"Vocal" 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 ...
from their twelfth studio album, ''
Electric'' (2013). It was released on 3 June 2013 as the album's second single.
Background
"Vocal" was written during the writing process for the 2012 album ''
Elysium
Elysium (, ), otherwise known as the Elysian Fields ( grc, Ἠλύσιον πεδίον, ''Ēlýsion pedíon'') or Elysian Plains, is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philos ...
'', and was one of the earliest tracks written for the album. The track, however, was not included on the record as it did not fit the rest of the "somber" and "reflective" material. It was instead recorded for ''Electric'' and was released as the album's second single. A demo version of "Vocal" was included as bonus track on the 2017 re-issue of ''Elysium''.
Release
The single was released digitally on 3 June 2013. On 29 July 2013, "Vocal" was released on
CD single
A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...
and digital bundle formats, both containing the original album version and eight original remixes.
The
12-inch vinyl single
The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...
was released on 9 December 2013.
It was the very first physical single release by Pet Shop Boys that did not contain any new B-side songs.
Music video
The music video for "Vocal" was directed by
Joost Vandebrug. It is a tribute to rave culture and electronic music. It consists of a compilation of various amateur videos recorded circa the
Summer of Rave in 1989.
Live performances
The song was performed as the final encore on the Electric Tour.
Other performances
In the 2015 revival of Pet Shop Boys stage musical ''
Closer to Heaven'' at London's
Union Theatre, "Vocal" replaced the original closing number "Positive Role Model".
Track listings
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
External links
{{Authority control
2013 singles
2013 songs
Pet Shop Boys songs
Song recordings produced by Stuart Price
Songs written by Chris Lowe
Songs written by Neil Tennant