"Jealousy" is a song originally written in 1982 by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, recorded for their fourth studio album, '' Behaviour'' (1990). It was released on 27 May 1991 as the album's fourth and final single in a slightly remixed form, which appears on both Pet Shop Boys' greatest hits albums. It has also been covered by British band

Dubstar Dubstar are an English indie-dance duo,Note: An American indie hip hop artist has released some tracks and video via the Internet under the name "Dubstar", but is not connected to the band in any way. performing songs with hints of Britpop, dre ...

, and was performed by

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

at the Pet Shop Boys' 2006 BBC Radio 2 concert at the

Mermaid Theatre The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new the ...

, a recording of which was released on the Pet Shop Boys' live album ''

Concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

''.

Background

In the ''Further Listening 1990–1991'' booklet (enclosed with the 2001 two-CD re-release of '' Behaviour''),

Neil Tennant Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for ''Smash Hits'', and ...

states that "Jealousy" is the first proper song ever composed by the duo.

Chris Lowe Christopher Sean Lowe (born 4 October 1959) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Neil Tennant in 1981. Biography Lowe attended Arnold School, an independen ...

composed the melody at the piano in his parents' home and, as he felt it should be a ballad, asked Tennant to write an intense-sounding lyric. Tennant complied by writing a lyric about the simplest form of jealousy: infidelity suspicions aroused by someone's indifferent or disrespectful attitudes towards another person's feelings (such as making his/her partner wait all night for a phone call which never comes). The song was then left off three albums because the duo were waiting for legendary film composer Ennio Morricone to agree to score the orchestral arrangement for the song. Morricone's answer never came, and

Harold Faltermeyer Hans Hugo Harold Faltermeier (born 5 October 1952) is a German musician, composer and record producer. Faltermeyer is best known for composing the "Axel F" theme for the feature film ''Beverly Hills Cop'', an influential synth-pop hit in the 1 ...

ended up doing the arrangement for the song's release on ''Behaviour''.

Versions

The album version, coming at the end of ''Behaviour'', closed off the album with a sampler-based

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l outro. The single version is slightly remixed, and uses a real orchestra instead during the outro. The extended version of the single version lengthens the outro while adding an orchestral intro as well; in addition, Neil Tennant recites a quote from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's '' Othello'' (Act III, Scene III) over both sequences:mandragora, Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world, Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep Which thou owedst yesterday. The extended version is also the arrangement performed live with Robbie Williams.

's version, recorded for a covers album produced for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at ...

anniversary, is more sparsely arranged and comes to a full stop, with no additional instrumentation, with the last word of the lyrics. "Jealousy" is also one of the songs covered on '' Goes Petshopping'', the debut album by Pet Shop Boys

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style of an artist, such as ...

West End Girls "West End Girls" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life which were ...

B-side

"Losing My Mind", taken from the Stephen Sondheim musical ''

Follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Fol ...

'', was based on a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

originally recorded as a proposal for the Liza Minnelli album ''

Results A result is the outcome of an event. Result or Results may also refer to: Music * Results (album), ''Results'' (album), a 1989 album by Liza Minnelli * ''Results'', a 2012 album by Murder Construct * "The Result", a single by The Upsetters * "The ...

''. Its release here follows the releases of Minnelli's version on both ''Results'' and as the lead single from the album. As with the A-side, "Losing My Mind" was released in an extended mix (the "Disco mix") on the 12-inch single. The Disco Mix of "Losing My Mind" also appears on the 2001 re-release of Introspective, which implies it was recorded between 1988 and 1989.

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine '' Music & Media'' wrote, "Introducing

in a new role as balladeer. Different but still 'pet sounds' as usual." Barbara Ellen, writing for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', described "Jealousy" as "a romantic

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

with a subtext viciously outlining the darker side of love". She added, "It flows along beautifully, made all the better for Tennant sounding less sure than usual, more open to the soul that shrieks inside."

Track listings

* 7-inch: Parlophone / R 6283 (UK) # "Jealousy" (7-inch version) – 4:16 # "Losing My Mind" (7-inch version) – 4:34 * CD: Parlophone / CD R 6283 (UK) # "Jealousy" (7-inch version) – 4:16 # "Losing My Mind" (Disco Mix) – 6:07 # "Jealousy" (Extended Mix) – 7:54 * CD: Parlophone / 20 4224 2 (UK) # "Jealousy" (7-inch version) – 4:16 # "Losing My Mind" (7-inch version) – 4:34 # "Losing My Mind" (Disco Mix) – 6:07 * CD: Parlophone / CDRS 6283 (UK) # "Jealousy" (Extended Mix) – 7:54 # "This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave" (Extended Mix) – 7:24 # "So Hard" (Eclipse Mix) – 4:02 * Limited edition in digipak * 12-inch: Parlophone / 12 R 6283 (UK) # "Jealousy" (Extended Mix) – 7:54 # "Losing My Mind" (Disco Mix) – 6:08

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jealousy (Pet Shop Boys Song) 1982 songs 1991 singles Parlophone singles Pet Shop Boys songs Song recordings produced by Harold Faltermeyer Songs written by Chris Lowe Songs written by Neil Tennant