"So Hard" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, '' Behaviour'' (1990). The song is about "two people living together; they are totally unfaithful to each other but they both pretend they are faithful and then catch each other out". It peaked at 4 in the United Kingdom and reached the top three in at least seven European countries, including Finland, where it reached No. 1.

Background

"The original was harping back to Giorgio Moroder with loads of all these retro instruments", recalled

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 ...

. "Then

David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1962) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including ...

took the chord progression from the middle section and made this classic pumping house track. It's quite funny, because we did this gig in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and Frankie Knuckles played this track at the party afterwards.

Neil Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. A ...

came over and said, 'Why don't we make records like this?' I said, 'Neil, it ''is'' us.' So that's how much we know about dance music!"

Critical reception

Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' wrote that the "fine" first release from the upcoming '' Behaviour'' album "maintains the fun and frothy disco melodrama of past efforts, while striking enough of a modern pop stance to encourage

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

and top 40 radio airplay." A reviewer from ''

Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liver ...

'' stated, "It might be called So Hard but the Pet Shop Boys make it all sound so easy. That's probably why people think they're too clever for their own good. But they do make excellent pop records. This is typical Pet Shop Boys despite the change of producer: Brash disco backing, dry sophisticated singing and a great tune." Pan-European magazine '' Music & Media'' commented, "All radio formats unite! This commercial pop single - featuring that typically inescapable chorus - is the logical choice for any sensible programmer." Nick Robinson 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 ...

'' said, "A welcome return, this time with Harold 'Axel F' Faltermeyer co-producing, and a typical semi-orchestral pop song with those familiar heavy dance beats and another catchy chorus." Roger Morton from ''

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 ...

'' stated that "So Hard" is "familiar Pet Shoppies territory", with its "superior hit factory pulse, boys town keyboard slashes and darkly tainted love-lyric."

Music video

The

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for the song was directed by Eric Watson and filmed in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

and

North Tyneside North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend. North Tyneside is bordered ...

. Filming locations included the Bigg Market, Newcastle

Quayside The Quayside is an area along the banks ( quay) of the River Tyne in Newcastle upon Tyne (the north bank) and Gateshead (south bank) in Tyne and Wear, North East England, United Kingdom. History The area was once an industrial area and busy co ...

, Railway Terrace in

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...

Byker Byker is a district in the east of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series '' Byker Grove'', Byker’s population was recorded at 12,206 in the 2011 census. Byker is borde ...

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around e ...

and the

Tyne and Wear Metro The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The network opened in ...

. The black and white video co-stars Paul Gascoigne's sister Anna Gascoigne. The video also shows people dancing and having fun on the streets with Neil and Chris in the background.

Track listing

The single's B-side is "It Must Be Obvious", with the US release also featuring the remix of "

Paninaro Paninaro (; feminine: ''Paninara''; plural: ''Paninari''; feminine plural: ''Paninare'') is a term that identifies a phenomenon born in the eighties in Milan which then spread first in the Milanese metropolitan area and then throughout Italy and t ...

", which was originally released on '' Disco''. Remixes were done by

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 b ...

the KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing ...

and

. The KLF remixed "So Hard" and "It Must Be Obvious", available on the "So Hard (The KLF vs Pet Shop Boys)" single. Standard 7-inch and cassette single # "So Hard" – 3:56 # "It Must Be Obvious" – 4:21 UK 12-inch single :A1. "So Hard" (extended dance mix) – 6:30 :A2. "It Must Be Obvious" – 4:21 :B1. "So Hard" (dub mix) – 7:30 UK 12-inch single (The KLF vs Pet Shop Boys) :A. "So Hard" (The KLF vs. Pet Shop Boys) – 5:27 :B. "It Must Be Obvious" (UFO mix) – 9:22 UK CD single # "So Hard" – 3:56 # "It Must Be Obvious" – 4:21 # "So Hard" (extended dance mix) – 6:30 German maxi-CD single # "So Hard" (12-inch remix) – 6:13 # "So Hard" (radio mix) – 3:22 # "So Hard" (Red Zone mix) – 6:45 # "So Hard" (Eclipse mix) – 3:40 US 12-inch and maxi-cassette single :A1. "So Hard" (extended dance mix) – 6:30 :A2. "So Hard" (single) – 3:56 :B1. "So Hard" (dub) – 7:30 :B2. "It Must Be Obvious" – 4:21 US maxi-CD single # "So Hard" (extended dance mix) – 6:30 # "So Hard" (single) – 3:56 # "So Hard" (dub) – 7:30 # "It Must Be Obvious" – 4:21 # "Paninaro" (12-inch remix) – 8:40

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

A cover version by Scottish musician

Momus Momus (; Ancient Greek: Μῶμος ''Momos'') in Greek mythology was the personification of satire and mockery, two stories about whom figure among Aesop's Fables. During the Renaissance, several literary works used him as a mouthpiece for their ...

was included on the 2001 compilation ''Very Introspective, Actually: A Tribute to the Pet Shop Boys''.

References

{{Authority control 1990 singles 1990 songs Number-one singles in Finland Parlophone singles Pet Shop Boys songs Song recordings produced by Harold Faltermeyer Songs written by Chris Lowe Songs written by Neil Tennant Black-and-white music videos