What's New? – Recent Updates & Additions
January 31, 2025
PSB Songs That Have Been Used in Films and "Non-musical" TV Shows
Thanks to Jacomo for letting me know that, like the previously noted "West End Girls," "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" is used in the Slovak television drama Sĺub. I've noted this in the entry for that song at #6 in in my list of Pet Shop Boys songs used in films and non-musical TV shows. In fact, it appears that the latter song can be heard on several occasions in that series.
January 30, 2025
PSB Songs That Have Been Used in Films and "Non-musical" TV Shows
Thanks to Regis P for informing me that a brief excerpt of "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" can be heard in the second part of the new U.K. docudrama Brian and Maggie. I've added this to the entry for that song at #6 in my list of Pet Shop Boys songs used in films and non-musical TV shows.
Major PSB VHS/LD/DVD Releases
In anticipation of the newly announced release this coming May of the Dreamworld concert film on blu-ray, I've added it to my page devoted to the Pet Shop Boys' major VHS/LD/DVD releases. (Yes, I realize that this is neither a VHS, and LD, nor a DVD, but I personally find the distinction between a DVD and a blu-ray disc to be a technical/academic matter that doesn't concern me enough to bother changing my title for that page.) FYI, both the official PSB website and Amazon are taking advance orders. And in case you're wondering, I'll plan on adding a new page for the accompanying live audio CDs at some later date.
January 29, 2025
PSB Songs That Have Been Used in Films and "Non-musical" TV Shows
Thanks to Zazou2 (Laura C.A. Moloney-Kenny) for letting me know that a segment of "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" could be heard in Series 1, Episode 8 (October 1, 2008) of the U.K. television series Supersize vs Superskinny, a fact that I've noted in the entry for that song at #30 in my list of Pet Shop Boys songs used in films and non-musical TV shows.
January 26, 2025
The Rating Project
I've posted the final results of my Rating Project poll for the most recent Pet Shop Boys songs and I've updated my overall Rating Project page accordingly. The song that came out on top was, perhaps surprisingly, the remake "The Dark End of the Street," with an average rating of 6.416. (It's perhaps worth noting that all six of these songs wound up in the bottom half of the overall rankings, the midway point overall being at about #205.) Thanks so much to everyone who took part in this survey! I really appreciate it!
January 23, 2025
Song Annotations
Thanks to leesmapman for pointing out a possible influence of the 1983 Melle Mel classic "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" on "A Man Could Get Arrested." I've noted this interesting observation in a new annotation to my commentary on that Pet Shop Boys song.
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Toaster in the Bath for catching an oversight, now corrected, on my "Additional Notes on This Survey" page.
January 22, 2025
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Jacomo both for clarifying some information he provided the other day (see January 19 below) about the appearance of "West End Girls" in the new Slovak TV show Sĺub as well as for giving me permission to add his name to my Thank You page.
January 20, 2025
Celebrity Fans of the Pet Shop Boys Outside the Field of Music
Thanks to Mark Binmore for letting me know (with the requisite evidence) that English actress and singer Su Pollard, best known for her roles on the U.K. sitcoms Hi-de-Hi!, You Rang, M'Lord?, and Oh, Doctor Beeching!, merits a spot in my list of celebrity fans of the Pet Shop Boys outside the field of music. (Although Ms. Pollard is indeed a singer and songwriter, music is not what she's most primarily known for. Hence she qualifies of this list.)
January 19, 2025
The Rating Project
On my home page I've now started the latest installment of my ongoing Rating Project, in which I'm asking my site visitors to rate Pet Shop Boys songs on a scale of 0 to 10 as they compare to all other PSB songs, with 0 meaning "one of the very worst they've ever done," 5 meaning "an average PSB song," and 10 meaning "one of their all-time best." The songs under consideration this time around are the six that they've released since the last Rating Project poll this past July. I plan for this survey to run for at least one full week, so I expect to post the final results sometime next Sunday.
PSB Songs That Have Been Used in Films and "Non-musical" TV Shows
Thanks to Jacomo for letting me know that "West End Girls" is the first song heard in the first episode of the Slovak dramatic television series Sĺub, which is set during the 1980s, before the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and the collapse of its communist regime. I've made note of this in the entry for that song at #1 in my list of PSB songs used in films and non-musical TV shows.
Personal Observations
My husband George is back home from the hospital with a newly implanted pacemaker. We have to take special care for the next several weeks as he heals, but I'm delighted to say that his prognosis is good.
January 17, 2025
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Michael from Berlin for alerting me to typos, now corrected, both on this page and in my recent addition of the book Pet Shop Boys hautnah: Die illustrierte Biografie to my list of books about the Pet Shop Boys.
PSB Songs That Have Been Used in Films and "Non-musical" TV Shows
Thanks to Jeff Durst for informing me that the Pet Shop Boys' rendition of "Go West" could be heard in an episode of EastEnders 'way back on May 30, 1994. I've made note of this fact in the entry for that song at #47 in my list of PSB songs used in films and non-musical television shows.
Personal Observations
Although I chose to address the two items above on account of their simplicity, I've "set aside" some more demanding items brought to my attention yesterday and today because I'm really not able to devote much energy and attention to this website right now. You see, my husband George is in the hospital suffering some serious heart problems. He had a pacemaker "inserted" (is that even the right word for it?) this afternoon and, thank goodness, his prognosis now appears to be quite good. In fact, he'll probably be able to come home tomorrow. So please bear with me as I deal with this personal challenge, and I appreciate your patience and understanding.
January 14, 2025
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to David B for pointing out a careless error on my part in citing the appearance of the slightly abbreviated version of the Pet Shop Boys' cover of "Girls and Boys," as noted in my "Mixes/Versions" list for that song. Error now corrected!
The Rating Project
Just a little heads-up – Barring unforeseen difficulties (hey, you never can tell), I soon plan on running a new installment of my ongoing Rating Project surveys, focusing on all of the PSB songs released since the last such poll back in July (which covered Nonetheless and its first three singles). I'll probably start it sometime this coming weekend and let it run for one full week. So you may want to be mulling over how you would rate these lastest PSB releases —"Everybody Will Dance," "All the Young Dudes," "Beauty Has Laid Siege to the City," "Adrenaline," "The Dark End of the Street," and "Miserere"—as they compare to their song catalogue overall. Stay tuned!
January 13, 2025
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Chris L (not Mr. Lowe, to be sure) for alerting me to a broken link, which I've fixed, right here on this page. I've now added Chris to my Thank You page.
January 10, 2025
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Javier Richarte for catching a typo, now corrected, in the timing I had listed for one of the Shep Pettibone Mastermixes of "West End Girls."
January 7, 2025
Books About the Pet Shop Boys
To my list of books about the Pet Shop Boys I've added a new German-language publication, Pet Shop Boys hautnah: Die illustrierte Biografie (translated Pet Shop Boys Up Close: The Illustrated Biography). I don't own this book, nor do I have any first-hand information about it, but I gather (from what I've read from other sources) that it's primarily a "photo book" with rather concise text that touches on the "highlights" of the Boys' career. If anyone can provide more illuminating details, I'd greatly appreciate it.
January 6, 2025
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to leesmapman for catching a typo that's been around for years—probably a decade or more—in my catalogue of current favorite records selected by Chris and Neil in their Literally/Annually publications. I've now made the necessary correction.
January 5, 2025
The PSB Tour Programs
Thanks to Jarek Staszkowian for pointing out that there was more than one version of the program for the Pet Shop Boys' multi-year Dreamworld Tour. I've therefore updated my page devoted to their tour programs accordingly.
January 3, 2025
PSB Songs That Have Been Used in Films and "Non-musical" TV Shows
Happy New Year! And for my first site update of 2025, I extend my thanks to Gavin Kagan (aka "Gabby the Guy") for telling me about a 1994 episode of the British sitcom As Time Goes By in which not only can "West End Girls" be heard (though just barely) but also the Pet Shop Boys get name-checked. I've added this occurrence to the entry for that song at #1 in my list of PSB songs that have been used in films and non-musical TV shows.
December 29, 2024
Anne Dudley's Guest work on PSB Recordings
Thanks so much to Alexey from Russia for reminding me that I had a list of Anne Dudley's guest work on Pet Shop Boys recordings, which very much needed to be updated. So I've now added her work as conductor and orchestral arranger for the Nonetheless Expanded Edition tracks "All the Young Dudes" and "The Dark End of the Street."
December 25, 2024
Updates/Corrections
I've obtained some very reliable information that indicates that my posting yesterday about "Radiophonic" belonging in my chronological list of Pet Shop Boys "singles" that weren't is, in all likelihood, quite mistaken. It's a long story that I won't go into, but it strongly appears that online reports of that song having once been seriously considered as a U.S. single are erroneous. As for what I'm doing, it pretty much boils down to this: if I'm going to make mistakes, I'd rather be guilty of sins of omission rather than sins of commission. In other words, I'd rather risk not including an entry that does belong in a list than risk falsely including an entry that doesn't belong there. So I've now removed "Radiophonic" from that list. My thanks to those of you who weighed in on this matter.
A Selection of 10 Real-life Reactions I've Gotten from People When They've Learned I'm a Big PSB Fan and/or I Maintain a Website Devoted to Them
In case you're interested, it was just the day before yesterday I encountered the following reaction of someone upon learning of my Pet Shop Boys-related work:
"Oh, yeah—the 'eighties" (uttered with an air of condescension and dismissal).
I thought about adding that to my list of real-life reactions I've gotten under such circumstances, but I figured it's too similar to Item #4 already in the list. So I'll let it be.
December 24, 2024
Personal Observations
I'll be extremely busy this evening and all-day tomorrow with assorted festivities, so in case I don't get a chance to make any further site updates, I'll take this opportunity to wish a very Merry Christmas to those of you who observe that holiday. And to everyone I offer my Happy Holidays wishes!
December 22, 2024
PSB Songs That Have Been Used in Films and "Non-musical" TV Shows
Thanks to Jens Boldt for informing me that a bit of the original 1984 version of "West End Girls" can be heard during the December 19 edition of the German television newsmagazine heute in Europa ("Today in Europe"). I've now noted this fact in the entry for that song at #1 in my list of Pet Shop Boys songs that have been used in films and non-musical TV shows.
Thanks as well to Dónal for letting me know that the PSB rendition of "Losing My Mind" can be heard in a 2016 episode of the U.K. competitive cooking show Who's Doing the Dishes? I've made this update to the entry for that song at #102 in the same list.PSB Songs That Have Been Used in TV Commercials
Thanks to Regis P. for telling me that a bit of "Always on My Mind" can be heard in advertisements for the upcoming U.K. docudrama Brian and Margaret. It remains to be seen whether it's used in the program itself. In the meantime, I've made note of this fact in my list of PSB songs used in TV commercials.
In Memoriam
I've just learned of the death yesterday of Jack Bond, known in the "PSB universe" for having directed their film It Couldn't Happen Here and their music videos for "Always on My Mind" and "Heart." I've now added him to my "In Memoriam" page. And I'm grateful to Jeff Schapira for informing me of Bond's passing.
December 19, 2024
Breaking News!
In case you haven't already noticed, the Pet Shop Boys' official website is now offering Annually 2025 for pre-sale!
December 18, 2024
PSB Songs That Have Been Used in Films and "Non-musical" TV Shows
Thanks to Jeff Durst for letting me know that yesterday "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas" could be heard once again on EastEnders, the second time this holiday season. It was a scene featuring the characters Laura and Peter Beale. IDOSAC was playing on the radio too loudly for Laura. She asked Peter to "Turn the music down!" to which she turned off the radio, abruptly interrupting the song.
I've recorded this info in that song's entry at #48 in my list of Pet Shop Boys songs that have been used in films and non-musical TV shows.
December 14, 2024
Notorious Rumors About the Pet Shop Boys
Thanks to Richard Eastham (whose name I've just added to my Thank You page) for sharing some information that has led me to make some adjustments to my text for #10 in my list of notorious rumors about the Pet Shop Boys, "That Neil cried when he first heard New Order's 'Blue Monday.'" My "perhaps" assessment hasn't changed, but I now have a little more information to back it up. And if you would like to watch Neil himself speak briefly on this subject, you can do so on YouTube.
December 13, 2024
PSB Music Videos
Thanks to Siduri for reminding me that I hadn't yet added the Pet Shop Boys' new lyric video for "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas" to my capsule descriptions of their videos. I've now rectified that oversight, adding it to the "peripheral videos" section of that page.
Siduri also informed me that "It's a Sin" is featured in a lengthy new trailer for the upcoming videogame Intergalactic - The Heretic Prophet. I don't believe a trailer of that length truly qualifies for my list of PSB songs used in TV commercials, but if any of you do happen to see it air on television, please let me know. And I'll wait until the actual release of this videogame before I make any additions to my list of PSB tracks used in videogames. There are some uncertain indications that "It's a Sin" may not be the ony one, so I would prefer to hold off before adding it and/or, as the case may be, any others. In the meantime, thanks again, Siduri!
Song Annotations
As I said here yesterday (see just below), any further muddling of the matter about the London Apprentice bar and "King's Cross" would result in my deleting discussion of it in my annotations to that song. Well, I've received another email on this subject, so I'm done with it. I've now removed it.
Thanks to Jason Little for providing some additional background information about the "Someone told me Monday, someone told me Saturday" line in that song, which I've used to expand my annotation about it.
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Michael from Berlin for catching and reporting a couple of typos/minor errors, now corrected, one in my list of current favorite records selected by Chris and Neil in their Literally/Annually publications and the other in my list of PSB songs for which the Boys have acknowledged the influence of specific tracks by other pop artists.
The Official PSB Christmas Cards
SPOILER ALERT! – If you don't yet want to see what the Pet Shop Boys' official 2024 Christmas card looks like, then don't visit that page here on my website.
December 12, 2024
Song Annotations
Updates/CorrectionsOne of my longtime site visitors, James Hardie, takes issue with some second-hand information shared in one of my annotations to "King's Cross," specifically the one dealing with the bar London Apprentice. I've expanded an existing qualifying footnote to this annotation to note James's reservations. As I've added there, if this particular subject gets any more muddled than it already is, I'll delete it altogether. When one is dealing with second-hand info from a position of relative ignorance (as I am in this case), that's sometimes the wisest course of action. At any rate, thanks, James!
PSB Songs That Have Been Used in Films and "Non-musical" TV Shows
Thanks to Jeff Durst for letting me know that "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas" could be heard in this evening's episode of EastEnders, making it at least the sixth time the producers of that U.K. soap have played it during the holiday season. I've noted this fact in the entry for that song at #48 in my list of Pet Shop Boys songs that have been used in films and non-musical TV shows, although at this point it's simply a matter of adding the date.
December 11, 2024
Song Annotations
Thanks to Steve N for pointing out something Neil had said about the origins of the line "Someone told me Monday, someone told me Saturday" in his recent interview with Jake Shears. I describe this briefly in a new annotation for the song "King's Cross."
PSB "Connections"
Thanks to Alexey from Russia for pointing out that Dave Gahan's album Imposter includes not only "Always on My Mind," which I had previously noted in a "PSB Connection" for Depeche Mode on the page devoted to my other favorite artists, but also "The Dark End of the Street," which the Pet Shop Boys have now also covered. I've therefore appropriately expanded that particular "connection" on that page.
My All-Time Favorite One-Line Descriptions of the Pet Shop Boys
I'm indebted to Pete13 of the Pet Shop Boys Community Forum for bringing to my attention a new article on the Super Deluxe Edition website that has prompted a new addition at #17 in my list of my all-time favorite one-line desciptions of the Pet Shop Boys.
December 10, 2024
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Darren Mahaffy for reporting a typo, now corrected, in my "What it's about" list. That typo had undoubtedly been there for at least two years, probably more—a missing letter in the title "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?"
December 9, 2024
Song Annotations
Thanks to Steve N for pointing out a few clarifications Neil recently offered when talking to Jake Shears on his Queer the Music podcast relevant to "It's a Sin." I've used this new information to expand a bit on my second bullet-point annotation to my commentary on that song.
Thanks also to Alexey from Russia for raising some questions about the appropriateness of the inclusion of "St. Petersburg" (as opposed to "Leningrad") in the list of cities associated with Rudolf Nureyev in "Dancing Star." I've therefore made some significant modifications to my final bullet-point annotation for this song, which concerns this subject.
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Andrea Grasso for catching and reporting a typo, now corrected, right here on this page.
December 8, 2024
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Matteo for pointing out that Boy George's recording of "The Crying Game," produced by the Pet Shop Boys, was released in 1992, not 1993 as I had originally stated. (I had been misled by the release date of the soundtrack album in early 1993, but the single preceded it by several months and appeared in late 1992.) I've now made this correction.
December 7, 2024
Song Annotations
Thanks to José Díaz for pointing out a discrepancy in the lyrics of "It's Not a Crime" when comparing its recently released version with lines quoted by Neil when talking about this then-unreleased song way back in 2001. I discuss this admittedly somewhat minor discrepancy in a new annotation to my commentary on that song.
December 2, 2024
My Favorite PSB Mashups
Thanks so much to regular site visitor leesmapman for telling me about "Smells Like a Party Song," his marvelous new mashup of the Pet Shop Boys' "Party Song" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," which was inspired by this very website! I had written how Neil and Chris have noted that "Party Song" originated with their aborted attempt to cover that Nirvana classic, and lessmapman took it on himself to demonstrate the remarkable linkage of the two songs via his mashup. I think it's terrific, so much so that I've added it to my list of my favorite PSB mashups.
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