The Kings of the U.S. Dance Charts
The Pet Shop Boys are currently the fifth most successful artist in the history of the U.S. Billboard Dance Club Songs chart (formerly called the Dance Club Play chart). And, seeing as how the first four positions (#1-4) are held by Madonna, Janet Jackson, Rihanna, and Beyoncé respectively, they're also the most successful duo or group as well as the most successful male dance artists: the "Kings of the U.S. Dance Chart," if you will. (At #10, Depeche Mode are the second-highest-ranked duo or group and male artists. Enrique Iglesias is the top solo male dance artist. It's worth noting that the late Donna Summer ranked higher than the Boys until the 2010s, at which time PSB superseded her phenomenal run, pushing her down to #6.) So I've decided to use this page to document in greater detail the extent of their dance club success. And I'm also providing data regarding their run on another important Billboard dance chart—"Dance Single Sales" (which has gone through several name-changes during its existence, most notably "Maxi-Singles Sales")—on which they haven't been as successful, but have still made a much-more-than-respectable showing.
The following table lists each of their U.S. dance hits, in chronological order, along with its peak position. All of the following data comes from Billboard magazine, much of it via Joel Whitburn's Hot Dance/Disco 1974-2003 and the rest from various pages on the Billboard website.
Hit |
Dance |
Dance |
1 |
3 |
|
3 |
16* |
|
Love
Comes Quickly / That's My Impression |
10 |
37 |
46 |
37 |
|
| Disco ("all cuts") The entire album charted as a whole |
12 |
36 |
3 |
18 |
|
1 |
12 |
|
8 |
12 |
|
5 |
20 |
|
8 |
25 |
|
Introspective ("all
cuts") |
15 |
-- |
4 |
2 |
|
How
Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously? / Being Boring |
19 |
10 |
Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) |
4 |
3 |
DJ
Culture / Music for Boys |
-- |
13 |
1 |
31 |
|
1 |
25 |
|
2 |
36 |
|
7 |
-- |
|
4 |
27 |
|
4 |
6 |
|
1 |
7 |
|
To
Step Aside / Se A Vida É |
1 |
8 |
Somewhere / A
Red Letter Day |
19 |
8 |
1 |
4 |
|
2 |
10 |
|
Break
4 Love |
1 |
6 |
44 |
-- |
|
15 |
-- |
|
| I'm with Stupid | 7 |
-- |
| Minimal | 3 |
-- |
| She's
Madonna Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys |
12 |
-- |
| We're the Pet Shop Boys Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys |
5 |
-- |
| Close My Eyes ("We're the Pet Shop Boys" remix by Sander Van Doorn)** Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys |
7 |
-- |
| Love etc. | 1 |
2 |
| Did You See Me Coming? | 1 |
18 |
| Beautiful People | -- |
3 |
| Together | -- |
3 |
| Winner | 12 |
8 |
| Leaving | 10 |
-- |
| Memory of the Future | -- |
1 |
| Vocal | 3 |
23 |
| Love Is a Bourgeois Construct | 38 |
1 |
| Thursday | 17 |
36 *** |
| The Pop Kids | 1 |
21 |
| Say It to Me | 4 |
35 |
| Dreamland | 6 |
21 |
| Monkey Business | -- |
28 |
| I Don't Wanna | -- |
38 |
If applicable: + = still rising on the chart at this time.
*It should be noted that in February 2021, roughly 35 years after it first charted, "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" re-charted in Billboard, first at #5 and the following week at #1 (where it remained for five non-consecutive weeks!) on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart, in the wake of its use a few weeks previously in a Super Bowl commercial for Allstate Insurance.
**The Sander Van Doorn remix of "We're the Pet Shop Boys," retitled "Close My Eyes," charted separately from the earlier "standard release" of the track. Billboard treats these two releases separately; therefore I'm also listing them separately here.
***By this point Billboard had stopped reporting Dance single sales separately, so this and subsequent figures in this column come from its newer "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs" chart, which tracks airplay combined with sales and streaming.
In addition to these hits—for which, based on Billboard/Whitburn standards, the Pet Shop Boys receive full "chart credit"—we should also note a number of other U.S. dance hits to which Neil and/or Chris contributed in various ways, further solidifying their kingly status. Again, these additional entries are presented in chronological order.
Hit |
Dance |
Dance |
| Losing
My Mind Liza Minnelli (PSB: producers) |
26 |
11 |
| Love
Pains Liza Minnelli (PSB: producers) |
-- |
40 |
| Getting
Away with It Electronic (Neil: co-writer/support vocalist) |
7 |
13 |
| Disappointed Electronic (Neil: co-writer/lead vocalist) |
10 |
6 |
| The
Crying Game Boy George (PSB: producers) |
-- |
44 |
| Girls
and Boys Blur (PSB: remixers) |
21 |
23 |
| Hallo
Spaceboy David Bowie (PSB: remixers; Neil: support vocalist) |
40 |
-- |
| Walking
on Thin Ice Yoko Ono (PSB: remixers) |
1 |
5 |
| Sorry Madonna (PSB: remixers; Neil: support vocalist) |
1 |
1 |
| Read
My Mind The Killers (PSB: remixers and support vocalists) |
1 |
-- |
| I'm in Love with a German Film Star Sam Taylor-Wood (PSB: producers; Neil: support vocalist) |
-- |
4 |
The Pet Shop Boys' success on the U.S. dance charts extend beyond individual songs. They've had similar success on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart. This chart didn't begin until 2001, so most of the PSB albums released before that year aren't listed, although Nightlife from 1999 did make it. Several EPs—"non-albums" that, in Billboard's estimation, have a longer playing time than a standard single—are included on this chart as well. To be sure, some of these releases (most notably The Most Incredible Thing, its being music for a ballet notwithstanding) fall decidedly more in the "electronic" than the "dance" category:
Album |
Dance/Electronic |
| Nightlife | 17 |
| Release | 1 |
| Disco 3 | 1 |
| Fundamental | 4 |
| PopArt | 19 |
| Yes | 3 |
| Did You See Me Coming? (EP) | 18 |
| Christmas (EP) | 20 |
| Pandemonium | 8 |
| The Most Incredible Thing | 15 |
| Winner (EP) | 21 |
| Elysium | 2 |
| Electric | 2 |
| Super | 1 |
| Hotspot | 1 |
| Smash | 14 |
| Nonetheless | 1 |
All text on this website aside from direct quotations (such as of lyrics and of other nonoriginal content) is copyright © 2001-2023 by Wayne Studer. All Rights Reserved. All lyrics and images are copyright © their respective dates by their respective owners. Brief quotations and small, low-resolution images are used for identification and critical commentary, thereby constituting Fair Use under U.S. copyright law. Billboard chart data are copyright © their respective dates by Nielsen Business Media, Inc.