Five more from the PSB

OK, so I started my top ten Pet Shop Boys tracks, only posted five, and then forgot about it. So here, belatedly, is the rest of the list.

6) A Red Letter Day (Motiv8 remix, original version from 'Bilingual'

Apparently one of Elton John's favourite songs by PSB, this track was heavily influenced by Russia, rather than the warmer latin themes that run through the rest of the Bilingual album. A sweet song about someone waiting to hear their partner say they love them, this is probably the catchiest song on Bilingual, and the most obvious choice for a single. Rather than the album version, which features the Moscow choir and a much moodier arrangement, I've gone for the Motiv 8 remix, which is much more mid-90s poppers-o-clock, and suits the relatively upbeat (for the Pet Shop Boys at least) tone of the song.




7) Here (PSB Extended Mix), from 'Disco 3'

Another remix - but one by the boys themselves, so we can only assume that this incarnation was part of their original vision for the song. In an interview in 2003 they said that the album version felt like a "day one sort of recording" and that it had disco potential.

The song itself was originally written for the musical 'Closer To Heaven', and talks about the non-biological families that we find ourselves becoming a part of. "We all have a dream of a place we belong, where the fire is burning and the radio's on" sings Neil comforingly. The tune is anthemic, and in this remixed version has a wonderfully joyous reprise of the main melody. Definitely the stand-out track on both 'Release' and 'Disco 3'.



8) You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk, from 'Nightlife'

The boys were obviously in a long title kind of mood when making 'Nightlife', what with this and 'I don't know what you want but I can't give it anymore' surely making for two of the longest single titles ever released. And a weird alternative to their one-word album titles. Anyway, what of the song? It actually reminds me of Sue Townsend's fantastic Adrian Mole diaries, in particular a moment when the troubled teenager comments that his mother never shows him affection when she's sober. As Neil and Chris admit in the sleeve notes, we're left hanging as to whether the inebriated sentiment is sincere or not. But I'm a romantic, so I'll assume that they mean what they say, but they need some social lubricant to get the words out.

Here's the boys performing it on Top of the Pops.



9) I Want A Lover, from 'Please'

Urgent, impatient and coldly electronic. This is about as sexual as Neil Tennant gets, which admittedly feels a little like being molested by a robot. He's picked someone up in a bar and he's keen to whisk them away as quick as possible. There's a real raw sense of mid-Eighties irresponsible promiscuity to this song, which makes it feel like a compelling time capsule of a long-lost era.



10) One In A Million, from 'Very'

It's hard to pick a stand out song on 'Very' since there were so many fantastic nuggets of pop joy. But this feels particularly anthemic, as it portrays someone begging their partner not to leave them. As with many of the boys' most upbeat tracks, this is actually about a relationship's end, and someone's denial about the state of affairs, but still manages to leave you with a big goofy grin on your face. And that's the magic of the Pet Shop Boys - you don't always know what you're supposed to be feeling, but you're always feeling something.