Run, Girl, Run

Writers - Tennant/Lowe (though credited to "Billie Trix")
First released - 2001
Original album - Release 2017 reissue Further Listening 2001-2004 bonus disc (PSB demo)
Producer - Pet Shop Boys
Subsequent albums - (none)
Other releases - (none)

I discuss this song (specfically its rendition by Frances Barber) at length in its separate entry on my page devoted to the Pet Shop Boys' stage musical Closer to Heaven. Although the song itself actually doesn't appear in the musical except as a brief segment of "K-Hole," it is very closely associated with it on several counts, including a now highly collectible recording sold to theatre patrons. In effect, the musical provides the song's context.

That being said, that context is hardly essential to appreciating the song on its own, as the Pet Shop Boys' demo version makes clear. Although it never enjoyed "physical release" until the 2017 reissue of the album Release, where it appeared as a bonus track, Neil and Chris made such a demo (in a slightly longer form) available In early January 2008 for listening on their official website. The instrumentation and arrangement are essentially identical to the Billie Trix "original 1971 version." In all likelihood the two recordings have exactly the same backing track, with only the vocals to distinguish them.

As noted, please see my detailed commentary on this song on the Closer to Heaven page for a good deal more information and analysis, including several significant annotations concerning the various historical and cultural references in its lyrics.

Mixes/Versions

Officially released

PSB renditions

Mixer: [unknown at this time]
- Demo (4:01)
  - Available for listening at one time as an "exclusive track" on the official PSB website
- Demo (3:50)
  - On one of the "Further Listening" bonus discs accompanying the 2017 Release reissue

Frances Barber (as "Billie Trix") renditions for Closer to Heaven

Mixer: [unknown]
- "1971 single version" (4:00)
- "1981 Post-Apocalyptic Nightmare Mix" (2:58)
  - Distributed on a disc sold at performances of the original London run of Closer to Heaven

List cross-references

Studio tracks on which Neil plays guitar

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