Revelation - Official ILX Pet Shop Boys tracks poll results

Think of it like voting in a safe liberal district.

I lost some of my love for "WHIDTDT" over time so I didn't vote for it. "Rent" was my #3.

and look what happens. xp.

oops, at work and forgot that video has a bunch of naked guys in it.

"Rent" was my highest single; I had 3 b-sides and an album track above it

Struggled for a moment to remember what this other contender was besides "Rent"? What's this "WHIDTDT"? Oh yes, that... Didn't even occur to me to vote for it. You know, hating fun as I do.

Are you ready for the top 2? There was virtually nothing in it with the top spot swapping a number of times.

Cue...Sound of the atom splitting.

2. Rent. (1987, Actually, 617 points, 23 votes, 4 number ones)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d0GARTk_Nk

An infamous appearance on UK TV from 1987:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6HIsJg2wGY

Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/track/112ksLSxzrJ3yZoVfWaA5s

RIF: Covered by Liza Minelli and less successfully Carter USM

1. What Have I Done To Deserve This? (1987, Actually, 624 points, 23 votes, 3 number ones)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn9E5i7l-Eg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8nN7Ecrj7E

Spotify:http://open.spotify.com/track/3noCRXN06iyXDyWL3MhW3T

RIF: Originally Parlophone wanted Tina Turner to do the duet.

Deserve is a total jam, deserved #1.

YES!

Ah, so close! Can't complain though - great work Billy, many thanks!

<3 that performance at the Brits. Neil looks really nervous.

DAMMIT A FEW PLACES UP AND RENT WOULD HAVE BEEN #1

I wouldn't have bumped any of the songs above it tho

Yes, thanks Billy! Great job!

damn

if anything, this track sounds a bit too perfect. Did they have help in the songwriting?

thanks Billy!

50-1 for your pleasure, note the points for #1, not that it makes much difference.

1 What Have I Done To Deserve This? Actually 634 23 3
2 Rent Actually 617 23 4
3 Being Boring Behaviour 607 22 4
4 West End Girls Please 541 20 4
5 Always On My Mind Standalone 525 20 1
6 Left To My Own Devices Introspective 411 15 2
7 King's Cross Actually 409 15 2
8 Paninaro B-side 398 17 2
9 Love Comes Quickly Please 355 14 0
10 It's A Sin Actually 296 14 0
11 This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave Behaviour 287 13 0
12 Heart Actually 272 10 0
13 Two Divided By Zero Please 266 11 1
14 Can You Forgive Her? Very 253 12 0
15 Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) Please 237 11 0
16 You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk Nightlife 235 10 1
17 So Hard Behaviour 231 11 0
18 Go West Very 223 10 1
19 Home and Dry Release 216 10 0
20 Se A Vida E (That's The Way Life Is) Bilingual 215 9 1
21 Suburbia Please 205 9 0
22 I'm Not Scared B-side 195 8 0
23 Domino Dancing Introspective 195 10 0
24 Young Offender Very 194 7 1
25 I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing Very 189 9 1
26 I Want A Dog Introspective 169 7 0
27 I Want To Wake Up Actually 162 6 1
28 Flamboyant Standalone 161 7 1
29 Jealousy Behaviour 158 9 0
30 In The Night B-side 157 7 0
31 We All Feel Better In The Dark B-side 138 6 1
32 Try It (I'm In Love With A Married Man) Disco 3 136 5 0
33 I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Anymore Nightlife 129 6 0
34 Your Funny Uncle B-side 124 6 0
35 One More Chance B-side 123 5 0
36 The Truck Driver and his Mate B-side 120 6 0
37 It's Alright Introspective 118 4 0
38 My October Symphony Behaviour 116 5 0
39 Losing My Mind (Liza Minelli) Collaboration 109 6 0
40 Miserabilism B-side 106 6 0
41 It Couldn't Happen Here Actually 105 5 0
42 It Must Be Obvious B-side 98 5 0
43 Some Speculation B-side 98 4 0
44 Love Etc Yes 94 5 0
45 Where The Streets Have No Name(I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You) Standalone 87 4 0
46 A Red Letter Day Bilingual 83 4 0
47 Liberation Very 81 4 0
48 To Face The Truth Behaviour 77 3 0
49 Do I Have To? B-Side 76 4 0
50 I'm Not Scared (Eighth Wonder) Collaboration 69 4 0

fancied it for top 5 but not ftw. was my 13, Rent ws 3.

My favorite poll yet. Thanks, guys!

Yeah, great job Billy. I've had an absolute blast.

Did they have help in the songwriting?

Yes, Allee Willis is credited as co-writer. She wrote the 'Since you went away...' part.

Great poll. Every song a hit. Thanks Billy. Phew.

Thanks for the kind words. It was a blast doing it, rediscovered my love for them and discovered a lot of new stuff. If no one has any objection I'll post a link to the google spreadsheet.

no objection :)

nice work billy. 17 0f my 20 charted, canonical boring taste obv. think so many are absolute gold that they simply had to be there tho. shame about The Way It Used To Be.

Go for it, I want to see if Battleship Potemkin got any other votes.

'The Way It Used To Be' nearly made it:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AqP5CgmgGL00dC13Wm5pSkI3TF9qNGhqajhiMEhYWVE&hl=en_US#gid=0

Wow kind of unexpected no? It's a great song though. Thanks Billy, that was fun!

14 of mine charted. The fallen six: in private, bet she's not your girlfriend, one of the crowd, that's my impression, on my mind/in my house, and fugitive.

2 Rent Actually 617 23 4
7 King's Cross Actually 409 15 2
8 Paninaro B-side 398 17 2
9 Love Comes Quickly Please 355 14 0
13 Two Divided By Zero Please 266 11 1
19 Home and Dry Release 216 10 0
25 I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing Very 189 9 1
26 I Want A Dog Introspective 169 7 0
30 In The Night B-side 157 7 0
31 We All Feel Better In The Dark B-side 138 6 1
35 One More Chance B-side 123 5 0
42 It Must Be Obvious B-side 98 5 0
43 Some Speculation B-side 98 4 0

songs I voted for

saddest about "Don Juan", "You Know Where You Went Wrong", "Jack The Lad", "Why Don't We Live Together?" and "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" not making it

So nothing from Fundamental... and only 4 tracks from the 00s. Still think Fugitive should have been top 50.

Thomas, I hadn't heard that version of 'In Private' before, a really great collaboration with Elton John. Sadly not available on youtube, otherwise I'd have linked it.

(my other two tracks were "For Your Own Good" and "One and One Make Five"

I don't really mind but there are people's real names on that spreadsheet. Just thought I should mention it.

I voted for 11 of the top 13. And yes, every Battleship Potemkin vote was mine.

xps In Private w/ Elton is ridiculously overblown and great, and yeah not available on youtube or spotify. Might not have made my ballot either if skip hadn't sent it over to me.

xp

If it's a problem, I can make it private and email it to anyone who's interested.

Nice work Billy!

Rightly or wrongly, "WHIDTDT" felt like lesser PSB to me from the outset, along with "Heart", so this comes as a surprise. (I also live under a rock.) Such a halting melody and a somewhat dinky-sounding arrangement to these ears. Always got much more mileage out of the somber bits of Actually. "Rent" was my #1.

My ballot:

1.Why Don't We Live Together?
2. Paninaro
3. Young Offender
4. What Have I Done to Deserve This?
5. Two Divided by Zero
6. Being Boring
7. You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk
8. The End of the World
9. I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)
10. Suburbia
11. Shopping
12. Always On My Mind
13. Se a Vida E
14. Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)
15. Rent
16. This Must Be The Place I Waited Years to Leave
17. I'm Not Scared
18. A Man Could Get Arrested
19. Can You Forgive Her
20. Do I Have To

forgot about "To Step Aside", that's a really solid track.

I think two of us voted for it. It's my longtime Bilingual fav.

1. We All Feel Better in the Dark
2. I Want A Dog
3. Some Speculation
4. Two Divided By Zero
5. Rent
6. One More Chance
7. Jack the Lad
8. Don Juan
9. In The Night
10. Paninaro
11. Yesterday, When I Was Mad
12. You Know Where You Went Wrong
13. It Must Be Obvious
14. Love Comes Quickly
15. King's Cross
16. One and One Make Five
17. For Your Own Good
18. I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing
19. Why Don't We Live Together
20. Home and Dry

My top 20:

Paninaro
Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)
*Absolutely Fabulous
So Hard
West End Girls
Left To My Own Devices
Love Etc
*New York City Boy
Always On My Mind
Heart
I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Anymore
*Euroboy
Some Speculation
In The Night
What Have I Done To Deserve This?
The Truck Driver and his Mate
*Discoteca
Home and Dry
Domino Dancing
I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing

Stars didn't make the top 50. I had the only vote for Euroboy and Absolutely Fabulous, ouch!

I almost voted for Absolutely Fabulous (was my no. 23) :/

My ballot:

1 - West End Girls
2 - Always On My Mind
3 - Paninaro
4 - Two Divided By Zero
5 - King's Cross
6 - The Crying Game (Boy George)
7 - Opportunities
8 - I'm Not Scared
9 - A Man Could Get Arrested
10 - In The Night
11 - Domino Dancing
12 - It's A Sin
13 - Go West
14 - What Have I Done To Deserve This?
15 - Hallo Spaceboy (David Bowie)
16 - Was That What It Was?
17 - Can You Forgive Her?
18 - I'm Not Scared (Eighth Wonder)
19 - Losing My MInd (Liza Minnelli)
20 - Fugitive

1. west end girls
2. king's cross
3. heart
4. rent
5. i want to wake up
6. love comes quickly
7. left to my own devices
8. the way it used to be
9. always on my mind
10. being boring
11. one more chance
12. paninaro
13. what have i done to deserve this
14. losing my mind (liza minelli)
15. i'm not scared (eighth wonder)
16. viva le vida/domino dancing
17. go west
18. so hard
19. i don't know what you want but i can't give it anymore
20. miracles (eric prydz mix)

20. West End Girls
19. King's Cross
18. Rent
17. Can You Forgive Her?
16. Minimal
15. The Truck Driver and His Mate
14. Flamboyant
13. I Want to Wake Up
12. Yesterday, When I Was Mad
11. Losing My Mind (PSB Version)
10. Being Boring
09. To Step Aside
08. Jealousy
07. You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk
06. It Couldn't Happen Here
05. I'm Not Scared (PSB Version)
04. Your Funny Uncle
03. Home and Dry
02. Young Offender
01. Always On My Mind

My selections that missed out:

A Man Could Get Arrested (pleased to see that this only missed by a whisker)
The Theatre
Twentieth Century (sole vote)
Did You See Me Coming (sole vote)