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.
http://petshopboys.co.uk
Jealousy
Pet Shop Boys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The streets in search of anyone who'll take them home
I lie alone, the clock strikes three
And anyone who wanted to could contact me
At dead of night, 'till break of day
Endless thoughts and questions keep me awake
It's much too late
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
I never knew time pass so slow
I wish I'd never met you, or that I could bear to let you go
At dead of night, 'till break of day
Endless thoughts and questions keep me awake
It's much too late
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
I never knew 'til I met you
, how life could change so fast. These opening lines of the song 'Jealousy' by Pet Shop Boys reveals the theme of the song, which is about a person who is haunted by constant jealousy which has been triggered by the fear of losing their partner. The lyrics give us an insight into the thoughts of a person who is so possessive of their partner that they cannot let their thoughts rest for even a moment. In the dead of night, when the mind is at its most vulnerable, this person dwells on the what-ifs, the doubts, the suspicions, and the accusations. Their mind is overrun with endless thoughts and questions about their partner's whereabouts, who they've seen, and why they haven't phoned when they promised they would. The song poignantly captures the sense of loss and regret felt by the singer, as they're consumed by their predicament of jealousy and they wish they'd never met the person who's caused them such pain.
The chorus of the song consists of a series of interrogative questions. The singer is trying to make sense of their emotions, trying to understand why they can't shake off this jealousy, and why they can't see their partner's point of view. The chorus ends with the line: "I've tried to see your point of view, but could not hear or see for jealousy". This line encapsulates the essence of the song, as it perfectly describes the damage that jealousy can do to a relationship. When we're blinded by jealousy, we lose all sense of perspective and clarity. We become consumed by our own fears and doubts, and this can lead to mistrust and insecurity in our relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
At dead of night, when strangers roam
The streets in search of anyone who'll take them home
The singer is alone at night, while others are seeking companionship
I lie alone, the clock strikes three
And anyone who wanted to could contact me
The singer is awake and available for contact, but no one is reaching out
At dead of night, 'till break of day
Endless thoughts and questions keep me awake
It's much too late
The singer is plagued by thoughts and questions that prevent sleep
Where've you been?
Who've you seen?
You didn't phone when you said you would!
The artist is suspicious of the actions of someone they care about who hasn't been in contact as promised
Do you lie?
Do you try
To keep in touch? You know you could
The artist is wondering if the person is deceiving or avoiding them deliberately
I've tried to see your point of view
But could not hear or see
For jealousy
The singer knows they are being unreasonable, but cannot help feeling jealous and suspicious
I never knew time pass so slow
I wish I'd never met you, or that I could bear to let you go
The singer is so consumed by jealousy that they wish they had never met the person causing their pain
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Christopher Lowe, Neil Tennant
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@photoshoott2022
Beautiful music. Pet Shop Boys music is timeless, this is one of their amazing songs amongst many and so beautiful, the melody, the lyrics, timeless and ageless music. Loved it then and still do, years later this music brings back memories.
@GameslordXY
Hear hear
@devendrasinghgautam4638
My most favourite Pet Shop Boys song...gives me goosebumps everytime
@johnbarnett7515
Same. Video is great too. Loved it for 30 years
@emmat2663
Totally agree with you on that ❤
@wilsontadeutrindade6921
😥
@wilsontadeutrindade6921
Pet shop Boys me traz muitas lembranças boas dá minha vida é pessoal eu fico emocionado ao pensa que não se houve falta mais anos 90 anos 2000 até hoje são otimo eu lá no mirante do Leblon depois daquela balada nos amigos lá no mirante do Leblon esperávamos aquele sol nascer lá nó arpoador lá do mirante do Leblon com aquele garota ao meu lado escultando this watys end Will Power very good may pipow estou tentando lembrar minha lembranças era 1996 o meu Deus era otimo pessoal não tinha celular era orelhão aí cumpade me emprestar 2 fichas aí para ligar pra minha casa há Wilson você cumpade é o maior serrote em cumpade meu amigos rachava o bico mineiro serrote minero serrote serrote então pessoal curta a vida faz àquilo que tem vontade pôr quê o tempo é um.relampago ok um abraço a todos vocês quê curta as minhas palavras vao um dia la no rio de Janeiro vao conhecer o mirante do Leblon vao gosta muito leva alguém que você curte garanto que vai gostar muito muito mesmo pode cre cumpade.❤
@PHD18E
Not a song, a symphony.
Masterpiece.
(And I strongly recommend the extended version, even more epic)
@david2869
One might say, an October Symphony?
@mariakuriukhina9047
Man, now its even worse.. 11 years