Phil Oakey Vs PSB

It's been vare Pet Shop Boys 'round these parts this week. But as the Yes album and Love Etc. single near release next month, news like this keeps cropping up. And, quite frankly, this is TOO GOOD to let pass. After yesterday's semi-news about a possible PSB/DSB collaboration, this one has happened and I think I may just have died and gone to heaven. Phil Oakey is to sing with Pet Shop Boys. Swoon.

As well as Neil AND Chris singing, Phil appears on This used to be the future on the bonus album etc. which will be a double disc all wrapped up as Yes. Pet Shop Boys Etc. Inspiration for this bonus disc came from The Human League's 1982 album Love and Dancing, a dancefloor version of Dare! And the song couldn't be more apt for Phil as The Future was the prototype band for The Human League and Heaven 17. Read all about it here on petshopboys.co.uk and here, on Electronically Yours where I first stumbled on this great snippet.

If anyone doubts the links between The Human League and Pet Shop Boys, first, watch this...



and then this...



You kind of wonder why this meeting of minds has taken so long to happen. Talking of which It was revealed yesterday that Lady Gaga will be taking to the stage at the BRITS on Wednesday evening with Neil and Chris to cover the Dusty Springfield part in What Have I Done to Deserve This? as part of their GreatestHitsMegaMix performance. Vare zeitgeist! But let's hope not TOO zeitgeist, as it will only prove this snooty piece in the Observer Music Monthly correct: "Attempting to cram 25 years of arch understatement into 15 minutes, the Pet Shop Boys are too smart by half. Losing the crowd with an ironic "credit crunch medley" of Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) and Rent, they end with a sour What Have I Done to Deserve This? as the TV credits roll."