Pet Shop Boys - the squadron, 2005

"After the crew members debate their next steps ("Stormy Meetings"), they settle in for the night ("Night Falls"). As they sleep, however, a squadron of intercepting battleships approaches. Alerted to this, the crew prepares to defend themselves ("Full Steam Ahead") — a battle they know they are doomed to lose unless they can persuade the crews of the approaching ships to join them in revolution. As the squadron bears down on the Potemkin ("The Squadron"), its crew members signal, "Join us!" After a few tense moments in which it appears a battle is inevitable, the other crews stand down, agreeing to join the revolution ("For Freedom"). The Potemkin — and the revolution — is saved."

Pet Shop Boys - to speak is a sin, 1993

"Pervaded by an overwhelming sense of loneliness, echoed by a prominent solo soprano saxophone, this is one of Neil and Chris's slower, more downbeat tracks and seems somewhat out of place amidst the generally more "up" mood of Very."

Pet Shop Boys - i wouldn't normally do this kind of thing, 1993

"I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their fifth studio album, Very (1993). The song, both written and produced by the duo, describes a person normally hesitant to unwind and show his feelings, who — because of some event in his life — suddenly becomes willing to loosen up. It was released in the United Kingdom on 29 November 1993 by Parlophone as the album's third single, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, where it was released in January 1994, it reached number two on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Howard Greenhalgh."

Pet Shop Boys - yesterday when i was mad jam and spoon mix, 1994

"All of this we expect, but this one's their campest techno-fevered thunder-stomp with 100% whistleability for ages."

Pet Shop Boys - domino dancing alternative version essentials, 1998

"the "imperial phase", the phrase Neil Tennant coined to describe the period of a career where an artist can equally coast on critical acclaim, creative satisfaction and commercial success. He defines its end as when Domino Dancing failed to reach the UK top five."

Pet Shop Boys - being boring extended mix, 1990

"In a 1993 interview, Tennant described "Being Boring" as "one of the best songs that we've written", and said that "For me it is a personal song because it's about a friend of mine who died of AIDS, and so it's about our lives when we were teenagers and how we moved to London, and I suppose me becoming successful and him becoming ill".

Pet Shop Boys - where the streets have no name i can't take my eyes off you cover extended mix, 1991

"this track is one of the most insidious deconstructions of rock mythology that you're likely to find anywhere. It completely takes the wind out of U2's sails, essentially revealing the original to be precisely the dance track that it is but tries hard not to be."

Pet Shop Boys - closer to heaven shell and straight dave, 2001

"In the musical, the song "Closer to Heaven" appears multiple times in different contexts: First rendition: A duet between Shell (played by Shell Christian in the original London cast) and Straight Dave (played by Paul Keating). Shell is a young woman dealing with her rock-star father's death and her own vulnerabilities; Straight Dave is an Irish immigrant and aspiring dancer working as a bartender at a Soho club. This version captures their initial heterosexual attraction and budding romance, blending synth-pop with emotional longing."

Pet Shop Boys - i wouldn't normally do this kind of thing beatmasters seven inch version, 1993

"Neil was embarking on a day trip from London to Edinburgh, and on his way via taxi to Heathrow Airport he thought to himself, "I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing"—that is, fly from one place to another and back in a single day. He couldn't get the phrase out of his head, and it soon evolved into a song. He and Chris created the demo for it in the studio the very next day."

Pet Shop Boys - domino dancing seven inch version, 1988

"After taking some delightless turns in recent months, Tennant and Lowe swoon, yup swoon, back with their most exquisite offering for many a moon. It looks as weightless as a kite up there. It comes complete with a spoken interlude that wakes up the glowworms inside me for the first time since that heavenly respite in the middle of Human League's 'Louise'."

Pet Shop Boys - it's alright cover seven-inch version, 1989

"It's Alright" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 26 June 1989 as the third and final single from their third studio album, Introspective (1988). It reached number five on the UK Singles Chart. Written and originally recorded by Sterling Void and Paris Brightledge, the song came to the attention of Pet Shop Boys on a house compilation issued by DJ International Records in 1987."

Pet Shop Boys - i don't know what you want but i can't give it anymore album version, 1999

"Aside from that fairly clever narrative device, simply taken as a song—that is, only as melody, chord structure, and lyrics—it's one of the dimmer lights in the Tennant-Lowe catalogue, particularly among their singles. Yet it's performed with such tragic, even epic grandeur that you can't help but admire the thing."

Pet Shop Boys - yesterday when i was mad coconut one twelve mix, 1994

"An abbreviated (2:12) version of this mix appears on Disco 2"

Pet Shop Boys - flamboyant michael mayer kompakt mix, 2006

"the Michael Mayer Kompakt Remix of the song includes near the end (at about 7:23) a very brief, faint sample, only a couple seconds in length, lifted from the Boys' own "So Hard"—probably included more as an in-joke and/or "tip of the hat" more than anything else. It also sounds as though it includes, at several different junctures, samples of the soprano saxophone solo from one of the Brothers in Rhythm remixes of "How Can You Expect to be Taken Seriously?" — either the Extended Mix or the Classical Reprise; it's very difficult to tell for sure which."

Pet Shop Boys - shameless vile celebrities, 2001

"This song, originally released by the Pet Shop Boys as the b-side of their "Go West" single, has long been a fan favorite. And it's such a natural for theatrical treatment that it's no wonder at all that Neil and Chris decided to use it in their first musical. That is, it was made to be a showstopper. The only trouble is, at least in its cast album recording, it's vastly inferior to the Boys' own version. The omission of the third verse is only one of its flaws. More damaging, the musical arrangement isn't nearly as effective (oh, how I miss Neil's sampled "oohs" and "ahs"!). Again, I'm sure that seeing it performed "live"— where the singers and dancers are engaged in a lot of comic posing and interacting — would have helped me enjoy this number a lot more. As it is, I'd much rather go back and listen to the original."

Pet Shop Boys - you only tell me you love me when you're drunk live at the mermaid theatre, 2006

"The live version of "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk" (the third track on the album) captures the song's poignant, synth-pop melancholy with lush orchestral swells, emphasizing its themes of conditional love and emotional vulnerability."

Pet Shop Boys - left to my own devices live at the mermaid theatre, 2006

"Recorded at London's Mermaid Theatre for Radio 2 in May 2006, Concrete offers grandiose orchestral arrangements not just of songs from current studio album Fundamental but many of the duo's most memorable hits from their quarter-century spanning career too. The album's most striking characteristic is evident at the close of the first track. Tennant, already comfortable with the dual role of lyricist and vocalist, becomes narrator of his own career too with a range of plummy vignettes about each of the songs."

Pet Shop Boys - it's alright cover live at the mermaid theatre, 2006

"This performance of "It's Alright" (a 1989 cover originally by Sterling Void) is a standout from Pet Shop Boys' orchestral live show at London's Mermaid Theatre on May 8, 2006. The concert, titled Concrete: In Concert at the Mermaid Theatre for Radio 2 with the BBC Concert Orchestra, was an exclusive event for BBC Radio 2's Sold on Song program, broadcast on May 27, 2006. It served as a launch for their album Fundamental and featured the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Trevor Horn, plus guests like Rufus Wainwright, Frances Barber, and Robbie Williams. The intimate 600-seat venue created a unique blend of synth-pop classics and new tracks with full orchestral backing—PSB's first official live album release."

Pet Shop Boys - dreaming of the queen live at the mermaid theatre, 2006

"Dreaming of the Queen" from their 2006 concert at London's Mermaid Theatre is a standout track from their first official live album, Concrete. This rendition features the duo (Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe) backed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, giving it a lush, orchestral swell that elevates the original's witty, satirical take on British monarchy and celebrity culture from their 1993 album Very. The song's spoken-word verses and soaring chorus shine in this intimate venue setting, with Tennant's deadpan delivery adding extra charm."

Pet Shop Boys - the sodom and gomorrah show live at the mermaid theatre, 2006

"a clever, ironic take on urban excess, with nods to Marcel Proust's Sodom and Gomorrah and the biblical "pillar of salt" tale."