Songs performed live most often by PSB
Drawing upon the fairly authoritative website setlist.fm as well as my own knowledge and experience, here's a list of the songs the Pet Shop Boys have performed live most often, listed in order of frequency of performance. The "Top 4" are hardly surprising:
Please note that I do deviate from the setlist.fm ranking because the evidence is strong that the Boys have performed "It's a Sin" on each and every one of their tours, whereas that's not the case with "Always on My Mind" and "Go West." So it would make sense that "It's a Sin" would rank higher here. At any rate, once we get past the Top 4, the list becomes a little less certain and holds perhaps a few surprises (at least for me):
- Suburbia
- Domino Dancing
- Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)
- Left to My Own Devices
- Love etc.
- Rent
- Vocal
- Being Boring
- New York City Boy
- Love Comes Quickly
After that, the numbers drop off precipitously. But although the setlist.fm site places it at #16 (after "The Pop Kids"—though only by a very slight margin), I believe PSB performance actual history strongly suggests that what can truly claim the next spot is:
At least that's my take on it, and I'm standing by it.
If you're surprised by the appearance of some of their more recent songs in this list (such as "Love etc." and "Vocal"), please keep in mind that the Boys have performed live far more often in the latter years of their career than they did early on, when many of their earlier songs would naturally have dominated.
Probably my own biggest surprise comes from a song that did not make this list. It's "Heart," which the Boys have only rarely performed live (comparatively speaking) despite the fact that it was a #1 single in the U.K. After all, their other three U.K. #1 singles—"West End Girls," "It's a Sin," and "Always on My Mind"—make up the Top 3 in this list. So this raises a fascinating question – Why haven't they performed "Heart" live more often? Is it only because, unlike those other three, it was not a hit in the United States (although it was a major hit in a number of other countries)? I suppose only Neil and Chris could provide the answer, but so far I'm not aware of their ever having addressed this subject.
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