PET SHOP BOYS SINGLES (Part Twenty-two)

Last time around, I mentioned the performance at the closing ceremony  of the 2012 Olympics in which Neil and Chris performed West End Girls as they were cycled around the running track on chariots.  The photo above is the proof………..

In September 2012, the duo’s 11th studio album, Elysium was unveiled.   Rather unusually, it was not accompanied by any new 45, although the Olympic-themed Winner, that had been released digitally back in July and physically in August,  is one of its twelve tracks.   The next single hit the shops on 12 October:-

mp3: Pet Shop Boys – Leaving

A fine pop tune.   The PSB website offers this take on it:-

“It’s looking at the old cliché of ‘love doesn’t die’, so familiar in pop songs, and looking at the death aspect of it. It’s comparing the idea of love not dying with the fact that when a person dies there’s a sense that they don’t really die because although they’re not physically present their memory is still present and therefore in a way they have a presence in your life.”

Given that the boys were now both comfortably into their 50s,it’s no real surprise that the subject matters being covered in their songs were now quite different from the era when they sat atop of the single charts.

Leaving reached #44.   It remains the last time a PSB single cracked the Top 50 in the UK.

It was released in digital and physical formats (CD and vinyl), with a number of remix efforts made available.  CD1 contained two otherwise unavailable songs:-

mp3:  Pet Shop Boys – Hell
mp3:  Pet Shop Boys – In His Imagination

The former is a list song.   Possibly the PSB equivalent of REM‘s It’s The End Of The World…..or maybe not!!!   The named individuals are all folk who have their own place in hell (or in the instance of one person still alive will end up there – assuming you believe in Hell is an actual thing).  Most are political despots/dictators, but mention is also made of a few serial killers.  It’s an odd one…..but surprisingly catchy given the subject matter.

The latter is a short story of sorts in that it tells the tale of someone who is bored rigid with a dead-end job but dreams of better days.    It’s a mid-tempo number that doesn’t really go anywhere special and isn’t one of the more memorable b-sides.

The third and final 45 from Elysium was released on 31 December 2012, which meant it was lost amidst all that was going on, with everyone looking back primarily on the previous 12 months.  It wasn’t a straight lift from the album as the track was given a different mix and its length was reduced by a minute or so.   

mp3: Pet Shop Boys – Memory Of The Future (single mix)

It sunk without a trace, seemingly reaching #111 in the UK.   To be honest, that’s about all it deserved.  It’s not close to being a decent 45.

Again, there was a digital and physical release, with a number of remix efforts on offer alongside three two otherwise unavailable songs, all of which went to show that the duo were certainly still very prolific……or did it?

mp3: Pet Shop Boys -Listening
mp3: Pet Shop Boys – One Night
mp3: Pet Shop Boys – Inside

Listening was not an entirely new song.  It had been written back in 2012 and offered to Morten Harket, best known as lead singer with A-Ha, the Danish Norwegian  group that had enjoyed international success in the mid-80s.   Harket had gone on to include the song on his solo album Out Of My Hands, with PSB offering their own take a couple of years on.  Not knowing the original, I can’t offer any opinion on whether it’s an improvement or not…and it’s not a good enough song to make me want to go and find out

One Night was another old song.  It seemingly dates from 2007 and was written with the intention of having it recorded by Kylie Minogue, but she (or her advisers) seemingly turned it down.   It’s a more than decent romantic sounding ballad, so maybe it just wasn’t right for her at that particular time.  It would, I reckon, have been interesting to hear her take on it.

Inside was an entirely new song, one that was considered for inclusion on Elysium but left off at a late stage.  It’s another ballad and rather lovely;  but ultimately, what you had to round off a busy and high-profile year in PSB world was a low-key release, sneaked out almost under the cover of darkness on the final day of 2012, with none of the energy and fun that had long been associated with the duo. 

It also turned out to be their final involvement with  Parlophone Records. As it turned out, there wasn’t too long to wait for the next instalment in the Pet Shop Boys story.

JC