums to include bonus tracks not available on the album elsewhere. Often these additional songs were simply added to the running time of the CD, which had plenty of room for more music. In the case of the Japanese special edition of Behaviour, however, rather than add new tracks to the original CD following "Jealousy," the package curiously included a mini-CD (a little over three inches in width) featuring two future single b-sides—remarkably there receiving their world public debut—plus an extended mix of an album track that would prove an extreme rarity, making this release highly collectible.

• Miserablism
• Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend
• This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave (Extended Mix)

2001 Reissue Further Listening

In 2001, Behaviour was one of several PSB albums reissued with a bonus Further Listening disc that included several alternate mixes of some of the original album's songs, other tracks recorded around the same time, and the associated single b-sides. These b-side songs had previously been released on their Alternative compilation; the links below to those b-sides take you to my pages for those songs in my Alternative section. Pages for the three singles that that saw their first album release on Discography appear in my section for that compilation.

Further Listening 1990–1991

• It Must Be Obvious
• So Hard (Extended Dance Mix)
• Miserablism
• Being Boring (Extended Mix)
• Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend
• We All Feel Better in the Dark (Extended Mix)
• Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) (Extended Mix)
• Jealousy (Extended Version)
• Generic Jingle
• DJ Culture (Extended Mix)
• Was It Worth It? (Twelve-Inch Mix)
• Music for Boys (Ambient Mix)
• DJ Culture (Seven-Inch Mix)

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