West End Girls are a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

synthpop 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 a ...

band performing

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of songs by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

electronic/pop music act the

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 ...

. Hailing from

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, the duo originally consisted of Isabelle Erkendal and Rosanna Jirebeck, but Rosanna left the group in 2008 and was replaced by Isabelle's cousin Emmeli Erkendal. Isabelle Erkendal provides main vocals for the band and is the "

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 a ...

" figure, whilst Jirebeck was behind her as "

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 independent ...

", a capacity now filled by Emmeli Erkendal. West End Girls has been performing since 2003. Unlike other cover bands, their style emulates the Pet Shop Boys rather than providing direct facsimiles. Their videos and photography echo elements seen in the Pet Shop Boys' own projects, such as industrial architecture, hats, dogs, costumes, gestures, etc., as well as techniques such as colourful lighting and mixing live action with computer graphics.

Discography

Singles

In October 2005, they released a version of the Pet Shop Boys hit "

Domino Dancing "Domino Dancing" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the lead single from their third studio album, ''Introspective'' (1988). It reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart and topped the charts in Finland and Spain. ...

" which originally appeared on the Pet Shop Boys album ''

Introspective ''Introspective'' is the third studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 10 October 1988 by Parlophone. It received generally positive reviews from critics. Background The album was unusual in that it reversed the typi ...

''. The single was produced by Johan Fjellström and debuted at number 6 in the Swedish single chart reaching a peak position of number 3. In January 2006, their cover of "

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 in ...

", the track that inspired their name, was released. A third single, their cover of "

Suburbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

", was released on 7 June. It also features on

The Sims 2 ''The Sims 2'' is a 2004 strategy game, strategic life simulation game, life simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the second major title in ''The Sims'' series, and is the sequel to ''The Sims (video ...

expansion pack

Pets A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

, recorded in the game's "native" language,

Simlish Simlish is a fictional language featured in EA's ''Sim'' series of games. It debuted in ''SimCopter'' (1996), and has been especially prominent in ''The Sims'' franchise, as well as in its spinoff ''MySims'' series. Simlish can also be heard ...

, and called "Booglurbia". In December 2007, they announced through their Blog that a new single would be released in February/March 2008. This was followed up on 9 January 2008, when

Popjustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cra ...

announced that the band's next two singles would be " What Have I Done to Deserve This?" (a cover of the Pet Shop Boys' duet with

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

in which West End Girls will duet with

Magnus Carlson Magnus Carlson (born 3 August 1968) is a Swedish singer, composer, songwriter, DJ, and record collector. After playing in various cover bands in the nineties he formed the indie group, Weeping Willows. Their 1997 debut album was an instant succ ...

from

Weeping Willows Weeping Willows is a Swedish indie rock group that started in 1995. History The band's first two albums are primarily influenced by the popular music of the late 1950s to early 1960s. With their third album ''Into the Light'', Weeping Willows ...

) and "Little Black Dress" (a Pet Shop Boys written song that was due to be included in their 2001 musical Closer to Heaven but was not used and has not been released). "Little Black Dress" was eventually released in February 2009. " What Have I Done to Deserve This?" has been remixed by producer Nathan Heinze as an electro club mix.

Albums

West End Girls debut album is called ''

Goes Petshopping ''Goes Petshopping'' is the first album by West End Girls, the Pet Shop Boys tribute band. In Japan, the album is titled ''We Love Pet Shop Boys!'', and features an exclusive bonus track. Track listing # "I'm Not Scared" # "Domino Dancing" # "S ...

'' and it was released on 7 June 2006. In Japan, the album is called '' We Love Pet Shop Boys!'' and includes a bonus track, "Go West". Their second album, ''

Shoplifters Shoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters ma ...

'', was announced in 2008, but so far hasn't been released.

Other songs

The West End Girls have also covered the Pet Shop Boys 1987

Christmas number one single In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

, " Always on My Mind", which itself is a cover of the

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

track. This new song appears on '' The Best Kids Christmas Album in the World Ever Ever Ever!!!''. Additionally, they covered the 1997 Fan Club exclusive track " It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas" for the 2008 '' Super Dance Christmas Party'' compilation album.

References

External links