"Before" is a song by English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

duo

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 i ...

, released on 22 April 1996 as the lead single from their sixth studio album, ''

Bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

'' (1996). Upon its release, the single peaked at number seven on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, number four in Finland, and number one in Hungary. In the United States, it topped the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

'' described the song as "a tasteful blend of

electro-pop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

and retro-

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

", and an "vigorous and appealing

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

shuffler". He also noted that it "rides the act's familiar flair for clever lyrics and smooth melodies". James Hamilton from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

s ''RM'' Dance Update noted its "gentle cooing".

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Before" was directed by

Howard Greenhalgh Howard Douglas Greenhalgh (born 19 February 1963) is a British director of music videos and advertising. Biography Greenhalgh was born in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire and studied at the Royal College of Art, setting up the firm Why No ...

Track listings

* UK CD 1: Parlophone CDRS 6431 # "Before" – 4:05 # "The Truck Driver and His Mate" – 3:33 # "Hit and Miss" – 4:05 # "In the Night 1995" – 4:17 * UK CD 2: Parlophone CDR 6431 # "Before" (Classic Paradise mix) – 7:56 # "Before" (Aphrodisiac mix) – 7:27 # "Before" (Hed Boys Mad mix) – 7:33 # "Before" (extended mix) – 8:47 # "Before" (Danny Tenaglia mix) – 7:15 * UK 3× 12-inch: Parlophone 12RX 6431 # "Before" (Underground mix) – 7:15 # "Before" (bonus dub) – 3:59 # "Before" (Underground instrumental) – 7:15 # "Before" (bonus beats) – 3:59 # "Before" (Classic Paradise mix) – 7:56 # "Before" (Aphrodisiac mix) – 7:27 # "Before" (Hed Boys mix) – 7:33 # "Before" (Hed Boys dub) – 4:53 # "Before" (extended mix) – 8:47 * US 5-inch CD maxi single: Atlantic 85489-2 # "Before" (album version) – 4:05 # "Before" (D.T.'s after mix) – 8:46 # "Before" (Classic Paradise mix Love to Infinity) – 7:56 # "Before" (Joey Negro's Hed Boys mix) – 7:35 # "Before" (Joey Negro's Before dub) – 4:55 # "Before" (Tenaglia's underground mix) – 7:17 # "Before" (Tenaglia's bonus beats) – 4:03 # "Before" (D.T.'s twilo dub) – 8:57 # "Before" (Tenaglia's bonus dub) – 4:03 * US enhanced CD single: Atlantic 87049-2 # "Before" (Album version) # "The Truck Driver and His Mate" # "Hit and Miss" :Including "Before" video

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1996 singles 1996 songs Atlantic Records singles House music songs Music videos directed by Howard Greenhalgh Number-one singles in Hungary Parlophone singles Pet Shop Boys songs Songs written by Chris Lowe Songs written by Neil Tennant