Post-modern ironists cloaked behind a veil of buoyantly melodic and lushly romantic synth pop confections, Pet Shop Boys offer wry yet strangely affecting cultural commentary communicated by the Morse code of synth washes and drum machine rhythms. After first emerging in the mid-'80s with "West End Girls" and "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)," Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe quickly established themselves as hitmaking singles artists who were also able to craft emotionally resonant albums, like 1988's Introspective and 1990's Behaviour. The duo navigated the constantly shifting landscape of modern dance-pop with grace and intelligence, moving easily from disco to house music to thoughtful synth pop without losing their distinctive style in the process. Continuing to evolve artistically, Pet Shop Boys incorporated Latin music on 1996's Bilingual, expanded into theater and ballet, and morphed into elder statesmen of electronic pop, still able to release interesting albums after more than 30 years, as evidenced by highlights like 2016's Super and 2020's Hotspot.
Pet Shop Boys formed in London in August 1981, when vocalist Tennant (a former editor at Marvel Comics who later gained recognition as a journalist for Smash Hits magazine) first met keyboardist Lowe (a onetime architecture student) at an electronics shop. Discovering a shared passion for dance music and synthesizers, they immediately decided to start a band. After dubbing themselves Pet Shop Boys in honor of friends who worked in such an establishment -- while also obliquely nodding to the sort of names prevalent among the New York City hip-hop culture of the early '80s -- the duo's career first took flight in 1983, when Tennant met producer Bobby "O" Orlando while on a writing assignment. Orlando produced their first single, 1984's "West End Girls." The song was a minor hit in the U.S. but went nowhere in Britain, and its follow-up, "One More Chance," was also unsuccessful.
Upon signing to EMI, Pet Shop Boys issued 1985's biting "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)." When it too failed to attract attention, the duo's future appeared grim, but Tennant and Lowe then released an evocative new Stephen Hague production of "West End Girls," which became an international chart-topper. Its massive success propelled Pet Shop Boys' 1986 debut LP, Please, into the Top Ten, and when "Opportunities" was subsequently reissued, it too became a hit. Disco, a collection of dance remixes, was quickly rushed into stores, and in 1987 the duo resurfaced with the superb Actually, which launched two more Top Ten smashes -- "It's a Sin" and "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," a duet between Tennant and the great Dusty Springfield. Later that year, "Always on My Mind," a lovely cover of the perennial Elvis Presley standard, reached number one in several countries and the Top Ten in the U.S. A documentary film titled It Couldn't Happen Here was released one year later.
In October 1988, Pet Shop Boys issued their third studio LP, the eclectic Introspective. "Domino Dancing" and "Left to My Own Devices" both reached the Top Ten in Great Britain. The following year, Pet Shop Boys collaborated with a variety of performers, most notably Liza Minnelli, for whom they produced the 1989 LP Results. They also produced material for Springfield, and Tennant joined New Order frontman Bernard Sumner and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr in the group Electronic, scoring a hit with the single "Getting Away with It." Tennant and Lowe reconvened in 1990 for the muted, downcast Behavior, produced by Harold Faltermeyer. Their hit medley of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" was released in 1991, and was followed in 1993 by Very, lauded as one of the duo's finest efforts.
After a three-year absence, Pet Shop Boys resurfaced with Bilingual, a fluid expansion into Latin rhythms. Nightlife followed in 1999 and sparked the dance club hit "New York City Boy," whose success allowed the group to tour the U.S. for the first time in eight years. While on tour, the pair also collaborated with playwright Jonathan Harvey on a musical surrounding gay life and societal criticisms, which the three had been planning since 1997. Closer to Heaven made its West End debut in 2001 and had a successful run for most of the year; Pet Shop Boys' score of the original cast recording was also a hit in the U.K. They still had time to make a record for themselves, too: In April 2002, Tennant and Lowe issued Release and Disco 3 was compiled for release the following year.
Pet Shop Boys continued releasing material throughout the decade's latter half. In 2005, they put together a volume of the Back to Mine series and released their music designed to accompany the 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin, a soundtrack they'd performed a year earlier at a free concert/screening in Trafalgar Square. A year later, they issued Fundamental, a mature, sometimes political album produced by Trevor Horn. The live album Concrete: In Concert at the Mermaid Theatre appeared at the end of the year, and Yes -- a collaborative effort with the production crew Xenomania -- marked the band's tenth studio effort in March 2009. While playing shows in support of that album, Pet Shop Boys also released a hits compilation, Party, to coincide with the Brazilian leg of their tour. In 2010, the tour was documented on the CD/DVD release Pandemonium, and another greatest-hits compilation, Ultimate, arrived.
Their 2011 effort, The Most Incredible Thing, was a two-disc ballet score composed for the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, while 2012's Format rounded up the duo's B-sides and bonus tracks from the years 1996-2009. Also in 2012, Pet Shop Boys released the sports-themed single "Winner" and performed the track at the 2012 Olympics Summer Games, held that year in their hometown of London. The track landed on that year's album Elysium, which was produced by Kanye West affiliate Andrew Dawson. Stuart Price (Madonna, Seal, Kylie Minogue) was the producer of 2013's Electric, an album that featured no ballads, just dance tracks.
In May 2014, the duo announced more original music, this time with a concert piece scheduled for a July date at Royal Albert Hall commemorating British code breaker Alan Turing and including the BBC Concert Orchestra. Price returned as producer of 2016's Super, the second album in a row where Pet Shop Boys were "electronic purists," meaning no guitars, no orchestral support, and no organic instruments. The following year saw the band issue the Undertow EP, which featured two remixes of Super's "Undertow," a remix of "Burn," and a new version of "Left to My Own Devices," produced by Stuart Price. They were also awarded the Godlike Genius Award by NME.
The duo issued the Agenda EP in early 2019, and the live album CD/DVD/Blu-ray release Inner Sanctum appeared in April; it was recorded during Pet Shop Boys' four-day residency in July 2018 at the Royal Opera House in London. Later in the year, they started issuing songs from their next long-player, including "Dreamland," a collaboration with Years & Years, and "Burning the Heather," which featured Suede's Bernard Butler on guitar. The album, titled Hotspot, arrived in January 2020 and was their third LP to be produced by Price. Discovery (Live in Rio), a concert originally issued on video in 1995, was issued on DVD and CD for the first time in 2021. The duo also released a nearly ten-minute classical-inspired single titled "Cricket Wife."
In May 2022 Pet Shop and British pop duo Soft Cell released the album *Happiness Not Included - Soft Cell first studio album in nearly two decades. The colab included the song “Purple Zone”, blending the best of both Soft Cell and Pet Shop Boys, layering a dazzling synth riff and dance floor-ready beat with anthemic vocals. Appropriately for the pandemics, the track laments feeling stuck in the monotony of everyday mundanities: “Let’s get out of this life/ I’m afraid and alone,” goes the chorus. Paralyzed in the purple zone.”
Their much-anticipated “Unity Tour” of North America alongside New Order, rescheduled twice following pandemics delays, kicked off in Fall 2022 and included several venues in Canada and the United States, featuring Paul Oakenfold as special guest DJ.
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Breathing Space
Pet Shop Boys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you're feeling left behind
Seems the faith's not on your side
And the fog has left you blind
When the pressure's pulling different ways
Find you lying for some empty days
I pause in the public place
Take time from all the time it takes
To make up for all the big mistakes
I gotta get out, I gotta get out
When your life runs out of steam
And you need a little time
If your muse is out of luck
You might need an extra rhyme
When your heart escapes your head downways
In the growing queue that life creates
I stop for some breathing space
Divert from the public place
Return to a private place
I know it's the adjusting case
I gotta get out, I gotta get out
Far far away I'm going
Far far away I gotta get out
I gotta get out
There's a place beyond this world
Where the mountains meet the sky
It's a different state of mind
Like a dream where you can fly
Can I tell you this in confidence
I need to regain that whole indoor sense
I stop for some breathing space
Divert from the public place
Return to a private place
I know it's the adjusting case
I gotta get out, I gotta get out
The lyrics of the song "Breathing Space" by Pet Shop Boys are about taking a break from the pressures of life and finding a private place to reflect and recharge. The first verse talks about feeling left behind and blind when the pressure of life becomes overwhelming. The chorus emphasizes the importance of taking a break and finding a quiet space to breathe and clear your head. The second verse offers a continuation of the theme by emphasizing the need for rest, especially when your creative drive seems to have run out of steam.
The lyrics then describe a place beyond this world, where the mountains meet the sky, and where one can find a different state of mind, like a dream where you can fly. This serves as a metaphor for stepping away from the pressures of everyday life and finding a new perspective. The final verse highlights the need to regain a sense of self and to find a private space to reflect and recuperate.
In general, the song conveys an important message about the importance of taking time to breathe and recharge, especially in today's fast-paced and demanding world.
Line by Line Meaning
When your heart is out of line
When your emotions are in turmoil
And you're feeling left behind
And you feel like everyone else is moving forward without you
Seems the faith's not on your side
It appears that luck or fate is not favoring you
And the fog has left you blind
And you feel confused and unable to see clearly
When the pressure's pulling different ways
When you feel pulled in multiple directions at once
Find you lying for some empty days
You find yourself feeling lazy and unmotivated for a while
I stop for some breathing space
I take time to pause and reflect
I pause in the public place
I take a break even if it's in a crowded area
Take time from all the time it takes
I take the time I need to recharge regardless of how long it takes
To make up for all the big mistakes
To correct and learn from all the significant errors I've made
I gotta get out, I gotta get out
I need to escape for a while
When your life runs out of steam
When you feel drained and lack energy
And you need a little time
And you require some time to rest and recover
If your muse is out of luck
If your source of inspiration has run dry
You might need an extra rhyme
You might need an additional boost to be creative again
When your heart escapes your head downways
When your emotions overwhelm your rational thinking
In the growing queue that life creates
In the long line of responsibilities and tasks required in life
Divert from the public place
Find a more private area to escape to
Return to a private place
Go back to a location where you feel comfortable and calm
I know it's the adjusting case
I understand that this is part of the process of adapting to life
Far far away I'm going
I need to go far away to distance myself from my problems
Far far away I gotta get out
It is imperative that I take a break and travel away
There's a place beyond this world
There is another physical location that is not part of this world
Where the mountains meet the sky
Where the high peaks merge with the clouds above
It's a different state of mind
It is an alternative way of thinking and perceiving the world
Like a dream where you can fly
Like a vivid, fanciful dream where you have the power of flight
Can I tell you this in confidence
Can I trust you to keep this secret
I need to regain that whole indoor sense
I have to restore that inner sense of balance and clarity
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRIS LOWE, NEIL TENNANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind