Disco Potential
Writers - Tennant/Lowe
First released - 1997
Original album - Bilingual 2001 reissue Further Listening 1995-1997 bonus disc
Producer - Pet Shop Boys
Subsequent albums - Format
Other releases - bonus track with single "Somewhere"
A dissonant Chris Lowe workout (which originally appeared on the U.K. "Somewhere" CD single) that reveals a belated industrial influence. It also bears some similarity to U2's at least partly tongue-in-cheek "Discothèque," which had recently been a minor hit single. This immediately caused fans to speculate that "Disco Potential" may have been a commentary of some sort on the U2 track, perhaps even a parody. The Boys in fact confirmed as much when Neil noted (in the pages of their fan magazine Literally) that it's "supposed to sound a bit like Bono doing disco."
The brief, barely intelligible lyrics, virtually buried beneath the cacophonous mix, refer obliquely to Tamara Beckwith, a well-known young London socialite and heiress. The track's oft-repeated title reportedly came about from words that Neil was singing over and over while he and Chris were drunkenly jamming. (Neil, however, says he doesn't remember this.) On the other hand, one is tempted to think that it just possibly could have been inspired by the kind of comment that Neil (or Chris himself) might have made after listening to a playback of the instrumental track: "Well, at least it's got disco potential." That would be just like the Pet Shop Boys.
Annotations
- As noted above, this song is inspired stylistically by post-self-deconstruction U2 (particularly their single "Discothèque," which came out earlier that same year and hit #1 in the U.K.) and thematically by young London socialite and media personality Tamara Beckwith.
The line "Daddy sells shares in a distant shore" may or may not refer to her father, wealthy real-estate developer Peter Beckwith. (Keep in mind that, while the central character in the song was inspired by Miss Beckwith, it may not be intended to "be" her, but rather only someone like her; therefore "Daddy" may not "be" Peter Beckwith, either, but only someone like him in some ways.)
- "Hot-pant legs in a red hard sell" – One of the more challenging lines in the PSB canon, possibly more an imagistic device than a conveyor of literal meaning. Then again, "hot-pant legs" surely refer to legs attractive enough to be seen in hot pants—very tight, brief, virtually legless shorts that not everyone can get away with wearing. And while the words "red hard sell" are more problematic, they sound like a reference to an intensely aggressive, even provocative form of advertising. But is the young woman described in the lyric employed to sell a commercial product, or is she herself the only product being advertised? If the latter, it may suggest that she's essentially a product of "celebrity culture": a person who's famous for being famous.
List cross-references
- PSB songs for which the Boys have acknowledged the influence of specific tracks by other artists
- What it's about: Neil's succinct statements on what a song is "about"
- Pet Shop Boys rock!
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