Last week’s piece focussed on the CD release which came with the book Pet Shop Boys Annually 2017.
The 2018 version of the book didn’t have any additional CD, and there was no new music released in that year. It all meant that the next release would be via the 2019 edition of Pet Shop Boys Annually, with a four-track CD:-
mp3: Pet Shop Boys – Give Stupidity A Chance
mp3: Pet Shop Boys – On Social Media
mp3: Pet Shop Boys – What Are We Going To Do About The Rich?
mp3: Pet Shop Boys – The Forgotten Child
At the time of its release (5 February 2019), Neil Tennant said of the EP, “It contains three satirical songs and one rather sad song. I think it’s because of the times we’re living through.”
You’ve probably worked out from the song titles alone that the sad song is the final track on the EP.
I don’t have a copy of Pet Shop Boys Annually 2019 (it’s going for £85 on Discogs) and I haven’t a copy of the 12″, so these songs are completely new to me.
Given it was the first completely new material in more than three years, it most likely took fans by surprise, but it’s another example of the duo going in the most unlikely of directions. In an era when next to nobody was doing protest songs or agit-pop, material of this nature has to be welcomed. I’m not making any claim that they are among the best PSB tunes over their stellar career, but it’s a very worthy EP, albeit it would have been more of a statement if it had been given a wider and general release rather than through the website as part of a package with a hardback book
Maybe in response to possible criticisms of this nature, the songs were issued to shops on 12″ vinyl. Copies of this retail for quite modest sums, and there’s plenty available on Discogs, which perhaps reflects that the general public weren’t too keen on the left-wing version of PSB.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
There are so many later period PSB singles that have completely passed me by
I keep thinking… surely this has to be the last one. Not complaining it’s still a very entertaining series. i just thought at this stage of their career they would be out of the singles game.
Loving this series JC, entering most recent album territory next week (or maybe a special interim EP). I have been joyously listening to the albums as well as the singles / b-Sides as you’ve been going along. Some cracking stuff that I’d missed out on in the last thirty years (post Very / Disco 2).