What's New? – Recent Updates & Additions
June 19, 2025
Song Annotations
I've made a significant correction to a new annotation I made a few days ago to "The Man on the Television" (see June 14 below) and have also added a brand new one.
Songs That the Pet Shop Boys Have Performed Live
Thanks to C.M. for pointing out that the Pet Shop Boys added "The Pop Kids" to their Dreamworld Tour setlist for their recent concert in Seville. I've made the appropriate adjustments to the Dreamworld Tour listings on my page devoted to songs they've performed live.
June 16, 2025
PSB Tours
Updates/CorrectionsThe Pet Shop Boys have just announced that, on account of circumstances beyond their control, the "This Is Navalny" memorial concert that they were scheduled to headline has been canceled. I'll make the appropriate adjustments here on my website on my PSB Tours page and my entry for the track "Hymn (In Memoriam Alexei Navalny)."
June 14, 2025
Song Annotations
Thanks to Richard Firth for providing a likely explanation for a rather obscure reference in the opening line of the pre-PSB Neil Tennant demo "The Man on the Television." I now share it with you in a new annotation to my commentary on that song. (UPDATE: New information, however—see June 19 above—has necessitated a major change to this annotation.)
Thank You
Having her permission to do so, I've added Jessica S. to my Thank You page in recognition of her contribution of information yesterday (see just below).
June 13, 2025
Updates/Corrections
Thanks so much to Jessica S. for sharing a link to an interview conducted in 1990 for French television in which Neil and Chris reveal more than pretty much anywhere else—and even then, it's not very much—about the origins of the title of their album Behaviour. They seem rather indecisive on the matter, with Neil going so far as to say that it can only be "post-rationalized," but observing that they didn't want it to be "funny" and "it looked good with the artwork." He pointed out, however, that the title was Chris's idea. For his part, Chris sounded similarly evasive, but noted that he "liked the sound of the word" and that "some people's behaviour can be annoying." I've used this information to expand slightly on what I've written about it in my introduction to that album.
Major PSB VHS/LD/DVD Releases
The Pet Shop Boys' official website reports this morning that their live Dreamworld Blu-ray release, having been previously delayed, is now postponed at least until "early 2026" because of "an ongoing publishing dispute over one of the songs." There's no word as to which song that is, although "I Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (performed in medley with "Where the Streets Have No Name") was previously subject to just such a dispute back in the 1990s. Perhaps at some point we'll learn whether that's again the case this time around; I suspect the dispute itself accounts for the current reticence on that point.
In Memoriam
Thanks to Eddie Xavier for letting me know that the Pet Shop Boys are the many celebrities who appear as interviewees in the new documentary The World According to Allee Willis, a fact that I've now noted at the end of my entry for Willis on my "In Memoriam" page. They appear briefly about 51 minutes in, talking of course about collaborating with her on composing "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"
June 11, 2025
Personal Observations
My Favorite Artists Other Than the Pet Shop BoysI'm very, very sorry to learn that Brian Wilson has just passed away at the age of 82. As the founder, leader, and primary musical force behind the Beach Boys as well as (in his later years) a solo artist, he's responsible for a great deal of my most beloved music. As a matter of fact, I count the Beach Boys as my all-time favorite rock/pop band, seriously rivaled only by the Beatles and, yes, the Pet Shop Boys. Modern popular music owes him an incalculable debt of gratitude.
Incidentally, in one of those bizarre coincidences that happen every now and then, it was just two days ago that we lost another giant of the "Boomer soundtrack," so to speak: Sly Stone, who like Brian passed away at the age of 82.
June 9, 2025
Personal Observations
The "site-redirect" attacks suffered by my website twice over the past few months—situations in which my website was corrupted in such a way that site visitors were automatically switched to a different website after trying to access my homepage—are hardly unique. I've just read on a cybersecurity website that I often consult that such site-redirect attacks are on a sudden pronounced upswing, with malicious hackers finding ways to insert code onto all sorts of websites in order to force people to visit their own alternate sites, which often have hyperlinks that will download viruses and other types of malware onto the people's computers or cellphones. (For instance, they'll often say things like, "Click here to learn more." And if you do click there, you'll infect your device.) So I'm far from alone as a target. I just want to give you all a heads-up about this nasty trend. If you try to visit my website—or, for that matter, any website—and you find that it automatically sends you to some other site, please do NOT click on any links on that "new" site. In the meantime, I'll do my best to keep my website free of such attacks, although I've found that they often occur overnight, while the hosts are sleeping, so that the hackers will have at least a few hours to conduct their nefarious business before the website owners they've attacked catch on and are able to work on rectifying the problem.
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Andrew Shaw for catching a typo, now corrected, on my "On This Day in Pet Shop Boys History" page.
June 8, 2025
PSB Songs That Have Been Used in Films and Non-Musical TV Shows
Thanks once again to Andy P, this time for telling me that the opening of "West End Girls" played at the start of another new episode of the BBC sitcom The Power of Parker. I've now noted this 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 television shows.
June 7, 2025
PSB Songs That Have Been Used in Films and Non-Musical TV Shows
Thanks to Andy P for letting me know that an instrumental segment of "In the Night" can be heard in a new episode of the BBC sitcom The Power of Parker. I've noted this in the lengthy entry for that song at #2 in my list of Pet Shop Boys songs that have been used in films and non-musical television shows.
June 6, 2025
Updates/Corrections
As announced this morning on their official website, the Pet Shop Boys are now streaming new mixes of "Hymn (In Memoriam Alexei Navalny)." I've therefore made several corresponding adjustments to my page for that song. I've also noted the new video to the "peripheral" section of my page devoted to the Pet Shop Boys' music videos.
June 5, 2025
Personal Observations
My website was down for several hours today, a problem that I initially suspected lay on my own computer but which I eventually determined was the result of the second malicious "redirect attack" against my website in the few months. Fortunately, I was able to track down the source of the problem (apparently a file somehow embedded without my knowledge within my site's code-structure by some outside bad actor), isolate it, and eliminate it—knock on wood. My site now appears to be working again. I apologize for any inconvenience, and I sincerely hope any redirect it may have caused didn't result in your own computer being infected in any way. I've run three different virus scans on my own computer and I appear to be "clean."
This problem also forced me to delay making the following two updates, which otherwise I probably would've gotten to several hours earlier.
PSB Songs That Have Been Used in Films and Non-Musical TV Shows
Thanks to Jarek Staszkowian for letting me know that "It's a Sin" can be heard in an episode of the 2023 Polish television series Warszawianka. I've noted this in the entry for that song at #21 in my list of Pet Shop Boys songs used in films and non-musical TV shows.
Song Annotations
Thanks to David B. for suggesting that the title of the song "Dancing Star" may (emphasis there on the "may") have been inspired by a quotation by the nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, from his work Also Sprach Zarathustra. I've mentioned this possibility in a new second bullet-point annotation to my commentary on that song.
June 4, 2025
PSB Concert Tours
Various websites are reporting this morning that the Pet Shop Boys are slated to headline The "This Is Navalny" memorial concert for Alexei Navalny in Berlin on June 28. This event has been confirmed on the Boys' own website. I've thus updated my PSB Concert Tours page to include this date. And thanks to Alexey from Russia for bringing it to my attention!
June 3, 2025
Strange But True Incidents Involving PSB
Thanks so much to Matt McLauchlin for telling me about a remarkable 2021 scientific article that documents a Hungarian biologist's discovery of several new species of African butterfly, each of which he has named in honor of the Pet Shop Boys and their music. I believe this story certainly qualifies for a new spot in my list of strange but true incidents involving the Pet Shop Boys. And thanks again to Matt for alerting me to an appendix to this scientific paper (which I hadn't originally accessed) in which the biologist discusses his PSB fandom and why he named these species as he did.
June 1, 2025
Updates/Corrections
Song AnnotationsThanks to Alk both for pointing out a broken link (now removed) from my Closer to Heaven page and for suggesting a new annotation (related to the line "A thousand flowers will bloom where you run") to the song "Run, Girl, Run."
May 30, 2025
PSB Songs Performed by Other Artists
Thanks to Richard Firth for suggesting that I add the obscure (and possibly not even officially released) David Sanz cover of "Was It Worth It?" to my page devoted to Pet Shop Boys songs performed by other artists, which I've now done. As I describe there, Sanz gave the Pet Shop Boys a CD that included his acoustic cover of the song, on which the Boys then based their own live arrangement of it for their 1999-2000 Nightlife Tour (as they note in the Nightlife Further Listening booklet). Recordings of the track can be found online, such as on Soundcloud.
May 29, 2025
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Rafael Moretti for pointing out that I had overlooked mentioning that the Pet Shop Boys' live recording of "Girls & Boys" was recorded in Rio de Janeiro and is available on CD not only as the b-side of "Paninaro '95" but also on the 2021 CD reissue of the live DiscoVery show. I've now made the appropriate updates.
May 25, 2025
Personal Observations
Thanks so much to George "Jammer" Dashevsky for sharing a YouTube video link to the Norwegian chorus Knauskoret's a cappella performance of "It's a Sin." Although I'm not inclined to add it to my PSB covers page, I think it's delightful and well worth mentioning here.
May 24, 2025
Films That Have Featured PSB Songs
PSB Songs That Have Been Used in Films and "Non-musical" TV ShowsThanks to John McFadden for letting me know that the Eighth Wonder rendition of "I'm Not Scared" is used in the new Netflix film Fear Street Prom Queen. I've noted this fact in two of my lists: films that have featured Pet Shop Boys songs and PSB songs that have been used in films and non-musical TV shows. (If these two lists seem redundant, yes, they pretty much are, but they approach the subject from two different angles. So I prefer to consider them "complimentary" rather than "redundant.")
May 23, 2025
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to a long-time site visitor but first-time correspondent who goes by the handle "hingle" and whom I've added to my Thank You page for reporting a typo (which I've now corrected) on my page listing other "miscellaneous" songs released by the Pet Shop Boys.
By the way, Amazon is selling the Sleep of Reason CD again, so I've re-placed my order. Let's see if I actually get a copy this time!
May 17, 2025
Personal Observations
Neil Tennant and Mark Springer appeared briefly on BBC Radio 3 this morning to discuss their recent Sleep of Reason collaboration. You can listen to their segment on the BBC Sounds website, starting at about the 47:37 mark and continuing to about 55:30.
On a separate note altogether, I'm extremely frustrated that, just as Amazon had canceled my order of Sleep of Reason exactly two weeks ago for no apparent reason, they've now canceled my order of the PSB Dreamworld Blu-ray/CD set, simply saying that it's "unavailable." So I'm apparently going to have to find another way to obtain it. (FYI, Blu-ray discs are region-coded, so I have to be sure I get one that will play in the the States. And I'm not going to purchase a brand new player simply to get one that will play any disc, regardless of where it comes from.) Are shipments of U.K. products being restricted on account of tariffs? And is this also going to cause some problem for the distribution of my upcoming books, which have a U.K.-based publisher? Grrrrr….
May 16, 2025
PSB Concert Tours
As announced this morning on the Pet Shop Boys' official website, they will be appearing on August 9 at the Way Out West Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden. I've updated my PSB Concert Tours page accordingly.
May 15, 2025
PSB Songs Performed by Other Artists
The Scottish singer/band Hamish Hawk will include a remake of "So Hard" on their upcoming EP Covers II. I've therefore noted this fact on my page devoted to Pet Shop Boys songs performed by other artists.
May 14, 2025
Mixes/Version
Thanks to Malte Kierblewsky for suggesting some revisions and additions to my mixes/versions for a number of tracks. While for various reasons I won't be making all of these updates, I have added the Thunderpuss 2000 Radio Edit for "New York City Boy" and the Dark Horse Mix for "She's Madonna."
May 11, 2025
Mixes/Version
Thanks to Eke Webb for letting me know about the newly released Pet Shop Boys Remix Dub of Primal Scream's "Innocent Money," which I've noted along with two other previously released PSB mixes of that track. He also noticed that I hadn't added it to my page devoted to the Pet Shop Boy's work as remixers. Eke was actually the second person to tell me about this new dub mix, but I neglected to mention it here yesterday (it was a very busy day), I've somehow misplaced his communiqué to me about it, and now I don't remember who it was. So I very sincerely apologize to that person, whoever you are. I guess I'm way too busy. Or maybe I'm just getting old. (Well, what else is new?)
May 10, 2025
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Matteo G for noticing that I hadn't posted a thumbnail image of the sleeve of the 2014 Diamond Version single "Were You There?" which features Neil as guest vocalist. I've now added that image.
May 7, 2025
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Jeff Schapira for alerting me to a fact that had slipped past me until now: that the Chinese edition of Fundamental has two fewer tracks ("The Sodom and Gommorah Show" and "Casanova in Hell" are deleted, the result of censorship) than the standard version released everywhere else. I've noted this in a new final paragraph to my entry for that album overall.
May 6, 2025
The Pet Shop Boys as Remixers
Thanks to Nenad P. for noticing that I had overlooked including the Pet Shop Boys' Indio Mix and Cali Mix of "Fluorescent" on my page devoted to their work as remixers. And I also owe Nenad acknowledgment and an apology for forgetting that he had suggested that I add the MX Radio Edit of "New York City Boy" quite a long time ago, but I, for whatever reason, decided against citing it at that time. Maybe Matteo's suggestion (see the May 5 entry below) triggered a subconscious acceptance of it on my part—sort of a "OK, here it is again, I better do something about it this time." Who knows how the mind works? Whatever the case, thanks again to both Nenad and Matteo!
Personal Observations
My publisher, Fonthill Media, has shared with me the prospective cover of Pet Shop Boys: Song by Song Vol. 1 (1984-2004), the first of my two forthcoming books. (Please note that this cover is indeed only tentative and therefore subject to change.) It closely follows the established pattern of previous books in their Song by Song series. I'm quite pleased with it myself. As a reminder, Volume 1 is scheduled for publication October 30.
Meanwhile, I removed the new hit-counter routine from my home page because it appeared to have begun triggering a malicious site-redirect routine on that page's links. I find this sort of thing intolerable, so I cleared it out. I sincerely apologize for any problems it may have caused before I caught it. And I guess I'll just have to do without a hit counter from here on out since everything I've tried recently either doesn't work or causes nasty problems. Well, I've read recently that website hit-counters are considered passé now, anyway. As one online commentator put it, "They're so 2010s."
May 5, 2025
Mixes/Versions
Thanks to Matteo G for pointing out that I was missing one of the David Morales mixes of "New York City Boy"—namely the "MX Radio Edit" (exclusive to an official Parlophone Mexican promo single), which is virtually identical to the "Radio Edit #2" but with a slight but noticeable difference in the mix of one of its choruses. I've now listed this additional mix among the mixes/versions for that song.
May 3, 2025
Celebrity Fans of the Pet Shop Boys Outside the Field of Music
Thanks to Paul Clements for informing me (along with the requisite evidence in the form of a podcast in which the subject is brought up) that U.K. academic, philosopher, author, and podcaster Kathleen Stock is a lifelong Pet Shop Boys fan. She therefore earns a spot in my list of celebrity fans of the Pet Shop Boys outside the field of music.
In Memoriam
I've added Krysia Korczynski, whose passing in 2024 was noted by the Boys in Annually 2025, to my In Memoriam page.
Personal Observations
With no explanation, Amazon UK, from which back in March I had placed my advance order of the CDs of Neil's new collaboration with Mark Springer, Sleep of Reason, is now telling me that my order is "undeliverable" and that I should soon be getting a refund. So I tried to order it from Amazon US instead, but there it's listed as "unavailable." So I guess I'm out of luck, at least for the time being. (Could this be the result of those damn, needless tariffs?) Thank goodness I can hear it online. But, still, I find it extremely irritating that I can't get a physical copy. I'm not a happy camper right now.
In the meantime, I'll pose a question to those of you who have indeed obtained a physical copy. Does it include printed lyrics? I'd love to know! Thanks! (UPDATE: Yes, it does! One of my regular site visitors has shared those lyrics with me. Thanks so much to leesmapman!)
May 2, 2025
Personal Observations
I'm pleased to report that my publisher has suggested I expand the scope of Volume 2 of my upcoming Pet Shop Boys: Song by Song books to include much of 2025 rather than "cutting off" at the end of 2024, yet without delaying its scheduled March 30, 2026 publication date. Because of that March publication, it does mean that I won't be able to include all of 2025, but will have to "cut it off" sometime between July and October, the later the better. So if the Boys do release any new music during the last quarter or so of 2025, it can't be included. That's unfortunate, but neither I nor the publisher wishes to delay publication of Volume 2 any more than necessary. This means that "Hymn (In Memoriam Alexei Navalny)," Neil's recent "solo" endeavors, and recent PSB remixes will be covered (though the latter, like all "outside remixes," are mentioned only in passing). Meanwhile, barring unforeseen setbacks, Volume 1 is still slated to appear this coming October 30.
April 30, 2025
Breaking News!
The U.K. press is reporting this morning that the upcoming album by Kae Tempest, Self Titled, scheduled for July 4 release, will feature a guest appearance by Neil Tennant. There's no word yet as to which track will feature Neil and the precise nature of this collaboration, although of course work as a support vocalist is most likely.
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Steve N. for sharing some additional information about the Gardens of Èze, including his observation that Princess Antoinette, sister of Prince Rainier, may actually be the princess to whom Neil refers in the lyrics of "The Madness of Summer." I've now noted this in my entry for that track from Sleep of Reason.
Also, thanks to John M. for reporting a broken link to an outside page (beyond my control) in my entry for "Run, Girl, Run." I've now removed the link.
And thanks to leesmapman for catching a careless error on my part, now fixed, in my commentary on the PSB remix of "How Do You Love?" in which I had confused "I Want a Dog" (the correct song) with "I'm Not Scared."
April 29, 2025
"Performance Parodies" of the Pet Shop Boys
Thanks to Richard Firth for letting me know that famed BBC Radio personality Steve Wright passed away last year, which has necessitated a few minor adjustments to a couple of entries involving him in my list of "performance parodies" of the Pet Shop Boys, specifically #7 and #8.
Updates/Corrections
In the wake of the old website hit-counter routine on my home page inexplicably faltering several days ago, I've now set up a new routine there. I don't like its appearance quite as much as the old one, but at least it's working. And I had to estimate its starting figure based on my last recollection of the previous one. Whatever the case, let's hope it continues to work for a good long time.
April 27, 2025
Updates/Corrections
Thanks to Raymond Merkh for catching a spelling error, now corrected, in my new entry on the PSB remix of Tina Turner's "Hot for You Baby."
April 26, 2025
PSB Music Videos
Thanks to John McFadden for telling me about the new music video for "Phantoms and Monsters," one of the Sleep of Reason tracks featuring Neil as lyricist and vocalist. I've added it to the "…if we really stretch it" section toward the end of my page devoted to capsule descriptions of Pet Shop Boys music videos.
April 25, 2025
Updates/Corrections
I've posted a new page for the Pet Shop Boys' remix of Tina Turner's "Hot for You Baby" and I've updated my page for their remix of the Hidden Cameras' "How Do You Love?" I've also added both of the tracks to my accounting of the Boys' work as remixers.
Having been able to listen to Sleep of Reason online, I've made some rather preliminary updates to what I have to say about the tracks for which Neil has provided lyrics and vocals. But please note that these are indeed just my very preliminary musings. I expect in the days and weeks ahead to be able to update and revise what I say as I "digest" them further and perhaps learn more about them, especially if Neil himself offers any further comments about them.
Incidentally, over the past few days several of my site visitors have written to me to provide info, updates, and "tips" about all of these new releases. I'm pretty good at keeping up with such PSB news myself, but I appreciate your efforts to keep me well informed "just in case." Thanks so much to you all!
April 24, 2025
New Releases
Neil's "solo" collaboration with Mark Springer and the Sacconi String Quartet, Sleep of Reason, is scheduled for release tomorrow. Although I have it on order, Amazon has alerted me that I won't be receiving it until sometime in early May. So unless the tracks on which Neil sings that haven't yet appeared online are also made available online, I won't be able to write anything about them until after I get my copy. I just wanted to give you that heads-up.
Also, word is that a new PSB remix of the 1984 Tina Turner outtake "Hot for You Baby" will also be released tomorrow. I'll post a new page devoted to that track here on my website once I've had an opportunity to hear this new mix myself. Stay tuned!
Tracks That Mention "Pet Shop Boys'
Thanks to Bjørn-Roar K. for telling me about a delightful new song by the U.K.-based artist Fused, "I Won't Be Your Rock 'n' Roll," which mentions the Pet Shop Boys in a spoken bit (clearly derived from "Paninaro") toward the end. I've therefore listed it at #57 in my list of tracks that mention "Pet Shop Boys." And if you would to hear this song for yourself, it's available in both Spotify and YouTube.
Books About PSB
Thanks to Rory Simpson for letting me know that the 2024 Pet Shop Boys book by Jakob Braun, which had previously been available only in German, has now been translated into English, Pet Shop Boys Up Close. I've updated my page devoted to books about the Pet Shop Boys accordingly. Incidentally, I've just now placed an order for this new English-language edition, so I should be getting it shortly. I'll make any appropriate updates afterward. And, in case you're wondering, it's too soon for me to list my own upcoming PSB books (mentioned here yesterday) on that page. I'll wait until images of their front covers are available.
Updates/Corrections
For the second time in less than a year, the hit-counter routine on my home page has gone kaput, and I have no idea why. So, until I can resolve this problem, I've removed the hit counter code altogether.
April 23, 2025
Breaking News!
I'm excited to announce, with my publisher's blessing, the forthcoming publication of a pair of books that I've written about the music of the Pet Shop Boys. Published by U.K.-based Fonthill Media, Pet Shop Boys: Song by Song Vol. 1 (1984-2004) and Pet Shop Boys: Song by Song Vol. 2 (2005-2024) are the latest editions in Fonthill Media's ongoing Song by Song series, which has previously included books focusing on the music of such artists as ABBA, Kate Bush, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, and U2, among others. In fact, my PSB books are the first in the series to warrant two volumes, at the publisher's own suggestion. Volume 1 is scheduled for publication this coming October 30 in the U.K. and a month later in the U.S., while Volume 2 is slated for March 30, 2026 in the U.K. and a month later in the States. They're not yet available to order, but Volume 1 should be available for advance orders sometime before October.
You might be wondering why anyone should bother buying books that I've written about the Pet Shop Boys' music when, after all, this website is available for free. I can think of several good reasons. For one thing, although there is a good deal of overlap between this website and the books, they're by no means identical. Think of the books as a sort of "single mix" of this website's content. The text of the books is tightened and "refined," zeroing in on what I consider the most important information about each song.
Another consideration is that, to be blunt, I don't know how much longer this website will be around. I'm not getting any younger, and I'm rapidly approaching the age at which my father passed away. And his death came with shocking speed, with relatively little warning. One day he was out in the field of his farm, gathering hay, seemingly as healthy as the proverbial horse, yet a month later he was gone. So my website may also suddenly vanish someday with little or no warning. These books, however, will provide a lasting, "permanent" record of my PSB-related work. And they'll also provide a lasting, "permanent" source of information about PSB music itself.
At any rate, I hope many of you will consider purchasing these books once they become available. I'll provide updates here as appropriate. In the meantime, thanks so much for your interest and support!
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