As kids, most of us grew up with regular trips to the pet shop for rabbit food, replacement hamsters and dog worming tablets etc. For most kids, having a pet is a rite of passage in life. For many adults of a certain vintage growing up in the 1980s, having a Pet Shop Boys album in their vinyl or CD collection has also been an imperative and a must. No doubt this will continue as the Pet Shop Boys, have recently released their 12th album ‘Electric’, the first on their own label x2.

The album ‘Electric’ is the first Pet Shop Boys studio album to be produced by Stuart Price. ‘Electric’ features nine tracks in total – eight new songs as well as a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Last to Die’. Frontman and vocalist Neil Tennant said: “’Electric’ is very much set on the dance floor. Our latest album often evolves as a response to our previous album and, whereas ‘Elysium’ had a reflective mood, ‘Electric’ is pretty banging! And working with Stuart Price on a studio album is something we have wanted to do for a very long time”.

Producer Stuart Price said: “Making ‘Electric’ was an exciting experience. We recorded it between Berlin, London and Los Angeles using various techniques between old school synth and drum machine programming and new school computer mangling. For me it was a chance to work with two people who shaped so much of my musical taste…..” Those sentiments are echoed by many who were in their teens or twenties in 1985 when the Pet Shop Boys broke onto the scene with their iconic ‘ West End Girls’. The Pet Shop Boys shaped and sound tracked our lifestyle and lives.

‘West End Girls’ spoke for a generation of Thatcherite ‘yuppies’, of whom the Record Press author is sad to admit was one briefly!! In 1986 I had just arrived in London and with a good job in public relations, was living a hedonistic lifestyle on a permanent party merry go round. Although not affluent, I was aspirational, caught up in the Thatcherite doctrine as so many kids were. The Pet Shop Boys captured the zeitgeist of the mid 1980s and I will always associate the Pet Shop Boys song ‘West End Girls’ with a particular black tie ball, one of many I attended in London at that time.

At the time ‘West End Girls’ had the feel of a one hit wonder, but the Pet Shop Boys had far too much talent and far too much to say, for that ever to be the case!! They followed up their debut No1 with a barrage of great songs – well crafted with biting, satirical wit and polished to perfection with great melodies. Musically they were one of only a handful of decent bands to come out of the 1980s along with U2, Simple Minds, The Smiths, New Order and The Cure, to name a few of the few.

So lest we forget the contribution the Pet Shop Boys have made in the past 28 years, here is the Record Press Top 10 Best Pet Shop Boys Songs –

Top 10 Best Pet Shop Boys Songs

1) What Have I Done To Deserve This? ( With Dusty Springfield ) ( No2 1987 )

2) West End Girls ( No1 1985 )

3) It’s A Sin (No1 1987 )

4) Always On My Mind ( No1 1987 )

5) Suburbia ( No8 1986 )

6) Go West ( No2 1993 )

7) Love Comes Quickly ( No19 1986 )

8) Left To My Own Devices ( No4 1988 )

9) Rent ( No8 1987 )

10) Opportunities – Let’s make lots of money             ( No11 1985 )

Which are your favourite Pet Shop Boys songs? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

Celebrate the brilliance of the Pet Shop Boys in your home or office, by ordering your favourite Pet Shop Boys song in a vinyl or CD format; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc souvenir. You can also personalise it with an inscribed / engraved plaque…… 

ORDER NOW…….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Framed vinyl records, framed CDs and framed DVDs with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration  / special occasion ie a Wedding ( Wedding First Dance Song ), an Engagement Party ( Our Song ), a House Warming Party ( New Home ), a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday ( How about the No1 song on the day of birth? ), a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

For further information, plus other merchandise or memorabilia, go to the Pet Shop Boys website…… www.petshopboys.co.uk/