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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Happy People
Pet Shop Boys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Living in a sad world
Happy people
Living in a sad world
Everyone comes from somewhere
I leave and you arrive
I watch you on the staircase
I wonder if you need me
I think I'm gonna cry
The outside world demands me
And I have to say goodbye
Happy people
Living in a sad world
Happy people
Living in a sad world
All the pomp and circumstance
Can't drag me away from this
A simple suburban love affair
Where you fight and then you kiss (do you call me a fool)
The feeling of epic grandeur
At the end of a summers day
The sense of so much missing
When the world gets in the way
Happy people
Living in a sad world
Happy people
Living in a sad world
People
Happy people
People
Happy people
No-one comes from nowhere
I leave and you arrive
It's the rhythm of our history
It's the beat behind our lives (do you call me a fool)
Our blues would be in B flat
Pain defining wisdom
But the soul is in the hi-hat
Programmed in the system
Happy people
Living in a sad world
Happy people
Living in a sad world (happy people)
Happy people
Living in a sad world (happy people)
Happy people
Living in a sad world (happy people)
Living in a sad world (happy people)
Living in a sad world
The lyrics to Pet Shop Boys' song Happy People depict the stark contrast between a happy suburban life and the unfortunate reality of living in a sad world. The song speaks to the disconnect between the mundane life of suburbia and the harsh realities of the outside world.
The song begins by acknowledging the existence of happy people in a sad world, suggesting that despite the hardships of everyday life, there are people who continue to live in happiness. The lyrics "everyone comes from somewhere, I leave and you arrive" suggest the inevitability of change and the temporary nature of one's presence in others' lives. The singer of the song observes someone on the staircase and wonders if they need them, implying the desire for connection and the fear of abandonment.
The song then shifts focus to the simplicity of a suburban love affair, where fights and kisses are commonplace. The singer expresses the feeling of epic grandeur that comes with the sun setting on summer days, yet acknowledges the sense of missing that occurs when the outside world gets in the way. The lyrics "our blues would be in B flat, pain defining wisdom, but the soul is in the hi-hat programmed in the system" hint at the idea that while sadness is a constant in life, music has the power to heal and provide an escape from the mundanity of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Happy people
People who are content with their lives
Living in a sad world
Existing in a world that is filled with sorrow and negative events
Everyone comes from somewhere
Every person has their own unique background and story
I leave and you arrive
The constant cycle of people coming and going in life
I watch you on the staircase
Observing someone as they move through life
Taking two steps at a time
Moving forward at a fast pace with determination
I wonder if you need me
Questioning if one's presence is valuable or necessary to others
I think I'm gonna cry
Feeling emotional and overwhelmed with sadness
The outside world demands me
External pressures that require attention and commitment
And I have to say goodbye
Leaving something behind in order to fulfill those demands
All the pomp and circumstance
The ostentatious and formal traditions that society values
Can't drag me away from this
The power of a simple and genuine relationship
A simple suburban love affair
A relationship that is unpretentious and unassuming
Where you fight and then you kiss
The ups and downs of a genuine relationship
(Do you call me a fool)
A moment of questioning if this relationship is foolish or not
The feeling of epic grandeur
A sense of importance and significance
At the end of a summers day
A moment of reflection at the conclusion of an eventful day
The sense of so much missing
The feeling of something absent or incomplete
When the world gets in the way
External events that distract from what is truly important
No-one comes from nowhere
Everyone has a backstory and source of origin
It's the rhythm of our history
The cyclical nature of humanity's past
It's the beat behind our lives
The ongoing rhythm and pulse that motivates people
Our blues would be in B flat
Our inherent struggles would have a predefined musical key associated with them
Pain defining wisdom
Suffering is a catalyst for gaining knowledge and insight
But the soul is in the hi-hat
The emotional core of music is in the percussion instrument known as the hi-hat
Programmed in the system
A predetermined set of actions or behaviors that are expected
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Christopher Lowe, Neil Tennant
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind