Pet Shop Boys • Elysium

The Pet Shop Boys have released "Elysium", a new album of original songs sure to keep their fans happy. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe continue to make quality recordings, constantly updating their sound to remain fresh twenty-eight years after the release of "West End Girls", their hit song that swept the radios and charts across the world. In between, they have also collaborated with iconic singers Dusty Springfield and Liza Minnelli on albums, delivering both ladies chart hits. The first release from the album was the music video for "Invisible" was released in early June of this year. This video is just extraordinary, and I couldn't stop watching it!



A few weeks later, "Winner" became the second music video. In early July, the music video was making the round, and seemed like a perfect compliment to the London Olympics being held in their homeland. It also happens to be a great song, and the music video is also fantastic.



Elysium is a wonderful listen, to be sure. You can purchase the 12-track collection of songs, plus the above two videos, as well as Track-by-track interview by comedian David Walliams with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe on both iTunes and Amazon. To learn more about the Pet Shop Boys, visit their official website.

Olympic Dancing 101

Clockwise: Pet Shop Boys; Anthony Callea; SIRPAUL; The Young Professionals; and Pete Burns.

In keeping with the spirit of the 2012 London Olympic Games, I thought I would go a bit international with tonight's dance music. In fact, I looked to international members of the LGBT community for some music to get you up and dancing. And in tribute to London, I will begin with a song from British icons Pet Shop Boys. The band began in a record store in London, when Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe met. That was over thirty years ago, and they are still making great music. And it seems like "Winner" is just perfect for anyone performing in the Olympic games.



You can purchase "Winner" from iTunes and Amazon. Now we travel to the land down under and remember how much I love the music of Anthony Callea. At the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012, Anthony was busy singing his new music, including the wonder "Oh Oh Oh Oh". I love this song, and it certainly keeps me moving.



You can purchase "Oh Oh oh Oh" from iTunes and Amazon. On the next stop on the international tour, I decided on a trip to New York City and the brilliant SIRPAUL. This spring SIRPAUL released a new album, and the lead single featured a bright up-and-coming star in Loco Ninja. Together, they make some magic on "Body Connection".



You can purchase "Body Connection" from iTunes and Amazon. Because it is the host country, I return to England for another great song. I first came across the music of Pete Burns when he was the lead singer for the 1980s band, Dead Or Alive. Yes, he was the one told us to "spin right round, baby, right round, like a record player." Recently, he has appeared on British reality television, and struggled with some bad plastic surgery. More recently, he warned us all to "Never Marry An Icon". This is a 2012 NANSIM! REMIX, so enjoy.



You can purchase "Never Marry An Icon" from iTunes and Amazon. For our final stop on this trip, I am going to Israel and a band featuring one of my favorite musicians. At the beginning of the year, Ivri Lider teamed up with Johnny Goldstein to form The Young Professionals. They put out the great album with the tricky name, 9AM to 5PM - 5PM to Whenever. There were several great cuts on it, but they also released an EP that included a cover of the Lana Del Rey song, "Video Games".



You can purchase "Video Games" from iTunes and Amazon.

Friday Night Dance Party • Liza!

Back in 1989, Liza Minnelli released Results, a collaboration between the brilliant singer and the Pet Shop Boys, while they were still at the top of the charts. The 10-song collection was produced by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, and took Minnelli, who was really recording stuff from vaults, a chance to sound current and relevant. I will start with the brilliant job they did with the song Losing My Mind, written by Stephen Sondheim for the 1971 musical, Follies.

There was also the hauntingly beautiful If There Was Love. This was written by Tennant and Lowe, who molded it perfectly to Minnelli's voice, using that instrument in a way seldom heard before. Give it a listen, and be ready to enjoy it. You'll want to hear it again, I am sure.

The next entry I will speak about was written by Steve Barri, Michael Price, and Dan Walsh, and produced by Lowe and Tennant. Love Pains is a wonderful dance song, with a hooky chorus and some great vocals. The boys did a great job on this one.

Tinita Tikaram is a British singer/songwriter best known for her hit in the late 1980s, Twist In My Sobriety. Her song had a tribal feel, and a confessional quality. However, when you turn it over to Tennant and Lowe, and have it sung by Minnelli, you get this amazing techno-dence song for the ages. And, of course, there is the tongue-in-cheek commentary about Lisa's own life, quite fraught with her own issues with addiction.

According to lore, the album got the title when Liza was once in a bar, and complimented a woman on the the dress she was wearing. Supposedly, the woman thanked her, and said it was her results dress - when she wore it, she got results. Somehow, that might seem odd coming from someone other than Liza... For more about the great Liza with an Z, visit her official website here. This album is really very good, on so many levels. I am so glad it is a part of my collection. You can find Results on iTunes and Amazon.

Pet Shop Boys • Please

The brilliance that is the Pet Shop Booys all began in the early 80s, and almost stalled there. The single West End Girls was released in 1984, and didn't perform well on the charts. But Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe were not phased by that, and released the single again in 1985, and the song zoomed up the charts. It scored a number #1 in the UK and in the US, and was on top all across the globe. It was then they got the green light to work on the album. Please was released in early 1986, and had everyone clamoring to buy a copy. Here is the single that started it all, West End Girls.



The second single was released before the album hit the stands. Love Comes Quickly did not take off like the first one did, but remixes, including one by the great Shep Pettibone, reached the Top 10 on the Dance/Club charts.



The next single, Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money), was first released in 1985 to a tepid response. But it was re-released in 1986, following the success of West End Girls, and it caught on with the American listeners. It made it to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100.



The final single, Suburbia, did not make a real impact on the US charts, but did make it to eh clubs, where remizes made it quite the dance song. And the video did poke fun at the concept of the urban jungle...



You can find the Pet Shop Boys at their official website here. You can buy Please on iTunes here, and on Amazon here. They have, of course, gone on to create some great work since, but there is still something about the charm of their early recordings that are still great, almost 25 years later.

London's Gay Men's Chorus Sings!

Well, it is Sunday morning, and I am [fingers crossed] on my way to Washington, DC, to be an extra in Tom Goss' latest video for the song It's All Over from his new album, Turn It Around. So I thought I would leave you all in the capable and warm hands of London's Gay Men's Chorus.



It's true, I can't seem to escape the pull the Men's Chorus' have on me, but I don't think that is a problem. I will just listen to some more.And I will start with London's Chorus singing It's A Sin by the Pet Shop Boys, perfect for any and all Sunday mornings, right?



And how could you not love a large group of gay men singing one of Jane Russell's songs from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes? I mean, the scene in the movie with Dorothy singing with the men's gymnastics team is almost as gay as the chorus, right? Well, here they are singing Ain't There Anyone Here For Love?



So visit the London Gay Men's Chorus at their official website here. They even have an area where you can shop some of their music, which you can also find on iTunes. I purchased From The Ritz To The Anchor & Crown here, and just love the musical selections!

Party Like It's 2001

Clockwise: Janet Jackson, Pet Shop Boys, Madonna, and Kristine W.

It's another Friday night, and there was a time in my younger days that meant figuring out who was going out to the clubs, when we are going to meet up and where... Now, it means I am making sure I have a blog post up! This week, I thought we would revisit the Dance Hits from 2001, those songs that reached to the top of the Billboard Dance chart, and see if that rings a bell with anyone. And I will start with the song that ruled the chart on February 10. The song is by the Diva of Dance Music Kristine W, and is called Lovin' You. The song made a memorable part of the soundtrack for the first season of Showtime's Queer As Folk.



The next song was not only a hit on the Dance chart, with was also huge on teh Pop chart as well. Janet Jackson's All For You was #1 on the Dance chart for three straight weeks, May 12, 19, and 26. It was also # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 7 weeks, proving the power of a talented woman.



On June 2, it was a true music queen who ruled the chart. Madonna was back on top with the song What It Feels Like For A Girl. Written by Madonna, it challenged society's views and expectations of women, as only Madonna could. The video was directed by Madonna's then-husband, Guy Ritchie, and was quite controversial at the time. Madonna making waves, go figure...



Coming up on the end of the year, the Gods were shining on the Pet Shop Boys, who had their first #1 song 17 years before with West End Girls. On November 10, Break 4 Love by Peter Rauhofer+Pet Shop Boys=The Collaboration was in the #1 position on the Dance chart, proving talented musicians can be rewarded for making good music.



Hope that brought back some great memories, and some smooth dance moves.

Friday Night Blogiversary Party

Top: Paul Lekakis & Magnus Carlsson. Middle: Erasure. Bottom: Pet Shop Boys and Janet Jackson.

OK, to continue the fun, it is time to celebrate Friday night with a collection of great music that makes me want to get up and dance, and I hope you feel the same! So I have compiled a group of artists who have all been on the blog before, and who might very well be on it again sometime soon. The first song is My House by Paul Lekakis, who was just on the blog the other day. I still love his music, so I am good to listen to it any time I can. I really did love this song off the 1990 album, Tattoo It. My God, he looks so young in this video!



Swedish stunner Magnus Carlsson shows off his exceptional pipes is a cover of the great Erasure song, A Little Respect. The song was part of the 2010 album Pop Galaxy, which I just love. Aside from Magnus' dreamy good looks, voice and upbeat personality always win me over.



You don't think I could let Magnus cover them, and not include one of my favorite songs in this great mix of songs, right? Andy Bell shows why few cold ever match him in the vocals department, and Vince Clarke is there to deliver some top-notch musicianship. Together, they are Erasure singing one of my favorites, Chains Of Love. The single was released in 1988, off the album, The Innocents.



In 1987, Thee Pet Shop Boys went to the top of the charts with the infectious It's A Sin. Off the album Actually, the song is a classic example of Neil Tennant's and Chris Lowe's work, with complex music that came across on first listen as simple.



In 2001, Miss Janet Jackson scored a worldwide hit with the song All For You from the album of the same name. This came 15 years after her first trip up the charts with the music of the sensational Control. Crank up the volume and enjoy a bit of Miss Jackson.



Have a great night and weekend!

DVD Release - Pandemonium

The Pet Shop Boys released Pandemonium Live, The O2 Arena, London, 21 December, 2009, a DVD/CD combination of the live performance, in the UK yesterday, February 15th. It will not be released in the US until March 23rd.

The DVD includes the full Pandemonium show filmed by David Barnard who directed Pet Shop Boys' Cubism DVD. The sound has been mixed for DVD by Dave Woolley. There are also seven DVD extra features: My girl and It doesn't often snow at Christmas (Live at the O2); the music videos for Love etc., Did you see me coming? and All over the world; the complete 2009 Brits Awards performance, featuring Lady Gaga and Brandon Flowers; and an audio commentary by Pet Shop Boys and stage designer Es Devlin.
The CD includes 17 songs from the show (the full show is too long to fit on a single CD) and has been mixed by Stuart Price.

The trailer below is like a phenomenal walk down memory lane. And it is amazing to me how songs I remember still sound so current - they were a group ahead of their time. As the video moves through the parade of songs, I can't help but think how they mark specific times of my life, yet still sound as fresh today as they did then.



Check out the Boys official website here to see about ordering your copy.

Pet Shop Duets

Throughout their incredible career, the Pet Shop Boys have made interesting music, both on their own and with some amazing duets. As I plan to do a separate post on Neil Tennant and keyboard player Chris Lowe, Saturday night seems like the perfect night to share some of their great duets.

In 1987 Neil & Chris released What Have I Done To Deserve This?, a duet with the spectacular Dusty Springfield. It was on their album Actually.

What Have I Done To Deserve This? with Dusty Springfield


In 1989, the Pet Shop Boys produced Losing My Mind, a song by Stephen Sondheim, for Liza's album Results.



As part of the 1999 album Nightlife, the boys worked with Australian Kylie Minogue on the song In Denial.



The Boys worked on Robbie Williams album Rudebox, and in 2007, the song She's Madonna was released.

She's Madonna with Robbie Williams

New Music - Pet Shop Boys - Love Etc

The Pet Shop Boys are back on the charts with their latest single, Love Etc. Their first song, West End Girls, was released in 1984, 25 years ago. The Boys are Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. Neil is openly gay, and Chris is openly str8. And, for Gawd's sake, who hasn't danced to some Pet Shop Boys tune or another at some point? If you haven't, dammit, you just haven't danced in the last 20 years.



In March of this year, they released Yes, their 10th studio album. It has reached #4 on the UK charts, and #32 on the US charts. The single has made it into the Top 20 in both countries and is topping the dance charts. Somehow, I managed to miss this bit of info, and am catching up now. And the video is kinda cool.



For more about them, go to their website.