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West End Girls

March 23, 2023

For other uses, see West End Girls (disambiguation).

"West End Girls" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life which were inspired partly by T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land. It was generally well received by contemporary music critics and has been frequently cited as a highlight in the duo's career.

"West End Girls [1984 version]"
12-inch single cover
Single by Pet Shop Boys
B-side"Pet Shop Boys"
Released9 April 1984
Recorded1983[1]
StudioUnique Recording (New York City)
GenreSynth-pop
Length4:45
LabelBobcat
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bobby Orlando
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"West End Girls [1984 version]"
(1984) 		"One More Chance"
(1984)
Music video
"West End Girls" on YouTube
"West End Girls"
7-inch single cover
Single by Pet Shop Boys
from the album Please
B-side"A Man Could Get Arrested"
Released28 October 1985[2]
RecordedAugust 1985[3]
StudioAdvision Studios
Genre
Length
  • 4:41 (album version)
  • 3:59 (7-inch version)
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Stephen Hague
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology

The first version of the song was produced by Bobby Orlando and was released on Columbia Records' Bobcat Records imprint in April 1984, becoming a club hit in the United States and some European countries. After the duo signed with EMI, the song was re-recorded with producer Stephen Hague for their first studio album, Please. In October 1985, the new version was released, reaching number one in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1986.

In 1987, the song won Best Single at the Brit Awards, and Best International Hit at the Ivor Novello Awards. In 2005, 20 years after its release, the song was awarded Song of The Decade between the years 1985 and 1994 by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. A critic's poll in 2020 by The Guardian selected "West End Girls" as the greatest UK number-one single.[4]

The song was performed by the Pet Shop Boys at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.[5]

Background

Recording and production

Bobby O version

In 1983, Neil Tennant met producer Bobby Orlando, while on an assignment in New York interviewing Sting for Smash Hits. After listening to some demos, Orlando offered to produce for the duo.[6]

In 1983 and 1984, the duo recorded twelve songs with Orlando at Unique Studios in New York, "West End Girls", "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)", "One More Chance", "I Want a Lover", "That's My Impression", "A Man Could Get Arrested", "I Get Excited", "Two Divided by Zero", "Rent", "It's a Sin", "Pet Shop Boys", and "Later Tonight". Orlando played most of the instruments on "West End Girls", including the jazz riff at the end. Lowe played one chord and the bassline.[7] It included a drum part lifted from Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", and an arrangement involving what Tennant called "Barry White chords".[8] Orlando was thrilled by the song's production; his idea was to make a rap record in a British accent.[9]

In April 1984, "West End Girls" was released, becoming a club hit in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and a minor dance hit in Belgium and France,[10] but was only available in the United Kingdom as a 12-inch import.[11] In March 1985, after long negotiations, Pet Shop Boys cut their contractual ties with Orlando, and hired manager Tom Watkins, who signed them with EMI.[12]

Stephen Hague version

An entire week had been spent re-recording and rearranging "West End Girls" with producer Stephen Hague at Advision Studios,[13] using Studio Two housed with an Otari 24-track tape machine and an SSL console.[14]

The song, according to engineer David Jacob, was musically "constructed with only four basic rhythmical patterns throughout", with no 'real' instruments production-wise except for one cymbal.[14] The rhythmic foundations were laid down with an Oberheim DMX drum machine.[14] In addition to that, the synthesizer strings that run throughout the song were created using a blend of string sounds from an E-mu Emulator I and an Emulator II.[14]

The bass part is a composite of different sounds from an Emulator II, a Yamaha DX7 and a Roland Jupiter-6, all of which were connected by MIDI. It had been played by hand to "lend more fluidity to the track", although initially there was a bit of difficulty in keeping the part in time with the drum machine.[14]

The song features a cowbell-like sound, which is in fact a combination of a cowbell and an Emulator II choir sound recorded into a Roland MSQ-700 sequencer, and spun in manually at appropriate places in the song.[14]

The trumpet solo in this version was played by Hague on the Emulator. According to Jacob, "it took about six hours to get the trumpet to sound genuine, purposely playing wrong notes to make it sound more 'jazz'".[14]

For the traffic noise that runs in the beginning, Hague recorded it using a Sony Professional Walkman out on Gosfield Street outside Advision.[14]

In addition to the rap verses and choruses sung by Tennant (each using different microphones - one for verse and another for choruses), singer Helena Springs was brought in to sing background vocals - parts of these were sampled into the Emulator to be used wherever wanted in the track.[14]

They re-released the song in late 1985, topping the charts in both the UK and the US.[15]

Music and lyrics

 
"West End Girls"
A 30-second sample from the 1985 version of "West End Girls", featuring Tennant rapping part of the first verse, and the chorus, which shows the song's focus on class with the lyrics "East End Boys and West End Girls".
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"West End Girls" is a synth-pop song[16] influenced by hip hop music.[15] It has also been described as dance-pop,[17][18][19] disco,[20][21] and new wave.[22][23][24] The song's socially conscious streak, as well as the propulsive bass line, derives from Grandmaster Flash's protest rap song "The Message".[11] Lowe and Hague created a "snaky, obsessive rhythm punch" for the music,[15] replacing the song's previously sparse beats and minimal keyboard lines.[11]

Tennant started to write the song when he was staying at his cousin's house in Nottingham while watching a gangster film. Just when he was going to sleep he came up with the lines: "Sometimes you're better off dead, there's a gun in your hand and it's pointing at your head".[25] The lyrics were inspired by T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land, particularly in the use of different narrative voices and arcane references.[11] The song's lyrics are largely concerned with class, inner-city pressure.[8][15] Tennant later said that some listeners had assumed the song referred to prostitutes, but was actually, "about rough boys getting a bit of posh."[26]

Sound-wise, the 1985 version also features a considerably smoother arrangement than the 1984 version, trading out the collage of disjointed samples (such as glass breaking and Tennant shouting the word "I") in favour of soft synth pads and Hague's Emulator trumpet solo. At the same time, however, the 1985 version “starts off like a film noir",[13] opening with ambient traffic sounds not heard in the 1984 version. In the liner notes to the 2001 reissue of Please, Tennant noted that this was born out a desire for "filmic" music.[27]

In 2022, Tennant changed the line "From Lake Geneva to the Finland Station" in the last verse to "From Mariupol to Kyiv Station" during their co-headline Unity Tour with New Order and at their Glastonbury Festival 2022 Sunday night headline appearance. The change was done in solidarity for Ukraine in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine (also because Finland Station is located in Russia).[28]

Critical reception

"West End Girls" has been generally well received by music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic in a review of the album Please called the song "hypnotic", adding that "it's not only a classic dance single, it's a classic pop single".[29] In a review for the group's second studio album Actually, Rob Hoerburger from Rolling Stone magazine commented that "West End Girls" was "as catchy as anything on the radio in 1986", praising "its enticing bass line and foreboding synth riffs", but felt that it was almost "nullified by peevish spoken asides and the cryptic posturing of the duo's lyrics".[30] In a review of the live album Concrete, Michael Hubbard from musicOMH said that "West End Girls" was one of the songs that "round out a collection that never feels too long or superfluous", adding that it "goes some way to installing Tennant and Lowe as national treasures".[31]

Cash Box called it "a sensational pop single."[32] Billboard called it a "cannily haunting song" in which "disco meets sociology, rap and the Al Stewart catalogue."[33]

Nitsuh Abebe from Pitchfork, in a review of their compilation album PopArt: Pet Shop Boys - The Hits commented that in the song "we meet Tennant not as a singer, but as a speaker", adding that "he mumbles the verses to us not like a star, but like a stranger in a raincoat, slinking alongside you and pointing out the sights".[34]

In 1987, "West End Girls" won for Best Single at the Brit Awards,[35] and for Best International Hit at the Ivor Novello Awards.[36] In 2005, the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters gave to West End Girls the Ivor Novello Award for Song of The Decade between the years 1985 and 1994.[37][38]

In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 12th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.[39] In 2020, The Guardian selected "West End Girls" as number one in a critics' poll of the 100 greatest UK number-one singles.[4] It was ranked No. 433 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2021[40] and No. 65 on their "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" in 2022.[41]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "West End Girls" was directed by Andy Morahan and Eric Watson,[42][43] and consists of shots of the duo around London.

At the beginning of the video, noises from the city can be heard, a camera passes Lowe on the street, and focuses on mannequins in a shop window. Then appears a sequence of quick cuts with shots of the city's different sub-cultures; the video freezes and cuts to Tennant and Lowe, who walk through an empty Wentworth Street in Petticoat Lane Market. They stand in front of a red garage door; Tennant is in front dressed with a long coat, white shirt and dark necktie, directly addressing the camera, with Lowe standing behind him with a blank expression. Lowe is filmed in double-exposure and appears almost ghostlike. In other shots, Tennant power-walks imperiously while Lowe casually follows behind. While Tennant delivers the lyrics and chorus directly at the viewer, Lowe appears at times disinterested in the proceedings or preoccupied with other goings-on around them.

Then the video shows various shots at Waterloo Station, as the chorus starts. In slow motion, the camera pans across the WHSmith shop on the station concourse as the duo walk past. It cuts to a brief shot of a No. 42 red double-decker bus, showing the destination as Aldgate, also advertising the stage-show Evita, then black and white shots of the Tower Bridge, Westminster and the Westminster Palace Clock Tower from the sky. The duo poses on the South Bank of the River Thames in a pastiche of a postcard image, with the Houses of Parliament as a background.[44]

The camera shows shots of young women, and passes through arcades and cinemas in Leicester Square. The camera now passes South Africa House showing protestors in the Non-Stop Picket, an anti-apartheid vigil.[45] The video cuts to a closeup of Tennant singing the chorus, with a purple neon sign eerily passing across his face. At the end the camera passes again through Leicester Square, where people queue to see Fletch and Desperately Seeking Susan.[45] The video was nominated for Best New Artist in a Video at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to A-ha's "Take On Me".[46]

Commercial performance

"West End Girls" was first released in April 1984 through writer and producer Bobby Orlando's label. The song was a club hit in the United States,[47] and in some European countries, such as Belgium, where it debuted at number 24 on the VRT Top 30 chart on 28 July 1984,[48] peaking at 17 four weeks later.[49] In Canada, "West End Girls" first entered the RPM singles chart in April 1985, reaching a peak position of 81 in June 1985.[50]

Having signed with EMI, the group released their first major label single "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" in mid-1985, but it failed to attract attention.[47] The Pet Shop Boys then decided to re-record "West End Girls", and issue this new version as a single. Producer Stephen Hague helmed the new, re-recorded version of "West End Girls".[15]

The re-recorded version of "West End Girls" was released in the United Kingdom in October 1985, debuting on the UK Singles Chart at number 80, and within eight weeks of its release it had reached the top of the chart.[51] It maintained the number one position for two weeks[51] and received a gold certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in January 1986.[52] Across Europe, "West End Girls" also topped the singles chart in Norway,[53] as well as peaking in the top three in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.[54][55][56][57][58]

In Canada, where the original recording of "West End Girls" had already been a minor hit in 1985, the re-recorded version was issued as a single in early 1986. The re-recorded song entered the chart in March 1986, peaking at number one for one week on 17 May 1986.[59] In the United States, West End Girls debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 71,[60] reaching the number one position on 10 May 1986, and remained on the chart for 20 weeks.[61] The song also peaked at number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart for two weeks.[62]

"West End Girls" re-entered the charts in February 2021 as Pet Shop Boys received some exposure in early 2021 thanks to the premiere of the Channel 4 series It's a Sin, named after the song of the same name, and a popular Allstate Super Bowl ad featuring the song "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)". Consequently, several singles have re-entered the charts, with "Opportunities" having reached number one in February 2021 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart and spending three consecutive weeks atop the chart. "West End Girls" re-charted with the latter song, re-entering the charts for the week of 27 February 2021 at number nine on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart, nearly having switched places in chart rankings with "Opportunities" from their 1986 entries. The song rose to number six on the chart for the week of 12 March 2021.[63][64][65]

Track listings

Credits and personnel

1984 Bobby O version

with:

1985 Stephen Hague version

with:

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "West End Girls"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[101] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[52] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

East 17 version

"West End Girls"
 
Single by East 17
from the album Walthamstow
Released14 June 1993 (1993-06-14)[102]
Length3:59
LabelLondon
Songwriter(s)
  • Neil Tennant
  • Chris Lowe
Producer(s)
  • Mykaell S. Riley
  • The Groove Corporation
East 17 singles chronology
"Slow It Down"
(1993) 		"West End Girls"
(1993) 		"It's Alright"
(1993)
Music video
"West End Girls" on YouTube

In 1993, English boy band East 17 covered "West End Girls" for their debut album, Walthamstow (1993).

Critical reception

Sian Pattenden from Smash Hits gave East 17's version of "West End Girls" three out of five.[103]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "West End Girls" was directed by L. Watson & C. Clunn.[104]

Track listing

  • 7-inch single
A. "West End Girls" (Faces on Posters Mix)
B. "West End Girls" (Kicking in Chairs)

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "West End Girls"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[115] Gold 35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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Bibliography

External links

  • West End Girls official video on YouTube

March 23, 2023
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For other uses see West End Girls disambiguation West End Girls is a song by English synth pop duo Pet Shop Boys Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe the song was released twice as a single The song s lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner city life which were inspired partly by T S Eliot s poem The Waste Land It was generally well received by contemporary music critics and has been frequently cited as a highlight in the duo s career West End Girls 1984 version 12 inch single coverSingle by Pet Shop BoysB side Pet Shop Boys Released9 April 1984Recorded1983 1 StudioUnique Recording New York City GenreSynth popLength4 45LabelBobcatSongwriter s Neil Tennant Chris LoweProducer s Bobby OrlandoPet Shop Boys singles chronology West End Girls 1984 version 1984 One More Chance 1984 Music video West End Girls on YouTube West End Girls 7 inch single coverSingle by Pet Shop Boysfrom the album PleaseB side A Man Could Get Arrested Released28 October 1985 2 RecordedAugust 1985 3 StudioAdvision StudiosGenreSynth popdance popdisconew waveLength4 41 album version 3 59 7 inch version LabelParlophoneSongwriter s Neil Tennant Chris LoweProducer s Stephen HaguePet Shop Boys singles chronology Opportunities Let s Make Lots of Money first release 1985 West End Girls 1985 Love Comes Quickly 1986 The first version of the song was produced by Bobby Orlando and was released on Columbia Records Bobcat Records imprint in April 1984 becoming a club hit in the United States and some European countries After the duo signed with EMI the song was re recorded with producer Stephen Hague for their first studio album Please In October 1985 the new version was released reaching number one in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1986 In 1987 the song won Best Single at the Brit Awards and Best International Hit at the Ivor Novello Awards In 2005 20 years after its release the song was awarded Song of The Decade between the years 1985 and 1994 by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters A critic s poll in 2020 by The Guardian selected West End Girls as the greatest UK number one single 4 The song was performed by the Pet Shop Boys at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony 5 Contents 1 Background 1 1 Recording and production 1 1 1 Bobby O version 1 1 2 Stephen Hague version 1 2 Music and lyrics 2 Critical reception 3 Music video 4 Commercial performance 5 Track listings 6 Credits and personnel 6 1 1984 Bobby O version 6 2 1985 Stephen Hague version 7 Charts 7 1 Weekly charts 7 2 Year end charts 8 Certifications 9 East 17 version 9 1 Critical reception 9 2 Music video 9 3 Track listing 9 4 Charts 9 4 1 Weekly charts 9 4 2 Year end charts 9 5 Certifications 10 References 10 1 Bibliography 11 External linksBackground EditRecording and production Edit Bobby O version Edit In 1983 Neil Tennant met producer Bobby Orlando while on an assignment in New York interviewing Sting for Smash Hits After listening to some demos Orlando offered to produce for the duo 6 In 1983 and 1984 the duo recorded twelve songs with Orlando at Unique Studios in New York West End Girls Opportunities Let s Make Lots of Money One More Chance I Want a Lover That s My Impression A Man Could Get Arrested I Get Excited Two Divided by Zero Rent It s a Sin Pet Shop Boys and Later Tonight Orlando played most of the instruments on West End Girls including the jazz riff at the end Lowe played one chord and the bassline 7 It included a drum part lifted from Michael Jackson s Billie Jean and an arrangement involving what Tennant called Barry White chords 8 Orlando was thrilled by the song s production his idea was to make a rap record in a British accent 9 In April 1984 West End Girls was released becoming a club hit in Los Angeles and San Francisco and a minor dance hit in Belgium and France 10 but was only available in the United Kingdom as a 12 inch import 11 In March 1985 after long negotiations Pet Shop Boys cut their contractual ties with Orlando and hired manager Tom Watkins who signed them with EMI 12 Stephen Hague version Edit An entire week had been spent re recording and rearranging West End Girls with producer Stephen Hague at Advision Studios 13 using Studio Two housed with an Otari 24 track tape machine and an SSL console 14 The song according to engineer David Jacob was musically constructed with only four basic rhythmical patterns throughout with no real instruments production wise except for one cymbal 14 The rhythmic foundations were laid down with an Oberheim DMX drum machine 14 In addition to that the synthesizer strings that run throughout the song were created using a blend of string sounds from an E mu Emulator I and an Emulator II 14 The bass part is a composite of different sounds from an Emulator II a Yamaha DX7 and a Roland Jupiter 6 all of which were connected by MIDI It had been played by hand to lend more fluidity to the track although initially there was a bit of difficulty in keeping the part in time with the drum machine 14 The song features a cowbell like sound which is in fact a combination of a cowbell and an Emulator II choir sound recorded into a Roland MSQ 700 sequencer and spun in manually at appropriate places in the song 14 The trumpet solo in this version was played by Hague on the Emulator According to Jacob it took about six hours to get the trumpet to sound genuine purposely playing wrong notes to make it sound more jazz 14 For the traffic noise that runs in the beginning Hague recorded it using a Sony Professional Walkman out on Gosfield Street outside Advision 14 In addition to the rap verses and choruses sung by Tennant each using different microphones one for verse and another for choruses singer Helena Springs was brought in to sing background vocals parts of these were sampled into the Emulator to be used wherever wanted in the track 14 They re released the song in late 1985 topping the charts in both the UK and the US 15 Music and lyrics Edit West End Girls source source A 30 second sample from the 1985 version of West End Girls featuring Tennant rapping part of the first verse and the chorus which shows the song s focus on class with the lyrics East End Boys and West End Girls Problems playing this file See media help West End Girls is a synth pop song 16 influenced by hip hop music 15 It has also been described as dance pop 17 18 19 disco 20 21 and new wave 22 23 24 The song s socially conscious streak as well as the propulsive bass line derives from Grandmaster Flash s protest rap song The Message 11 Lowe and Hague created a snaky obsessive rhythm punch for the music 15 replacing the song s previously sparse beats and minimal keyboard lines 11 Tennant started to write the song when he was staying at his cousin s house in Nottingham while watching a gangster film Just when he was going to sleep he came up with the lines Sometimes you re better off dead there s a gun in your hand and it s pointing at your head 25 The lyrics were inspired by T S Eliot s poem The Waste Land particularly in the use of different narrative voices and arcane references 11 The song s lyrics are largely concerned with class inner city pressure 8 15 Tennant later said that some listeners had assumed the song referred to prostitutes but was actually about rough boys getting a bit of posh 26 Sound wise the 1985 version also features a considerably smoother arrangement than the 1984 version trading out the collage of disjointed samples such as glass breaking and Tennant shouting the word I in favour of soft synth pads and Hague s Emulator trumpet solo At the same time however the 1985 version starts off like a film noir 13 opening with ambient traffic sounds not heard in the 1984 version In the liner notes to the 2001 reissue of Please Tennant noted that this was born out a desire for filmic music 27 In 2022 Tennant changed the line From Lake Geneva to the Finland Station in the last verse to From Mariupol to Kyiv Station during their co headline Unity Tour with New Order and at their Glastonbury Festival 2022 Sunday night headline appearance The change was done in solidarity for Ukraine in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine also because Finland Station is located in Russia 28 Critical reception Edit West End Girls has been generally well received by music critics Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic in a review of the album Please called the song hypnotic adding that it s not only a classic dance single it s a classic pop single 29 In a review for the group s second studio album Actually Rob Hoerburger from Rolling Stone magazine commented that West End Girls was as catchy as anything on the radio in 1986 praising its enticing bass line and foreboding synth riffs but felt that it was almost nullified by peevish spoken asides and the cryptic posturing of the duo s lyrics 30 In a review of the live album Concrete Michael Hubbard from musicOMH said that West End Girls was one of the songs that round out a collection that never feels too long or superfluous adding that it goes some way to installing Tennant and Lowe as national treasures 31 Cash Box called it a sensational pop single 32 Billboard called it a cannily haunting song in which disco meets sociology rap and the Al Stewart catalogue 33 Nitsuh Abebe from Pitchfork in a review of their compilation album PopArt Pet Shop Boys The Hits commented that in the song we meet Tennant not as a singer but as a speaker adding that he mumbles the verses to us not like a star but like a stranger in a raincoat slinking alongside you and pointing out the sights 34 In 1987 West End Girls won for Best Single at the Brit Awards 35 and for Best International Hit at the Ivor Novello Awards 36 In 2005 the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters gave to West End Girls the Ivor Novello Award for Song of The Decade between the years 1985 and 1994 37 38 In 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation s 12th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV 39 In 2020 The Guardian selected West End Girls as number one in a critics poll of the 100 greatest UK number one singles 4 It was ranked No 433 on Rolling Stone s Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2021 40 and No 65 on their 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time in 2022 41 Music video EditThe accompanying music video for West End Girls was directed by Andy Morahan and Eric Watson 42 43 and consists of shots of the duo around London At the beginning of the video noises from the city can be heard a camera passes Lowe on the street and focuses on mannequins in a shop window Then appears a sequence of quick cuts with shots of the city s different sub cultures the video freezes and cuts to Tennant and Lowe who walk through an empty Wentworth Street in Petticoat Lane Market They stand in front of a red garage door Tennant is in front dressed with a long coat white shirt and dark necktie directly addressing the camera with Lowe standing behind him with a blank expression Lowe is filmed in double exposure and appears almost ghostlike In other shots Tennant power walks imperiously while Lowe casually follows behind While Tennant delivers the lyrics and chorus directly at the viewer Lowe appears at times disinterested in the proceedings or preoccupied with other goings on around them Then the video shows various shots at Waterloo Station as the chorus starts In slow motion the camera pans across the WHSmith shop on the station concourse as the duo walk past It cuts to a brief shot of a No 42 red double decker bus showing the destination as Aldgate also advertising the stage show Evita then black and white shots of the Tower Bridge Westminster and the Westminster Palace Clock Tower from the sky The duo poses on the South Bank of the River Thames in a pastiche of a postcard image with the Houses of Parliament as a background 44 The camera shows shots of young women and passes through arcades and cinemas in Leicester Square The camera now passes South Africa House showing protestors in the Non Stop Picket an anti apartheid vigil 45 The video cuts to a closeup of Tennant singing the chorus with a purple neon sign eerily passing across his face At the end the camera passes again through Leicester Square where people queue to see Fletch and Desperately Seeking Susan 45 The video was nominated for Best New Artist in a Video at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards but lost to A ha s Take On Me 46 Commercial performance Edit West End Girls was first released in April 1984 through writer and producer Bobby Orlando s label The song was a club hit in the United States 47 and in some European countries such as Belgium where it debuted at number 24 on the VRT Top 30 chart on 28 July 1984 48 peaking at 17 four weeks later 49 In Canada West End Girls first entered the RPM singles chart in April 1985 reaching a peak position of 81 in June 1985 50 Having signed with EMI the group released their first major label single Opportunities Let s Make Lots of Money in mid 1985 but it failed to attract attention 47 The Pet Shop Boys then decided to re record West End Girls and issue this new version as a single Producer Stephen Hague helmed the new re recorded version of West End Girls 15 The re recorded version of West End Girls was released in the United Kingdom in October 1985 debuting on the UK Singles Chart at number 80 and within eight weeks of its release it had reached the top of the chart 51 It maintained the number one position for two weeks 51 and received a gold certification by the British Phonographic Industry BPI in January 1986 52 Across Europe West End Girls also topped the singles chart in Norway 53 as well as peaking in the top three in Belgium Germany Ireland the Netherlands Sweden and Switzerland 54 55 56 57 58 In Canada where the original recording of West End Girls had already been a minor hit in 1985 the re recorded version was issued as a single in early 1986 The re recorded song entered the chart in March 1986 peaking at number one for one week on 17 May 1986 59 In the United States West End Girls debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 71 60 reaching the number one position on 10 May 1986 and remained on the chart for 20 weeks 61 The song also peaked at number one on Billboard s Hot Dance Music Club Play chart for two weeks 62 West End Girls re entered the charts in February 2021 as Pet Shop Boys received some exposure in early 2021 thanks to the premiere of the Channel 4 series It s a Sin named after the song of the same name and a popular Allstate Super Bowl ad featuring the song Opportunities Let s Make Lots of Money Consequently several singles have re entered the charts with Opportunities having reached number one in February 2021 on Billboard s Dance Electronic Digital Song Sales chart and spending three consecutive weeks atop the chart West End Girls re charted with the latter song re entering the charts for the week of 27 February 2021 at number nine on the Dance Electronic Digital Song Sales chart nearly having switched places in chart rankings with Opportunities from their 1986 entries The song rose to number six on the chart for the week of 12 March 2021 63 64 65 Track listings Edit7 inch UK 1984 release West End Girls Nouvelle version 4 10 Pet Shop Boys 5 1012 inch UK 1984 release West End Girls extended mix 7 50 Pet Shop Boys 5 107 inch Belgium 1984 release West End Girls Nouvelle version 4 10 Pet Shop Boys 5 107 inch Germany 1984 release West End Girls Nouvelle version edit 3 21 Pet Shop Boys Edit 3 267 inch Canada 1984 release West End Girls Original 7 version 4 14 West End Girls Original 7 version 4 14Note The titles Nouvelle version and original 7 version do not appear on any releases They are names created by fans in order to distinguish the different versions 7 inch UK 1985 release Parlophone R 6115 West End Girls 3 55 A Man Could Get Arrested 7 version 4 5010 limited edition UK 1985 release Parlophone 10R 6115 West End Girls 10 mix 7 05 A Man Could Get Arrested Bobby Orlando version 4 1812 inch UK 1985 release Parlophone 12R 6115 West End Girls dance mix 6 31 A Man Could Get Arrested 12 version 4 09 West End Girls 3 5512 inch The Shep Pettibone Mastermix UK 1985 release Parlophone 12RA 6115 West End Girls The Shep Pettibone Mastermix 8 09 West End Dub 9 31 A Man Could Get Arrested 12 version 4 09Credits and personnel Edit1984 Bobby O version Edit Neil Tennant vocals Chris Lowe keyboards basslinewith Bobby Orlando keyboards synthesizers1985 Stephen Hague version Edit Neil Tennant vocals Chris Lowe synthesizers E mu Emulator 66 with Stephen Hague synthesizers Emulator trumpet solo Helena Springs background vocalCharts EditWeekly charts Edit Weekly chart performance for West End Girls original release Chart 1985 PeakpositionCanada Top Singles RPM 67 81UK Singles OCC 68 133Weekly chart performance for West End Girls reissue Chart 1986 PeakpositionAustralia Kent Music Report 69 5Austria O3 Austria Top 40 70 5Belgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 54 6Canada Top Singles RPM 59 1Europe European Hot 100 Singles 71 6Finland Suomen virallinen lista 72 1Ireland IRMA 56 2Japan Oricon 73 98Netherlands Dutch Top 40 57 3Netherlands Single Top 100 74 4New Zealand Recorded Music NZ 75 1Norway VG lista 53 1South Africa Springbok Radio 76 2Spain AFYVE 77 3Sweden Sverigetopplistan 58 2Switzerland Schweizer Hitparade 78 2UK Singles OCC 51 1US Billboard Hot 100 61 1US Adult Contemporary Billboard 79 26US Dance Club Songs Billboard 80 1US Dance Singles Sales Billboard 81 3US Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard 82 36US Mainstream Rock Billboard 83 37US Cash Box Top 100 Singles 84 1US Black Contemporary Singles Cash Box 85 37West Germany Official German Charts 55 22021 weekly chart performance for West End Girls Chart 2021 PeakpositionUS Dance Electronic Digital Song Sales Billboard 65 6 Year end charts Edit 1985 year end chart performance for West End Girls reissue Chart 1985 PositionUK Singles Gallup 86 681986 year end chart performance for West End Girls reissue Chart 1986 PositionAustralia Kent Music Report 87 26Belgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 88 64Canada Top Singles RPM 89 25Europe European Hot 100 Singles 90 45Netherlands Dutch Top 40 91 34Netherlands Single Top 100 92 67New Zealand Recorded Music NZ 93 5South Africa Springbok Radio 94 18UK Singles Gallup 95 65US Billboard Hot 100 96 15US Dance Club Songs Billboard 97 6US Dance Singles Sales Billboard 98 15US Cash Box Top 100 Singles 99 2West Germany Official German Charts 100 13Certifications EditCertifications for West End Girls Region Certification Certified units salesCanada Music Canada 101 Gold 50 000 United Kingdom BPI 52 Gold 500 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone East 17 version Edit West End Girls Single by East 17from the album WalthamstowReleased14 June 1993 1993 06 14 102 Length3 59LabelLondonSongwriter s Neil Tennant Chris LoweProducer s Mykaell S Riley The Groove CorporationEast 17 singles chronology Slow It Down 1993 West End Girls 1993 It s Alright 1993 Music video West End Girls on YouTubeIn 1993 English boy band East 17 covered West End Girls for their debut album Walthamstow 1993 Critical reception Edit Sian Pattenden from Smash Hits gave East 17 s version of West End Girls three out of five 103 Music video Edit The accompanying music video for West End Girls was directed by L Watson amp C Clunn 104 Track listing Edit 7 inch singleA West End Girls Faces on Posters Mix B West End Girls Kicking in Chairs Charts Edit Weekly charts Edit Weekly chart performance for West End Girls Chart 1993 PeakpositionAustralia ARIA 105 4Europe Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 106 31Finland Suomen virallinen lista 107 10France SNEP 108 48Germany Official German Charts 109 40Ireland IRMA 56 14Israel IBA 110 2Netherlands Single Top 100 111 48Portugal AFP 112 7UK Singles OCC 113 11UK Dance Music Week 114 45 Year end charts Edit Year end chart performance for West End Girls Chart 1993 PositionAustralia ARIA 115 56 Certifications Edit Certifications for West End Girls Region Certification Certified units salesAustralia ARIA 115 Gold 35 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone References Edit Pet Shop Boys Interview 1986 YouTube com 1996 Retrieved 13 May 2019 Smith Robin 26 October 1985 Index Go West End Record Mirror p 4 ISSN 0144 5804 Absolutely Pet Shop Boys Unofficial web site Profile On boys Petshopboys net 27 May 1991 Retrieved 1 October 2011 a b Snapes Laura 5 June 2020 The 100 greatest UK No 1s No 1 Pet Shop Boys West End Girls The Guardian Petridis Alexis 12 August 2012 Olympics closing ceremony music big acts big hits but no big gasps The Guardian Retrieved 30 March 2014 Barrow amp Newby 1994 p 67 Cowton 1991 p 11 a b The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born 51 100 Blender October 2005 Archived from the original on 5 March 2010 Retrieved 19 February 2009 Cowton 1991 p 14 Cowton 1991 p 15 a b c d West End Girls Pet Shop Boys BBC Radio 2 Retrieved 19 February 2009 Cowton 1991 p 22 a b Snapes Laura 5 June 2020 Neil Tennant on West End Girls It s about sex and escape It s paranoid theguardian com a b c d e f g h i Betteridge Jim March 1986 Track Record The Pet Shop Boys International Musician And Recording World pp 114 115 a b c d e Raggett Ned West End Girls gt Song Review AllMusic Retrieved 19 February 2009 Brown Jake 2012 Behind the Boards The Making of Rock n Roll s Greatest Records Revealed Hal Leonard Corporation p 152 ISBN 978 1 4803 2976 8 the Pet Shop Boys debut LP would break the band and arguably the burgeoning synth pop genre itself in both Europe and the United States via radio smashes like West End Girls and Opportunities Let s Make Lots of Money You Say It s Your Birthday Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys MTV 3 October 1997 Retrieved 7 June 2022 Partridge Kenneth 2 June 2015 With West End Girls Pet Shop Boys set a high standard for U K hip hop The A V Club Retrieved 7 June 2022 Lamb Bill 21 August 2019 25 Best Dance Pop Songs of All Time LiveAbout Retrieved 7 June 2022 Hunt Dennis 4 May 1986 These Boys Aren t the Critics Pets Los Angeles Times Retrieved 16 May 2022 Snapes Laura 5 June 2020 The 100 greatest UK No 1s No 1 Pet Shop Boys West End Girls The Guardian Retrieved 6 June 2022 CNN WorldBeat Interviews Pet Shop Boys get moving with Nightlife November 1 1999 Edition cnn com Pet Shop Boys Essentials Apple Music AV Undercover Archives GWAR covers Pet Shop Boys West End Girls A totally brash take on the new wave jam for AV Club s Undercover series A V Undercover West End Nottingham BBC December 2003 Retrieved 19 February 2009 Neil Tennant 2001 Please reissue Inset MAY 1986 PET SHOP BOYS HIT 1 IN AMERICA WITH WEST END GIRLS Totally 80s Retrieved 3 December 2020 Pet Shop Boys and New Order delight fans with long awaited Hollywood Bowl show Daily News 8 October 2022 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Erlewine Stephen Thomas Album Review gt Please AllMusic Retrieved 20 February 2009 Hoerburger Rob 3 December 1987 Pet Shop Boys Actually Music Reviews Rolling Stone Archived from the original on 13 July 2007 Retrieved 20 February 2009 Hubbard Michael 22 October 2006 Pet Shop Boys Concrete Parlophone musicOMH Retrieved 20 February 2009 Single Releases PDF Cash Box 1 March 1986 p 11 Retrieved 3 August 2022 Reviews Billboard 1 March 1986 p 71 Retrieved 3 August 2022 Abebe Nitsuh 6 October 2006 Pet Shop Boys Pop Art The Hits Pitchfork Retrieved 20 February 2009 Brit Awards 1987 IMDb Retrieved 22 February 2009 Pet Shop Boys Summary TV com Retrieved 22 February 2009 The Songs of the Decades BBC Radio 2 Retrieved 20 February 2009 Beatles fail to get in best song list The Daily Telegraph UK 25 May 2004 Retrieved 20 February 2009 Westbrook Caroline 25 July 2015 The Nation s Favourite 80s Number One 12 more classic 80s chart toppers which didn t make the cut Metro Retrieved 27 July 2015 The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Rolling Stone 15 September 2021 Retrieved 4 July 2022 Dolan Jon Lopez Julyssa Matos Michaelangelo Shaffer Claire 22 July 2022 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time Rolling Stone Retrieved 30 October 2022 Pet Shop Boys West End Girls Mvdbase com Retrieved 17 February 2009 Zuberi 2001 p 88 Zuberi 2001 p 89 a b Zuberi 2001 p 90 1986 MTV Video Music Awards 5 September 1986 Retrieved 17 February 2009 a b Ankeny Jason Pet Shop Boys gt Biography AllMusic Retrieved 19 February 2009 Radio 2 Top 30 van zaterdag 28 juli 1984 in Dutch VRT Top 30 28 July 1984 Archived from the original on 9 April 2012 Retrieved 20 February 2009 Radio 2 Top 30 van zaterdag 25 augustus 1984 in Dutch VRT Top 30 25 August 1984 Archived from the original on 9 April 2012 Retrieved 20 February 2009 Top Singles Volume 42 No 12 June 01 1985 RPM 1 June 1985 Retrieved 20 February 2009 a b c Pet Shop Boys Artist Chart History Official Charts Company Retrieved 28 April 2020 a b British single certifications Pet Shop Boys West End Girls British Phonographic Industry a b Pet Shop Boys West End Girls VG lista Retrieved 16 February 2009 a b Pet Shop Boys West End Girls in Dutch Ultratop 50 Retrieved 28 April 2020 a b Offiziellecharts de Pet Shop Boys West End Girls GfK Entertainment charts Retrieved 28 April 2020 a b c The Irish Charts Search Results West End Girls Irish Singles Chart Retrieved 28 April 2020 a b Nederlandse Top 40 Pet Shop Boys in Dutch Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 28 April 2020 a b Pet Shop Boys West End Girls Singles Top 100 Retrieved 16 February 2009 a b Top RPM Singles Issue 0673 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved 28 April 2020 Hot 100 Week of March 01 1986 West End Girls Billboard 1 March 1986 Retrieved 20 February 2009 a b Pet Shop Boys Chart History Hot 100 Billboard Retrieved 13 May 2018 Please gt Charts and Awards gt Billboard Singles AllMusic Retrieved 20 February 2009 Murray Gordan 18 February 2021 Super Bowl Ad Propels Pet Shop Boys Opportunities on Dance Charts Billboard Retrieved 20 February 2021 Copsey Rob 18 February 2021 It s a Sin Pet Shop Boys Classic Sees a Huge Uplift From Channel 4 Series Official Charts Company Retrieved 23 February 2021 a b Pet Shop Boys Chart History Dance Electronic Digital Song Sales Billboard Retrieved 19 November 2021 E mu Emulator II Vintage Synth Explorer www vintagesynth com Top RPM Singles Issue 0527 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved 30 April 2020 Roberts David 2006 British Hit Singles amp Albums 19th ed London Guinness World Records Limited ISBN 1 904994 10 5 Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 illustrated ed St Ives N S W Australian Chart Book p 232 ISBN 0 646 11917 6 Pet Shop Boys West End Girls in German O3 Austria Top 40 Retrieved 16 February 2009 European Hot 100 Singles PDF Eurotipsheet Vol 3 no 5 8 February 1986 p 4 OCLC 29800226 via World Radio History Pennanen Timo 2006 Sisaltaa hitin levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 in Finnish 1st ed Helsinki Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava p 233 ISBN 978 951 1 21053 5 Oricon Chart Book Artist Series 1968 1987 in Japanese Tokyo Original Confidence 1988 ISBN 978 4871310215 Pet Shop Boys West End Girls in Dutch Single Top 100 Retrieved 28 April 2020 Pet Shop Boys West End Girls Top 40 Singles Retrieved 30 August 2019 Currin Brian SA Charts 1965 1989 As presented on Springbok Radio Radio Orion Acts P The South African Rock Encyclopedia Archived from the original on 9 November 2018 Retrieved 30 March 2014 Salaverrie Fernando September 2005 Solo exitos ano a ano 1959 2002 in Spanish 1st ed Madrid Fundacion Autor SGAE ISBN 84 8048 639 2 Pet Shop Boys West End Girls Swiss Singles Chart Retrieved 28 April 2020 Pet Shop Boys Chart History Adult Contemporary Billboard Retrieved 13 May 2018 Pet Shop Boys Chart History Dance Club Songs Billboard Retrieved 13 May 2018 Pet Shop Boys Chart History Dance Singles Sales Billboard Retrieved 30 April 2020 Pet Shop Boys Chart History Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard Retrieved 13 May 2018 Pet Shop Boys Chart History Mainstream Rock Billboard Retrieved 13 May 2018 Cash Box Top 100 Singles Week ending May 10 1986 Cash Box Archived from the original on 22 May 2021 Retrieved 28 April 2020 Cash Box Top Black Contemporary Singles Week ending May 24 1986 Cash Box Retrieved 22 July 2022 Top 100 Singles January 5 December 28 1985 PDF Music Week 18 January 1986 p 10 ISSN 0265 1548 via World Radio History National Top 100 Singles for 1986 Kent Music Report No 650 29 December 1986 via Imgur Jaaroverzichten 1986 Singles in Dutch Ultratop Retrieved 28 April 2020 Top 100 Singles of 86 RPM Vol 45 no 14 27 December 1986 p 5 ISSN 0033 7064 via Library and Archives Canada European Hot 100 Singles Hot 100 of the Year 1986 PDF Music amp Media Vol 3 no 51 52 27 December 1986 p 28 OCLC 29800226 via World Radio History Top 100 Jaaroverzicht van 1986 in Dutch Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 28 April 2020 Jaaroverzichten Single 1986 in Dutch Dutch Charts Retrieved 28 April 2020 Top Selling Singles of 1986 Recorded Music NZ Retrieved 17 November 2017 Top 20 Hit Singles of 1986 The South African Rock Encyclopedia Retrieved 28 April 2020 Top 100 Singles January to December 1986 PDF Music Week 24 January 1987 p 24 ISSN 0265 1548 via World Radio History Hot 100 Songs Year End 1986 Billboard Archived from the original on 3 June 2021 Retrieved 28 April 2020 Dance Club Songs Year End 1986 Billboard Archived from the original on 16 February 2020 Retrieved 28 April 2020 1986 The Year in Music amp Video Top Dance Sales Singles Albums Billboard Vol 98 no 52 27 December 1986 p Y 26 ISSN 0006 2510 via Google Books The Cash Box Year End Charts 1986 Top 100 Pop Singles Cash Box 27 December 1986 Archived from the original on 21 May 2021 Retrieved 28 April 2020 Top 100 Single Jahrescharts 1986 in German Offizielle Deutsche Charts Retrieved 28 April 2020 Canadian single certifications Pet Shop Boys West End Girls Music Canada 22 January 1986 New Releases Singles Music Week 12 June 1993 p 21 Pattenden Sian 9 June 1993 New Singles Smash Hits p 50 Retrieved 15 December 2022 East 17 West end girls VIVA VHS YouTube Retrieved 25 December 2022 East 17 West End Girls ARIA Top 50 Singles Eurochart Hot 100 Singles PDF Music amp Media Vol 10 no 28 10 July 1993 p 19 OCLC 29800226 via World Radio History Pennanen Timo 2006 Sisaltaa hitin levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 in Finnish 1st ed Helsinki Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava p 263 ISBN 978 951 1 21053 5 East 17 West End Girls in French Les classement single East 17 West End Girls in German GfK Entertainment charts Retrieved 28 April 2020 Chart Peak 28 7 1993 East 17 West End Girls in Dutch Single Top 100 Top 10 Sales in Europe PDF Music amp Media Vol 10 no 31 31 July 1993 p 20 OCLC 29800226 via World Radio History East 17 Artist Chart History Official Charts Company Retrieved 28 April 2020 Top 60 Dance Singles PDF Music Week 26 June 1993 p 28 ISSN 0265 1548 via World Radio History a b Ryan Gavin 2011 Australia s Music Charts 1988 2010 PDF ed Mt Martha VIC Australia Moonlight Publishing p 90 Bibliography Edit Barrow Tony Newby Julian 1994 Inside the Music Business Routledge ISBN 0 415 13660 1 Cowton Michael 1991 Pet Shop Boys Introspective Sidgwick amp Jackson ISBN 0 283 99825 3 Zuberi Nabeel 2001 Sounds English Transnational Popular Music University of Illinois Press ISBN 0 252 02620 9 External links EditWest End Girls official video on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title West End Girls amp oldid 1145683469, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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