Titles that have been mistakenly identified as unreleased songs written by PSB
- Any Other Child
A lengthy, repetitious instrumental—well, aside from a Scottish-accented voice at times intoning the words "Just like any other child"—that has surfaced in several forms on PSB-related demo tapes. Neil has said that he doesn't believe this track "has anything to do with us"; in fact, he has no recollection of it at all. Recorded sometime before November 1993, it's taken from studio sessions by PSB's protoge at the time, Cicero (who is indeed Scottish), possibly with Chris's involvement (but possibly not). Even the title often assigned to the track is erroneous. It's actually titled "She Has a Way," and it's a cover of a song written and originally released in 1982 by none other than Bobby 'O' Orlando, who (as dedicated PSB fans know) played a major role in the Boys' early career. "Just like any other child" is a line from the song's lyrics. In short, this is not an unreleased Tennant-Lowe composition.
- At the End of the Day, Do You Get Love?
Neil sang on a demo of this song that was actually written by Ray Roberts, the owner of the Camden studio where the Boys recorded their own first demos. In singing it, Neil slightly modified the verse melody to make it more romantic in mood. The song was intended for a female singer who was also working with Roberts, but nothing ever came of it. By the same token, Neil's demo rendition has never surfaced.
- Camp David
- Do It
Not an unreleased track, but rather an erroneous title supplied by producer Bobby 'O' Orlando for an early version of "A Man Could Get Arrested," recorded in 1984. Of course, "A Man Could Get Arrested" would be released as the b-side of the big hit version of "West End Girls."
Neil once mused aloud that he and Chris ought to write a song with this title. But as far as we know, they haven't actually done so.
- Golf
In his book Pet Shop Boys, Literally, Chris Heath records Chris mentioning that he owns a set of golf clubs, at which point Neil says "Golf" would be "quite a good title for a song." But there's no indication that they've ever written a song with this title.
- Hotel Home
A song written and sung by Swedish singer-songwriter Molly Nilsson, originally appearing on her 2011 album History. For some reason the Boys worked for several days on a remix of the track in the spring of 2017. But the results of their work on the song remain unreleased.
- I've Got a Brand New Drink
Also mentioned in Pet Shop Boys, Literally as something that the Boys said (jokingly) might make a good song title, but as far as we know they haven't yet written any such song.
- Kitsch
- Maybe
This Time
This song is from the Broadway musical Cabaret and was popularized by Liza Minnelli. When the Pet Shop Boys were working with her, they toyed around with producing a new version, presumably in a dance style, but ultimately decided against it. Again, unreleased demos probably exist, but it's not really a "PSB song."
- Mixed Up World
There are bootlegs with this track that erroneously assert it's an early version of "West End Girls" with completely different lyrics. First off, it's not even by PSB, despite the singer/rapper's voice bearing some resemblance to Neil's, British accent (real or faked?) and all. Rather, it's a recording actually credited, both as artist and writer, to the Boys' early producer, Bobby 'O' Orlando. Released in Europe in 1985 (first appearing on an album alternately titled Bobby "O" & His Banana Republic and A Man Like Me) in the wake of their leaving Orlando for Parlophone and new producer Stephen Hague, "Mixed Up World" comes across as Orlando's attempt to replicate the PSB "sound," which, to be honest, was largely his own sound in their early recordings with him. Some have gone so far as to describe it as an attempt at "revenge" against his former protégées. It's similar enough both musically and stylistically to the original 1984 Orlando-produced version of WEG to be quite noticeable (note the echo of the WEG phrase "Dead-end world" right there in the title "Mixed Up World"), which no doubt accounts for later bootleg claims of it being an early version of the song by an early version of PSB. Yet it's certainly different enough to avoid legal action—assuming Chris and Neil were even inclined to take legal action considering the circumstances, fraught with their own separate potentialities for litigation. In my mind, then, the biggest question is whether the vocalist is Orlando himself (born and raised in suburban New York), faking a British accent in a not altogether unsuccessful attempt to sound like Neil, or some unknown that Orlando hired specifically because he could do a reasonably good job of imitating Neil. But what's not in question is whether it's by the Pet Shop Boys. It's not.
- Only in My Mind
Chris and Neil worked with Peter Rauhofer in New York City for several days in May 2000 trying to pull together a cover version of this 1970 song, originally by recorded by Barry Ryan and written by his brother, Paul Ryan. But Rauhofer and the Boys were never satisfied with the results of their labors. However, another cover track recorded during the same sessions, "Break 4 Love," was indeed released.
An unusual case that I've written about elsewhere on this website. And it's a released track, at that.
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