Actually

''Actually'' (stylised as ''Pet Shop Boys, actually.'') is the second studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 7 September 1987 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and by EMI Manhattan in North America. According to Neil Tennant and music historian Wayne Studer, ''Actually'' loosely critiques Thatcherism, the political zeitgeist of the 1980s, and was recorded in anticipation of Margaret Thatcher's re-election.

''Actually'' is featured in the 2005 musical reference book ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'', and has been recognised in various other 'must-listen' lists. In 2006, '' Q'' magazine placed the album at number 22 in its list of the "40 Best Albums of the '80s". In 2012, ''Slant Magazine'' listed the album at number 88 on its list of the "Best Albums of the 1980s". In 2020, ''Rolling Stone'' placed it at number 435 on its list of the " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

Release and promotion

''Actually'' was released on 7 September 1987 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and by EMI Manhattan in the United States and Canada. In television commercials for the release, Lowe and Tennant were shown in black tie, blank-faced against a white background. The former seems unimpressed by a radio DJ-style Alan 'Fluff' Freeman voiceover listing their previous hits and new singles from ''Actually'', while the latter eventually "gets bored" and yawns, with the image then freezing to create, roughly, the album's cover shot.

''Actually'' spawned four UK top 10 singles: the number-one single "It's a Sin", "Rent", " What Have I Done to Deserve This?"—a duet with fellow Parlophone artist Dusty Springfield, which peaked at number two in both the UK and US and led to a resurgence of interest in Springfield's earlier work—and another UK number one in April 1988 with a remixed version of the song "Heart".

During this period Pet Shop Boys also completed a full-length motion picture called ''It Couldn't Happen Here''. Featuring songs by the duo, it was most famous for containing the video for "Always on My Mind" (starring Joss Ackland as a blind priest), which—while not on ''Actually—''was released as a single during this period.

''Actually'' was re-released in 2001 (as were most of the duo's albums up to that point) as ''Actually/Further Listening 1987–1988''. The reissue was digitally remastered and included a second disc of B-sides, remixes done by Pet Shop Boys and previously unreleased material from around the time of the album's original release. Another re-release followed on 9 February 2009 under the title of ''Actually: Remastered'', containing only the 10 tracks of the original release. With the 2009 re-release, the 2001 two-disc reissue was discontinued. On 2 March 2018, a new remastered two-disc ''Actually''/''Further Listening'' edition was released; the content remains the same as the 2001 edition.

Critical reception

''Actually'' was well received by critics. In December, 1987, Robert Christgau of ''The Village Voice'' praised it as "actual pop music with something actual to say—pure commodity, and proud of it." In his retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said that ''Actually'' is the album where "the Pet Shop Boys perfected their melodic, detached dance-pop."

In popular culture

Although not released as a single, the track "Shopping" is frequently featured as background music in British television news and current affairs programmes dealing with retail business issues and as bumper music on home shopping shows. This is despite the fact that the song is actually a critique of privatisation in 1980s Britain, and has little to do with actual shopping. "Shopping" was also used in a season 1 episode of the Disney Channel television series ''Lizzie McGuire''. "King's Cross" served in the Japanese media as a commercial song to the Aurex's (owned by Toshiba) cassette tape recorder model XDR.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Actually''.

Pet Shop Boys

* Neil Tennant
* Chris Lowe

Additional musicians

* Andy Richards – Fairlight and keyboard programming
* Blue Weaver – Fairlight and keyboard programming
* Gary Maughan – Fairlight and keyboard programming
* Adrian Cook – Fairlight and keyboard programming
* J. J. Jeczalik – Fairlight and keyboard programming
* Dusty Springfield – guest vocals
* Angelo Badalamenti – orchestra arrangement

Technical

* Julian Mendelsohn – production, engineering ; mixing
* Stephen Hague – production ; mixing
* David Jacob – engineering ; production ; mix engineering
* Pet Shop Boys – production
* Shep Pettibone – production
* Dave Meegan – engineering
* Andy Richards – production
* Tony Phillips – engineering

Artwork

* Mark Farrow – design
* Pet Shop Boys – design
* Cindy Palmano – cover photograph
* Eric Watson – inner sleeve photograph

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

Bibliography

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External links

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{{Authority control

1987 albums
Albums produced by Julian Mendelsohn
Albums produced by Shep Pettibone
Albums produced by Stephen Hague
Parlophone albums
Pet Shop Boys albums