Pet Shop Boys
Vinyl Frontier: Retro Reviews Pet Shop Boys - Actually
Pet Shop Boys - Actually
Review by Andrew David James
The 1980’s were a strange time. In the UK politically it was an ugly era, full of spite and polar opposites. Internationally it was likewise. Culturally there was an air of upward mobility in the air that was faintly ridiculous but the effect of this is evident to the present day. Musically, it wasn’t the great decade some might have it be.
NEW ORDER
Rising from the ashes of the legendary British post-punk unit Joy Division, the enigmatic New Order triumphed over tragedy to emerge as one of the most influential and acclaimed bands of the 1980s; embracing the electronic textures and disco rhythms of the underground club culture many years in advance of its contemporaries, the group's pioneering fusion of new wave aesthetics and dance music successfully bridged the gap between the two worlds, creating a distinctively thoughtful and oblique brand of synth pop appealing equally to the mind, body, and soul.
New Order's origins officially date back to mid-1976, when guitarist Bernard Sumner (formerly Albrecht) and bassist Peter Hook - inspired by a recent Sex Pistols performance - announced their intentions to form a band of their own. Recruiting singer Ian Curtis and drummer Stephen Morris, they eventually settled on the name Joy Division, and in 1979 issued their landmark debut LP, Unknown Pleasures.
After completing sessions for Joy Division's sophomore effort, Closer, Curtis hanged himself on May 18, 1980; devastated, the remaining trio immediately disbanded, only to re-form soon after as New Order with the addition of keyboardist Gillian Gilbert. With Sumner assuming vocal duties, the new group debuted in March 1981 with the single "Ceremony," a darkly melodic effort originally composed for use by Joy Division.
The LP Movement followed a few months later, and when it too mined territory similar to New Order's previous incarnation, many observers were quick to dismiss the band for reliving former glories. However, with its next single, "Everything's Gone Green," the quartet first began adorning its sound with synthesizers and sequencers, inspired by the music of Kraftwerk as well as the electro beats coming up from the New York underground; 1982's "Temptation" continued the trend, and like its predecessor was a major favourite among club-goers.
After a year-long hiatus, New Order resurfaced in 1983 with their breakthrough hit "Blue Monday"; packaged in a provocative sleeve designed to recall a computer disk, with virtually no information about the band itself - a hallmark of their mysterious, distant image - it perfectly married Sumner's plaintive yet cold vocals and abstract lyrics with cutting-edge drum-machine rhythms ideal for club consumption. "Blue Monday" went on to become the best-selling 12" release of all time, moving over three million copies worldwide.
After releasing their brilliant 1983 sophomore album, Power, Corruption and Lies, New Order teamed with the then-unknown producer Arthur Baker to record "Confusion," another state-of-the-art dance classic, which even scraped into the American R&B charts. The group's success soon won them a stateside contract with Quincy Jones' Qwest label; however, apart from a pair of singles, "Thieves Like Us" and "Murder," they remained out of the spotlight throughout 1984.
Heralded by the superb single "The Perfect Kiss," New Order resurfaced in 1985 with Low-life, their most fully realized effort to date; breaking with long-standing tradition, it actually included photos of the individual members, suggesting an increasing proximity with their growing audience. Brotherhood followed in 1986, with the single "Bizarre Love Triangle" making significant inroads among mainstream pop audiences.
A year later the group issued Substance, a much-needed collection of singles and remixes; it was New Order's American breakthrough, cracking the Top 40 on the strength of the newly recorded single "True Faith," which itself reached number 32 on the U.S. pop charts. The remixed "Blue Monday 1988" followed, and in 1989 - inspired by the ecstasy-fuelled house music that their work had clearly predated and influenced – New Order issued Technique; their most club-focused outing to date, it launched the hits "Fine Time" and "Round and Round."
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After recording the 1990 English World Cup Soccer anthem "World in Motion," New Order went on an extended hiatus to pursue solo projects; Hook formed the band Revenge, long-time companions Morris and Gilbert recorded as the Other Two, and, most notably, Sumner teamed with ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and Pet Shop Boys front-man Neil Tennant in Electronic, which scored a Top 40 hit with the single "Getting Away with It."
New Order reconvened in 1993 for their biggest hit to date, Republic, which earned the band its highest charting American single ("Regret") and fell just shy of the U.S. Top Ten, despite charges from long-time fans that the band had lost its edge. A major tour followed, although rumours of escalating creative conflicts plagued the group; refusing to either confirm or deny word of a breakup, New Order simply spent the mid-'90s in a state of limbo, with Sumner eventually recording a long-awaited second Electronic LP and Hook mounting another new project, Monaco.
"Brutal," the first new effort from New Order in a number of years, was featured on the soundtrack of the 2000 film The Beach, and the full-length Get Ready followed one year later. By this time, Gillian Gilbert had left the band to care for her and Stephen Morris' children, and Marion guitarist Phil Cunningham had been added to bolster the line-up. Dedicated touring followed the release of Get Ready, and New Order recorded a follow-up for release in 2005, Waiting for the Sirens' Call. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Source: http://www,artistdirect.com/
Discography:
Movement, Factory, 1981
Power, Corruption & Lies, Factory, 1983
Low-Life, Factory, 1985
Brotherhood, Factory, 1986
Technique, Factory, 1989
Republic, Centredate/London, 1993
Get Ready, London, 2001
Waiting For The Siren's Call, London, 2005
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
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Boy George
British singer Boy George combined a strong, soulful singing voice with a provocative sense of fashion, both of which were first brought to the attention of English and American audiences in the group Culture Club, for whom he served as lead singer from 1982 to 1986. The group wrote and played impeccable pop music, and Boy George's androgynous persona -- heavy makeup and outrageous costumes -- gave the group a distinct video image in the dawn of MTV. That very distinctiveness, however, made the group date quickly, and at the same time Boy George encountered highly publicized personal difficulties.
He re-emerged as a solo singer in 1987 with Sold, which contained a U.K. number one cover of Bread's "Everything I Own," but was unable to duplicate this success in the U.S. Boy George enjoyed four British singles' chart entries in 1987 and another three in 1988. His second album, Tense Nervous Headache (1988), was not picked up for release in the U.S.; his third, Boyfriend (1989), was a Europe-only release, though Virgin Records cobbled the second and third albums together to present a second U.S. album, High Hat (1989). In 1991 came The Martyr Mantras, another patchwork album largely made up of previously non-LP dance singles. In the U.K., it was credited to a new group, Jesus Loves You, and released on Boy George's own More Protein record label, though Virgin in the U.S. billed it as a Boy George album.
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By 1992, Boy George had faded at home, and in the U.S. his solo career had never taken off. Then he was brought in to sing a version of the '60s chestnut "The Crying Game" in a production by the Pet Shop Boys, as the title song for a movie that became the sleeper hit of the winter of 1992-1993, resulting in his first substantial U.S. hit as a solo artist. Cheapness and Beauty followed in 1995, and four years later Boy George resurfaced with the rarities collection Unrecoupable One Man Bandit. Throughout the '90s, he delved back into the club scene that birthed his early romanticism, and made a name for himself as DJ in demand. It became more than a hobby toward the end of the millennium, and Boy George garnered attention in the U.K. and U.S. club circuits; such musical creativity was captured on Essential Mix, released in fall 2000.
artistdirect.com
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Pet Shop Boys
Formed in 1981, this UK pop due features Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. Lowe had previously played in a cabaret act, On Under The Eight, while Tennant was employed as a journalist on UK pop magazine “Smash Hits”. In 1984, they issued “West End Girls”, which passed unnoticed. After being dropped from Epic Records, they were picked up by Parlophone. In 1986, the re-released “West End Girls” topped the UK and US charts. “Please” and the hits “Opportunities” and “Suburbia” consolidated their position during the year.
The duo returned to the UK number 1 slot in 1987 with “It’s a Sin”. By this time, they were being critically feted as one of the more interesting bands of their time, with an engaging love of pop irony, camp imagery and arch wordplay. The quality of their melodies was evident in the successful collaboration with Dusty Springfield on “What Have I Done To Deserve This?”
By the end of the year the duo were back at the top in their home country with a cover version of the Elvis Presley hit, “Always On My Mind”, also a US Top 5 single. A fourth UK number 1 with “Heart” was followed by “Introspective” which spawned further UK Top 10 hits in “Domino Dancing”, 'Left To My Own Devices' and “It’s Alright”. A surprise collaboration in 1989 with Liza Minnelli gave her a UK Top 10 hit with “Losing My Mind”. The duo’s own inventive hit was again in evidence on the UK Top 5 hit “So Hard”, the laconic “Being Boring” and an odd fusion of U2’s “Where The Streets Have No Name” and Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”. The attendant “Behaviour” was a downbeat, slightly disappointing album.
Tennant also enjoyed UK hits with Johnny Marr and Bernard Summer in Electronic, but returned to the Pet Shop Boys for 1993’s “Very”. Later in the year they enjoyed a UK number 2 hit with a bold cover version of the Village People’s gay anthem, “Go West”. “Bilingual” experimented with Latin rhythms, while “Nightlife” highlighted their remarkable creativity.
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Tennant and Lower subsequently collaborated with writer Jonathan Harvey on the West End musical, “Closer to Heaven”, which opened at the Arts Theatre in May 2001 but closed after only four months. Lowe and Tennant returned to music in 2002 with “Release” which featured a more guitar-orientated sound.
Mathew Jones
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
