Actually (album)
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Actually (album)
''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 198 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its coverage of rock music and political reporting by Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine broadened and shifted its focus to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors, and popular music. It has since returned to its traditional mix of content, including music, entertainment, and politics. The first magazine was released in 1967 and featured John Lennon on the cover and was published every two weeks. It is known for provocative photography and its cover photos, featuring musicians, politicians, athletes, and actors. In addition to its print version in the United States, it publishes content through Rollingstone.com and numerous international editions. Penske Media Corporation is the c ...
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Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival. History ''Slant Magazine'' was launched in 2001. On January 21, 2010, it was relaunched and absorbed the entertainment blog ''The House Next Door'', founded by Matt Zoller Seitz, a former ''New York Times'' and ''New York Press'' writer, and maintained by Keith Uhlich, former ''Time Out New York'' film critic, who was the blog's editor until 2012. In the media ''Slant''s reviews, which A. O. Scott of ''The New York Times'' has described as "passionate and often prickly", have occasionally been the source of debate and discourse online and in the media. Ed Gonzalez's review of Kevin Gage's 2005 film ''Chaos'' sparked some controversy when Roger Ebert quoted it in his review of the film for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''; '' ...
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Q (magazine)
''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ''Q'''s final issue was published in July 2020. ''Q'' was originally published by the EMAP media group and set itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing. In the early years, the magazine was sub-titled "The modern guide to music and more". Originally it was to be called ''Cue'' (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it would not be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in ''Q''s 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would be more prominent on newsstands. In January 2008, EMAP sold its consumer magazine titles, including ''Q'', to the Bauer Media Group. Bauer put the title up for sale in 2020 ...
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1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics to be the most important, influential, and best in popular music between the 1950s and the 2010s. The book is edited by Robert Dimery, an English writer and editor who had previously worked for magazines such as '' Time Out'' and ''Vogue''. Each entry in the book's roughly chronological list of albums is accompanied by a short essay written by a music critic, along with pictures, quotes, and additional information (such as the album's running time and producer). Compilations of various artists, and most film soundtracks, are excluded. Selection and sorting methodology In the book's introduction, general editor Robert Dimery notes that the selections were also intended to bring attention to gifted songwriters. Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costel ...
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Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The Labour Party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. In all general elections since 1922, Labour has been either the governing party or the Official Opposition. There have been six Labour prime ministers and thirteen Labour ministries. The party holds the annual Labour Party Conference, at which party policy is formulated. The party was founded in 1900, having grown out of the trade union movement and socialist parties of the 19th century. It overtook the Liberal Party to become the main opposition to the Conservative Party in the early 1920s, forming two minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in the 1920s and early 1930s. Labour served in the wartime coalition of 1940–1945, after which Clement Attlee's Labour government established the National Health Service and expanded the welfa ...
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1987 United Kingdom General Election
The 1987 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive general election victory for the Conservative Party, and second landslide under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the Earl of Liverpool in 1820 to lead a party into three successive electoral victories. The Conservatives ran a campaign focusing on lower taxes, a strong economy and strong defence. They also emphasised that unemployment had just fallen below the 3 million mark for the first time since 1981, and inflation was standing at 4%, its lowest level since the 1960s. National newspapers also continued to largely back the Conservative Government, particularly '' The Sun'', which ran anti-Labour articles with headlines such as "Why I'm backing Kinnock, by Stalin". The Labour Party, led by Neil Kinnock following Michael Foot's resignation in the aftermath of their l ...
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Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime minister and the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century. As prime minister, she implemented economic policies that became known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. Thatcher studied chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, and worked briefly as a research chemist, before becoming a barrister. She was List of MPs elected in the 1959 United Kingdom general election, elected Member of Parliament for Finchley (UK Parliament constituency), Finchley in 1959 United Kingdom general election, 1959. Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his H ...
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Zeitgeist
In 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy, a ''Zeitgeist'' () ("spirit of the age") is an invisible agent, force or Daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. Now, the term is usually associated with Georg W. F. Hegel, contrasting with Hegel's use of ''Volksgeist'' "national spirit" and ''Weltgeist'' "world-spirit". Its coinage and popularization precedes Hegel, and is mostly due to Johann Gottfried Herder, Herder and Goethe. Other philosophers who were associated with such concepts include Herbert Spencer, Spencer and Voltaire. Contemporary use of the term sometimes, more colloquially, refers to a schema of fad, fashions or fads that prescribes what is considered to be acceptable or tasteful for an era: e.g., in the field of architecture. Theory of leadership Hegel in ''Phenomenology of the Spirit'' (1807) uses both ''Weltgeist'' and ''Volksgeist'', but prefers the phrase ''Geist der Zeiten'' "spirit of the times" over the German compound, co ...
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Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money)
"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their debut studio album, ''Please'' (1986). It was released as a single in 1985 and re-recorded and reissued in 1986, gaining greater popularity in both the United Kingdom and United States with its second release, reaching number 11 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. After a Super Bowl ad in February 2021, featuring the song, it re-entered the charts claiming the ''Billboard'' Dance/Electronic Digital Songs No. 1 spot on February 27, 2021, among others. Background The song was written during the Pet Shop Boys' formative years, in 1983. According to Neil Tennant, the main lyrical concept came while in a recording studio in Camden Town when Chris Lowe asked him to make up a lyric based around the line "Let's make lots of money". The first version of the song, recorded with the duo's first producer, Bobby Orlando, was not released; upon signing ...
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Thatcherism
Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and general style of management while in office. Proponents of Thatcherism are referred to as Thatcherites. The term has been used to describe the principles of the British government under Thatcher from the 1979 general election to her resignation in 1990, but it also receives use in describing administrative efforts continuing into the Conservative governments under statesmen John Major and David Cameron throughout the 1990s and 2010s. In international terms, Thatcherites have been described as a part of the general socio-economic movement known as neoliberalism, with different countries besides the United Kingdom (such as the United States) sharing similar policies around expansionary capitalism. Thatcherism represents a systematic, decisive rejection and re ...
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