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Actually
''Actually'' (stylised as ''Pet Shop Boys, actually.'') is the second studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 7 September 1987 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and by EMI Manhattan in North America. According to Neil Tennant and music historian Wayne Studer, ''Actually'' loosely critiques Thatcherism, the political zeitgeist of the 1980s, and was recorded in anticipation of Margaret Thatcher's re-election. ''Actually'' is featured in the 2005 musical reference book ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'', and has been recognised in various other 'must-listen' lists. In 2006, '' Q'' magazine placed the album at number 22 in its list of the "40 Best Albums of the '80s". In 2012, ''Slant Magazine'' listed the album at number 88 on its list of the "Best Albums of the 1980s". In 2020, ''Rolling Stone'' placed it at number 435 on its list of the " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Release and promotion ''Actually'' was released on 7 September 1987 b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pet Shop Boys
The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music history in the 1999 edition of ''The Guinness Book of Records''. Three-time Brit Award winners and six-time Grammy nominees, since 1984 they have achieved 42 top 30 singles, 22 of these being top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart, including four UK number ones: "West End Girls" (also number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100), "It's a Sin", a synth-pop version of " Always on My Mind", and "Heart". Other hit songs include a cover of " Go West", and their own "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)", and " What Have I Done to Deserve This?" in a duet with Dusty Springfield. With five US top ten singles in the 1980s, they are associated with the Second British Invasion. At the 2009 Brit Awards in London, the Pet Shop Boys recei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heart (Pet Shop Boys Song)
"Heart" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, ''Actually'' (1987). It was released as the album's fourth and final single on 21 March 1988. The song topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in April 1988, becoming the duo's fourth and final chart-topper to date in the United Kingdom. The group had initially written the song for Madonna, though they never asked her to record it, instead keeping it for themselves. Background Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, "Heart" was the fourth and final single from the duo's second studio album, ''Actually''. A new mix different to the album version was released as a single in March 1988, ascending to the top of the charts to become the duo's fourth—and, to date, last—UK number-one single. It was also successful across Europe. The genesis of the song goes back to the sessions for the duo's first album ''Please'' in early 1986 with Shep Pettibone. Originally, the duo had planned to offer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
What Have I Done To Deserve This? (song)
"What Have I Done to Deserve This?" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys and soul singer Dusty Springfield, taken from the duo's second studio album, ''Actually'' (1987). The song was released as the second single from the album on 10 August 1987. A commercial success in both the United Kingdom and United States, the song helped revive Springfield's career and led to a resurgence of interest in her music. Following the single, the Pet Shop Boys wrote and produced the singles "Nothing Has Been Proved" and "In Private" for Springfield, both included on her album ''Reputation'' (1990). Background "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" marked Pet Shop Boys' first major collaboration with another recording artist. The song was originally written and demoed around Christmas 1984 with the assistance of notable American songwriter Allee Willis It was originally intended for use on ''Please'', but the problem was to decide who’d sing the other half of the duet. Various conte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It's A Sin
"It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, ''Actually'' (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's second number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks atop the chart. Additionally, the single topped the charts in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, while reaching number nine on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. A demo of the track was first cut in 1984 with Bobby Orlando, and the song's form in the demo remained intact to the final version, although the released production is far more dramatic. Writing and inspiration In this song, Tennant describes some impressions he got from his time at the Catholic St Cuthbert's High School in Newcastle upon Tyne. He ended up feeling that everything he had done or was going to do was a sin. Tennant has said that he wrote the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shep Pettibone
Robert "Shep" Pettibone (born 10 July 1959) is an American record producer, remixer, songwriter and club DJ, one of the most prolific of the 1980s. Career Shep Pettibone surfaced after his work with Arthur Baker on Afrika Bambaataa & the Jazzy 5's "Jazzy Sensation" and as an in-house mix engineer for Prelude Records. During his recording career, he launched innovative "mastermixes" for New York's KISS FM. The popularity of these mixes persuaded Prelude Records to release some of them commercially. Pettibone built his brand through his personal approach to remixing tracks, specially crafted for the dancefloor. Acclaimed by DJs worldwide, he was the go-to man to achieve club and chart success. His prowess at production and mixing led him to work with such artists as Madonna and George Michael in the late 1980s during the height of these artists' popularity. His influence is still perceivable in today's music. Pettibone is the subject of the first volume of the ''Arthur Bake ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Introspective
''Introspective'' is the third studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 10 October 1988 by Parlophone. It received generally positive reviews from critics. Background The album was unusual in that it reversed the typical process by which pop/dance acts released singles. Instead of releasing an album of regular-length (3–5-minute) songs, then releasing lengthy remixes of those songs on subsequent singles, ''Introspective'' was released as an LP consisting of songs that all lasted six minutes or more. Tracks released as singles like " Always on My Mind" and "Domino Dancing" had been issued as shorter, more radio-friendly mixes prior to the album. None was released as a radio single in the same form as it appeared on the album. It was also the case for the two other singles "Left to My Own Devices" and "It's Alright". Of the six tracks on the album, only two were written specifically for the album—"Left to My Own Devices" and "Domino Dancing". "Alway ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rent (song)
"Rent" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, ''Actually'' (1987). It was released as the album's third single on 12 October 1987. Song information The lyric is commonly thought to deal with a financially one-sided relationship, i.e. that of a kept man, the title implying more specifically the lot of a rent boy. Neil Tennant, however, stated in the ''Actually: Further Listening'' liner notes: It peaked at number 8 in the British charts. Producer Stephen Hague remixed the song for single release. Video The video for the song was directed by Derek Jarman. It features two intercut storylines. One, filmed in black and white, shows Chris Lowe arriving at King's Cross station by train and walking past various low-life characters. The other, filmed in colour, features Margi Clarke as the partner of a wealthy man (played by Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath Alexander George Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath (6 May 1932 – 4 April 2020 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Hague
Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session keyboardist. He soon became a member of the band Jules and the Polar Bears and produced (with Jules Shear) the two albums and one EP, released between 1978 and 1980, by that band. He then branched out into producing work by other artists, including 1980s Sparks offshoot band Gleaming Spires, their first album being recorded on Hague's home 4-track tape recorder. This 1981 album spawned the Los Angeles radio hit "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?" on the Posh Boy label, a recording subsequently featured in Hollywood features ''The Last American Virgin'' and ''Revenge of the Nerds''. Hague and Shear teamed up to produce both albums by new-wavers Slow Children in 1981 and 1982; Hague also co-produced Elliot Easton's (The Cars) 1985 solo album ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julian Mendelsohn
Julian Mendelsohn is an Australian record producer, audio engineer and mixer. Early life After completing school in Australia, Mendelsohn moved to the United Kingdom. He secured his first job in 1974 at Milner Sound Fulham Rd. Chelsea, run by ex-BBC engineer John Milner. List of works Mendelsohn was a producer for: Albums * The Firm - '' Mean Business'' (1986) * Pet Shop Boys - '' Disco'' (1986) * Models - '' Models' Media'' (1986) *Pet Shop Boys - ''Actually'' (1987) *Level 42 - '' Staring at the Sun'' (1988) * Pseudo Echo - ''Race'' (1988) * The Blow Monkeys - '' Whoops! There Goes the Neighbourhood'' (1989) * Nik Kershaw - '' The Works'' (1989) * Del Amitri - '' Waking Hours'' (1989) * Liza Minnelli - '' Results'' (1989) * The Associates - '' Wild and Lonely'' (1990) *Dusty Springfield - ''Reputation'' (1990) *Pet Shop Boys - '' Discography: The Complete Singles Collection'' (1991) *Tasmin Archer - '' Great Expectations'' (1992) *Paul McCartney - ''Off the Ground'' (1993) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Richards
Andrew John Richards (born 26 October 1952) is a British-Australian pianist, composer, music producer and keyboardist. The artists he has played with include Frankie Goes to Hollywood, George Michael, Propaganda, Grace Jones, Rush, Annie Lennox, Gary Moore, Pet Shop Boys, Godley & Creme, Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, Strawbs, OMD, Malcolm McLaren, Nik Kershaw, T'Pau, Maddy Prior and Denny Laine. Richards has performed and programmed keyboards on 8 UK No. 1 singles, namely: "Relax" (1984) and "Two Tribes" (1984) by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, "Careless Whisper" (1984) by George Michael, " The Lady in Red" (1986) by Chris de Burgh, "It's a Sin" (1987), " Always on My Mind" (1987) and "Heart" (1988) by Pet Shop Boys and " Spaceman" (1996) by Babylon Zoo. The movies Richards has worked on include ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' (2001), '' Touching the Void'' (2003), ''The Last King of Scotland'' (2006), ''Slumdog Millionaire'' (2009), which gained 2 Oscars for the music, and ''127 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disco (Pet Shop Boys Album)
''Disco'' is the first remix album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 17 November 1986 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and by EMI America Records in the United States. ''Disco'' consists of remixes of tracks from the band's debut album ''Please'' and its respective B-sides. The album includes remixes by Arthur Baker, Shep Pettibone and the Pet Shop Boys themselves. Background According to interviews, the album was released to showcase music the duo deemed non-radio friendly. With the exception of "Suburbia", all the mixes on ''Disco'' were either rare import remixes or previously unreleased. ''In The Night'' - possibly originally intended for the B-side of the original 12" 1985 release of "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (the sleeve of which lists "In The Night (Extended)" but in fact played the 7" version); previously unreleased ''Suburbia'' - a.k.a. The Full Horror (standard 12" version) ''Opportunities'' - a.k.a. "Version Latina" from the re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parlophone Company Limited (the Parlophone Co. Ltd.), which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a jazz record label. On 5 October 1926, the Columbia Graphophone Company acquired Parlophone's business, name, logo, and release library, and merged with the Gramophone Company on 31 March 1931 to become Electric & Musical Industries Limited (EMI). George Martin joined Parlophone in 1950 as assistant to Oscar Preuss (who had set up the London branch of the company in 1923), the label manager, taking over as manager in 1955. Martin produced and released a mix of recordings, including by comedian Peter Sellers, pianist Mrs Mills, and teen idol Adam Faith. In 1962, Martin signed the Beatles, a beat group from Liverpool who earlier ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
