Discography: The Complete Singles Collection

Discography: The Complete Singles Collection is the first greatest hits album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 4 November 1991 by Parlophone.

Discography: The Complete Singles Collection
Greatest hits album by Pet Shop Boys
Released	4 November 1991 (1991-11-04)
Recorded	1985–1991
Genre	Synth-pop dance-pop^[1] disco^[2]
Length	76:24
Label	Parlophone
Producer	Brothers in Rhythm Harold Faltermeyer Stephen Hague Trevor Horn Stephen Lipson Lewis A. Martineé Julian Mendelsohn Pet Shop Boys Andy Richards
Pet Shop Boys chronology
Behaviour (1990) Discography: The Complete Singles Collection (1991) Very (1993)
Singles from Discography: The Complete Singles Collection
"DJ Culture" Released: 14 October 1991 "Was It Worth It?" Released: 9 December 1991

Composition

Discography collects all of the singles released by Pet Shop Boys up to 1991. 16 of the 18 tracks were singles, while the last two tracks ("DJ Culture" and "Was It Worth It?") are new songs recorded exclusively for this compilation. Discography also contains a non-album single: the duo's cover version of U2's song "Where the Streets Have No Name", which later in the song breaks into the chorus of Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". Although many of the album's songs were released in other forms, this compilation only features the seven-inch single versions.

Pet Shop Boys also released a companion video compilation, Videography, consisting of the music videos for each of the songs on Discography, arranged in a slightly different order. Additionally, the song "Was It Worth It?" was replaced with "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?", which was not on the audio version of the album, despite being a double A-side with "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes off You)" (the exclusion being due to the constrictions of the CD's running time).

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Calgary Herald	A^[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[4]
Entertainment Weekly	A+^[2]
NME	10/10^[5]
Q	^[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[7]
The Village Voice	A^[8]

Upon its release, Andrew Collins of NME praised the compilation as "sublime and clever pop music" and added that you "don't have to despise rock music in order to love it". He added, "These songs are rooted in a distinctly bourgeois variety of urban angst but just think how closer it all is to your life than 'Vienna' and all that New Romantic nonsense to which the PSBs are so clearly indebted."^[5] Simon Price of Melody Maker summarised, "Somehow the lush symphonic sweep of these singles seems deeply cinematic. Every song is a full-scale Panavision epic whose recurrent moods are regret, nostalgia, and above all, jealousy. If you want near-faultless shimmering, shuddering disco melodrama, nobody does it better."^[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"West End Girls" (1985 7-inch version)		Stephen Hague	3:59
2.	"Love Comes Quickly"	Tennant Lowe Hague	Hague	4:17
3.	"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (1986 7-inch version)		J. J. Jeczalik^[a] Nicholas Froome^[a] Hague^[b]^[c]	3:36
4.	"Suburbia" (7-inch version)		Julian Mendelsohn	4:03
5.	"It's a Sin"		Mendelsohn Hague^[c]	4:59
6.	"What Have I Done to Deserve This?"	Tennant Lowe Allee Willis	Hague	4:19
7.	"Rent" (7-inch version)		Mendelsohn	3:32
8.	"Always on My Mind" (7-inch version)	Wayne Carson Thompson Mark James Johnny Christopher	Mendelsohn Pet Shop Boys David Jacob^[a]	3:53
9.	"Heart" (7-inch version)		Andy Richards Pet Shop Boys	4:16
10.	"Domino Dancing" (7-inch version)		Lewis A. Martineé Pet Shop Boys^[d]	4:17
11.	"Left to My Own Devices" (7-inch version)		Trevor Horn Stephen Lipson	4:46
12.	"It's Alright" (7-inch version)	Sterling Void	Horn	4:19
13.	"So Hard"		Pet Shop Boys Harold Faltermeyer	3:58
14.	"Being Boring" (7-inch version)		Pet Shop Boys Faltermeyer	4:50
15.	"Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" (7-inch version)	Paul Hewson David Evans Larry Mullen Jr. Adam Clayton Bob Gaudio Bob Crewe	Pet Shop Boys Mendelsohn	4:30
16.	"Jealousy" (7-inch version)		Pet Shop Boys Faltermeyer	4:15
17.	"DJ Culture"		Pet Shop Boys Brothers in Rhythm	4:13
18.	"Was It Worth It?"		Pet Shop Boys Brothers in Rhythm	4:22
Total length:				76:24

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an original producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies a remixer
• ^{^[c]} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^[d]} signifies an associate producer
• Tracks 1–4 are taken from Please (1986).
• Tracks 5–7 and 9 are taken from Actually (1987).
• Tracks 8 and 10–12 are taken from Introspective (1988).
• Tracks 13, 14 and 16 are taken from Behaviour (1990).
• Track 15 is a non-album single.
• Tracks 17 and 18 are previously unreleased.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Discography: The Complete Singles Collection.^[10]

Pet Shop Boys

• Neil Tennant
• Chris Lowe

Technical

• Stephen Hague – production (tracks 1, 2, 6); remix (track 3); additional production (tracks 3, 5, 17); mixing (tracks 5, 7, 17)
• David Jacob – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 6); original track production (track 8)
• J. J. Jeczalik – original recording production (track 3)
• Nicholas Froome – original recording production (track 3)
• Ron Dean Miller – New York overdubs (track 3)
• Julian Mendelsohn – production (tracks 4, 5, 7, 8, 15); engineering (tracks 4, 5, 7); mixing (tracks 6, 13, 14)
• Pet Shop Boys – production (tracks 8, 9, 13–18); original track production (track 8); associate production (track 10)
• Andy Richards – production (track 9)
• Tony Phillips – engineering (track 9)
• Lewis A. Martineé – production, engineering (track 10)
• Mike Couzzi – engineering (track 10)
• Trevor Horn – production (tracks 11, 12)
• Stephen Lipson – production, engineering (track 11)
• Pete Schwier – engineering (track 12)
• Harold Faltermeyer – production (tracks 13, 14, 16)
• Brian Reeves – engineering (tracks 13, 14, 16)
• Bob Kraushaar – engineering (track 14)
• Ren Swan – engineering (track 15)
• Brothers in Rhythm – production (tracks 17, 18)
• Paul Wright – engineering (tracks 17, 18); mixing (track 18)
• Nick Webb – mastering

Artwork

• Mark Farrow – design
• Rob Petrie – design
• 3a – design
• PSB – design
• Eric Watson – main photographs, other photographs
• Peter Andreas – other photographs
• Michael Roberts – other photographs
• Douglas Brothers – other photographs
• Lawrence Watson – other photographs

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Discography: The Complete Singles Collection Chart (1991–1992) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[11] 6 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[12] 33 Belgian Albums (IFPI)^[13] 4 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[14] 33 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[15] 26 European Albums (Music & Media)^[16] 12 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[17] 4 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[18] 13 Greek Albums (IFPI)^[19] 10 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)^[20] 31 Irish Albums (IFPI)^[21] 4 Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[22] 29 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[23] 8 Spanish Albums (AFYVE)^[24] 28 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[25] 14 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[26] 27 UK Albums (OCC)^[27] 3 US Billboard 200^[28] 111

Year-end charts 1991 year-end chart performance for Discography: The Complete Singles Collection Chart (1991) Position UK Albums (OCC)^[29] 36 1992 year-end chart performance for Discography: The Complete Singles Collection Chart (1992) Position European Albums (Music & Media)^[30] 80 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[31] 82

Certifications

Certifications for Discography: The Complete Singles Collection

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)^[32]	Gold	30,000^^
Australia (ARIA)^[33]	2× Platinum	140,000^^
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)^[34]	Platinum	250,000^*
Canada (Music Canada)^[35]	3× Platinum	300,000^^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)^[36]	Gold	30,845^[36]
France (SNEP)^[37]	Gold	100,000^*
Germany (BVMI)^[38]	Gold	250,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[39]	Gold	7,500^^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)^[40]	Gold	50,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)^[41]	2× Platinum	600,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[43]	Gold	719,000^[42]
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Discography: The Complete Singles Collection – Pet Shop Boys". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
2. Eddy, Chuck (22 November 1991). "Discography – The Complete Singles Collection". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
3. James, Muretich (17 November 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
4. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
5. Collins, Andrew (2 November 1991). "Long Play: Bargain Shopping". New Musical Express. p. 34.
6. "Pet Shop Boys: Discography". Q. No. 63. December 1991. ISSN 0955-4955.
7. Hull, Tom (2004). "Pet Shop Boys". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 630–31. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
8. Christgau, Robert (24 December 1991). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
9. Price, Simon (2 November 1991). "Retroactive: Tennant's Rites". Melody Maker. p. 38.
10. Discography: The Complete Singles Collection (liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1991. CDPMTV 3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. "Australiancharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Discography - The Complete Singles Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
12. "Austriancharts.at – Pet Shop Boys – Discography - The Complete Singles Collection" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
13. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 49. 7 December 1991. p. 31. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
14. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1689". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Pet Shop Boys – Discography - The Complete Singles Collection" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
16. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 47. 23 November 1991. p. 29. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
17. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 233. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Pet Shop Boys – Discography - The Complete Singles Collection" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
19. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 3. 18 January 1992. p. 30. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
20. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1992. 7. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
21. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 47. 23 November 1991. p. 24. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
22. "ペット・ショップ・ボーイズのアルバム売り上げランキング" [Pet Shop Boys album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
23. "Charts.nz – Pet Shop Boys – Discography - The Complete Singles Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
24. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
25. "Swedishcharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Discography - The Complete Singles Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
26. "Swisscharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Discography - The Complete Singles Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
27. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
28. "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
29. "1991 Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 11 January 1992. p. 21. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
30. "1992 Year-End Sales Charts – Eurochart Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 51/52. 19 December 1992. p. 17. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
31. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1992" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
32. (in Spanish). Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
33. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
34. "Brazilian album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Discography" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.
35. "Canadian album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Discography". Music Canada. 22 May 2002.
36. "Pet Shop Boys" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
37. "French album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Discography" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
38. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Pet Shop Boys; 'Discography')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
39. "New Zealand album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Discography: The Complete Singles Collection". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
40. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 929. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
41. "British album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Discography". British Phonographic Industry. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
42. Caulfield, Keith (23 May 2006). "Ask Billboard: Pet Shop Shopping". Billboard. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
43. "American album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Discography". Recording Industry Association of America. 8 February 1995.

External links

• Discography: The Complete Singles Collection at PetShopBoys.co.uk