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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Casanova in Hell
Pet Shop Boys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Inspires affection
It's queer that here
He can't cast his spell
In her direction
Somewhere near
One senses fear
Casanova in Hell
The girl is naked
The boy is naked
He hides inside
A secret chamber, there to gape
Through a velvet drape
And dream of rape
Casanova in Hell
Her sharp suggestion
He couldn't get an erection
Came as a shock
He finds himself
A laughing stock
His ageing fate
To contemplate
Casanova in Hell
Back in the library
His revenge is his story
What he will write
Will recall the bite
Of his wit and legendary appetite
The sybarite
Casanova is well
For Casanova has the last laugh
Creates the myth and vindication
Of his sexual vocation
Makes the definitive collection
His lives and lovers and above all
His erection
Will live in history
The song "Casanova in Hell" by Pet Shop Boys tells the story of a man, likely the infamous Casanova, encountering a woman who does not fall under his charm. The first verse describes the man's usual strategy of casting spells and inspiring affection. However, in the presence of this woman, he senses fear and cannot cast his spell. The second verse takes a darker turn as the man is depicted hiding in a secret chamber, dreaming of rape while peering at the naked woman through a velvet drape. The final verse sees the man back in his own space, contemplating his aging fate after being unable to perform sexually with the woman. However, instead of being defeated, the man decides to write his own narrative, one that will celebrate and justify his sexual exploits, including his inability to perform with this particular woman.
Through its vivid and disturbing imagery, the song offers a critique of masculinity and sexual power dynamics. The man's desperation to maintain his control over women, as well as his willingness to resort to violence and exploitation, is shown to be ultimately fruitless. The final verse does offer some measure of victory, but it is a hollow one, based on the creation of a myth and the subjugation of historical truth in favor of the man's own perspective.
Line by Line Meaning
The girl's perfection
The girl's stunning beauty is captivating.
Inspires affection
It makes one feel romantic emotions towards her.
It's queer that here
It's strange that here in this situation,
He can't cast his spell
He cannot use his charms to captivate the girl.
In her direction
Towards the girl he desires.
Somewhere near
There is a feeling of proximity to the situation.
One senses fear
There is a certain sense of fear surrounding the situation.
Casanova in Hell
These events are taking place in a troubled circumstance similar to Hell.
The girl is naked
The girl's beauty is exposed for the boy to see.
The boy is naked
The boy is exposed.
He hides inside
He conceals himself.
A secret chamber, there to gape
He is there to stare intensely at the girl.
Through a velvet drape
He is viewing the girl through a soft velvet cloth.
And dream of rape
He wishfully thinks of having non-consensual sex with her.
Her sharp suggestion
Her comment is blunt and straightforward.
He couldn't get an erection
He was unable to attain an erect penis.
Came as a shock
The news was surprising and unsettling.
He finds himself
He realizes.
A laughing stock
He is an object of ridicule.
His ageing fate
He is destined for old age.
To contemplate
To reflect upon sadly.
Back in the library
He returns to his academic abode.
His revenge is his story
His ploy for revenge is to use his writing skills.
What he will write
His written work.
Will recall the bite
It will be a sharp and impactful reminder.
Of his wit and legendary appetite
Of his cleverness and seductive prowess.
The sybarite
The pleasure-seeker.
Casanova is well
Casanova is thriving.
For Casanova has the last laugh
Casanova ultimately triumphs.
Creates the myth and vindication
He constructs a legend of his success and justifies his actions.
Of his sexual vocation
Of his sexual pursuits and career.
Makes the definitive collection
He compiles the ultimate record of his experiences.
His lives and lovers and above all
His various lifestyles and sexual partners, but mainly...
His erection
His ability to attain an erect penis.
Will live in history
It will be remembered for generations to come.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRIS LOWE, NEIL TENNANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind