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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In Denial
Pet Shop Boys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My life's a trial
I'm not denying
That every little bit hurts
It's a problem
That I'm not solving
Don't mind admitting
I feel like quitting this job
Before it gets any worse today
You're in denial
And that is final
You're not admitting
You should be quitting
All these
Queens and fairies
And muscle Marys
The rough trade boyfriend
Who in his pathetic own way
Denies he's gay
Why can't you see?
This is a fantasy world
Think I'm going mad
How do you know if you're
Going mad?
Look at me I'm lonely
Look at me I'm sad
I'm not denying
I could be trying
A little harder
To deal with some of this stuff
Know what I'm thinking?
Less drugs and drinking
No cigarettes and you'd feel
A little less rough
Is that enough?
My life is absurd, I'm living it
Upside down
Like a vampire, working at
Night, sleeping all day
A dad with a girl who knows
He's gay
Can you love me anyway?
The Pet Shop Boys' song, "In Denial," explores themes of denial and self-awareness. The song features Neil Tennant and Kylie Minogue alternating verses in a dialogue about Freudian psychoanalysis and denial. The lyrics detail the struggles of living in a world where certain lifestyles are still taboo, despite societal progress. The first verse describes the singer's exhaustion with his job and his desire to escape, hinting at a need for change. In the chorus, the singer acknowledges the denial in himself and others, stating that it is a problem that needs solving.
In the second verse, Kylie Minogue sings from the perspective of a person who denies their sexuality to avoid stigmatization. The lyrics describe the singer's frustration with queens and fairies, muscle Marys, and rough trade boyfriends who deny their homosexuality in their own way. The chorus once again points out the denial of the people in the singer's life and their reluctance to admit they should be quitting their current lifestyles.
The third verse highlights the singer's own struggles with addiction and mental health. The lyrics suggest that the singer is aware of their own flaws and the need to make changes in their life. The verse also touches upon the singer's unconventional lifestyle and their fears of how it might impact their relationships.
Overall, Pet Shop Boys' "In Denial" is a complex examination of various forms of denial and the struggle to come to terms with oneself. The lyrics are introspective and evoke a sense of vulnerability while tackling important societal issues.
Line by Line Meaning
In denial, no
I refuse to believe that I am in denial
My life's a trial
My life is a difficult challenge
I'm not denying
I admit that
That every little bit hurts
Every small problem brings pain
It's a problem
This is a difficult issue
That I'm not solving
I haven't found the solution yet
Don't mind admitting
It's okay to confess
I feel like quitting this job
I want to quit the job I have
For a while, getting away
I need to take a vacation to escape
Before it gets any worse today
I have to act before things worsen
You're in denial
You refuse to face the truth
And that is final
This is the undeniable truth
You're not admitting
You haven't confessed
You should be quitting
You need to resign
All these queens and fairies and muscle Marys
These are homosexual stereotypes
The rough trade boyfriend
The muscular, masculine lover
Who in his pathetic own way denies he's gay
The partner who refuses to admit his homosexuality
Why can't you see?
Why don't you understand?
This is a fantasy world
This is an unrealistic and imaginary realm
Think I'm going mad
I believe I'm losing my sanity
How do you know if you're going mad?
What are the signs of insanity?
Look at me I'm lonely
I feel isolated and alone
Look at me I'm sad
I feel extremely unhappy
I'm not denying
I'm not refusing to accept
I could be trying
I could put more effort into it
A little harder
With a bit more effort
To deal with some of this stuff
To handle some of these issues
Know what I'm thinking?
Can you guess what I'm thinking?
Less drugs and drinking
Reducing drugs and alcohol consumption
No cigarettes and you'd feel a little less rough
Giving up smoking would improve my health
Is that enough?
Is it adequate?
My life is absurd, I'm living it upside down
My life is ridiculous and chaotic
Like a vampire, working at night, sleeping all day
I work at night like a vampire and sleep during the day
A dad with a girl who knows he's gay
I'm a father to a girl who knows I'm gay
Can you love me anyway?
Will you still love me despite my flaws?
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER LOWE, NEIL TENNANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind