In Denial
Writers - Tennant/Lowe
First released - 1999
Original album - Nightlife
Producer - Pet Shop Boys, Craig Armstrong
Subsequent albums - (none)
Other releases - (none)
Neil and Chris had already long been working on their theatrical musical by the time they released Nightlife. "In Denial" is taken from among the songs they wrote for that show. It's a dialogue between two of the musical's main characters, a middle-aged gay man and his daughter. In this version, Kylie Minogue guest-sings the role of the daughter. Perhaps surprisingly, it manages to succeed despite the fact that here it appears outside the context of a storyline that would presumably lend it even greater strength.
To summarize, the daughter tries to convince her father that he's "in denial" about the negative aspects of his lifestyle—not being gay per se, but rather working nights in a club and constantly pursuing "queens and fairies and muscle Marys [and a] rough trade boyfriend who in his pathetic own way denies he's gay." In the end, they affirm their desire to work through their differences, each hoping that the other still loves him/her. It's extremely interesting, to say the least, to compare this performance to the version in the musical.
It's worth noting that during her 2005 "Showgirl" tour (as documented on her live DVD Showgirl - The Greatest Hits Tour) Kylie performed this song on stage accompanied by a recording of Neil's disembodied voice.
Annotations
- "Queens and fairies and muscle Marys, the rough trade boyfriend…" - An abridged catalogue of shorthand terms for various gay stereotypes as spoken by the daughter. "Queens" and "fairies" obviously fall within the more "effeminate" realm of stereotypes, whereas the term "muscle Mary" generally refers to gym-pumped guys who look hyper-masculine on the outside but may still have rather "girlish" personalities. "Rough trade" can have various meanings: it may refer to working-class guys—heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual in their inclinations—who will have sex with another man for pay or other such perks, but it can also refer to homosexuals inclined toward sex of a rather brutal, even sadistic nature.
- "… like a vampire, working at night, sleeping all day" – The father's description of his own lifestyle, which harkens back to the earlier Nightlife track "Vampires" (although in Closer to Heaven it foreshadows "Vampires," which comes later in the show).
Mixes/Versions
Officially released
PSB renditions
- Mixer: Goetz Botzenhardt
- Nightlife album version (duet with Kylie Minogue) (3:20)
- Mixer: [unknown at this time]
- Orchestral Mix (3:24)
- Available for listening at one time as an "exclusive track" on the official PSB website
- Orchestral Mix (3:24)
Closer to Heaven cast album rendition
- Mixer: Bob Kraushaar
- Closer to Heaven version (2:15)
Official (by PSB) but unreleased
- Mixer: [unknown at this time]
- In denial (Part 1) [demo for musical] (2:23)
- In denial (Part 2) [demo for musical] (2:25)
- Mixer: Craig Armstrong and Pet Shop Boys (?)
- Pre-Release Metropolis Mastering Demo (3:20)
List cross-references
- Artists with whom PSB have collaborated
- PSB/Doctor Who connections
- The key signatures of selected PSB songs
- PSB songs with "extra lyrics"
- What it's about: Neil's succinct statements on what a song is "about"
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