"Sellout!" barked a girl at the back of the audience at yesterday's Yes album playback at the ICA in London after asking why Pet Shop Boys collaborated with the UK's "bigoted" Mail on Sunday newspaper. Tomorrow's issue will see an especially compiled and packaged set of 10 hit singles and a track from the new album but the boys were unrepentant. Far from being a sellout, Neil saw the it as an opportunity to reach a million people: "Two and a half million CDs are being pressed, but a million and half will probably be thrown away. The other million will either remind people that they like Pet Shop Boys or introduce us for the first time to a younger audience. If little Johnny's granny or someone buys it and gives him the CD to play and he likes it, who are we to complain?". He then went to explain that in this day and age, older bands had to "fight" for their position and this included free giveaways in newspapers regardless of their political leanings.He went on to remind the girl that all the press in this country is questionable in some way and admitted that the Mail on Sunday and its daily equivalent is "particularly ghastly". But he likened their effort as a "trojan horse"; a subversive infiltration of the paper. Chris Lowe jokingly told him to hush when, at the end, he shouted, laughing:"The Mail is GHASTLY, there's no getting away from it".
Neil said the Mail had approached them with the idea to come up with the package. Their designer, Mark Farrow, produced the cover, "Which", he said, "we thought would never get approved, but it did". It also allowed them to feature two of their favourite "overlooked" hits, Before ("Chris has always adored this one") and Home and Dry ("Which I just think is beautiful"). The track listing is as follows:1. West End Girls (10" mix)
2. Paninaro (7" mix)
3. It's a Sin (Disco mix)
4. What Have I Done to Deserve This? (7" mix)
5. Jealousy (7" mix)
6. Being Boring (7" mix)
7. Go West (7" mix)
8. Before (7" mix)
9. Home and Dry (7" mix)
10. Flamboyant (7" mix)
11. Did You See Me Coming? from Yes
I was there at the Popjustice event and will post more later...
I agree about Before and Home And Dry! And I wish I'd been there last night. More deets please!
ReplyDeleteYOU were the Trojan horse last night, my friend! Great writeup...give us more!
ReplyDeleteAnd, ugh, I don't like "Before".
I don't understand these sell out arguments. To avoid the Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday is to adopt the same approach to life that the Daily Mail does with many of its issues. It is divisive and ignorant. While I'd never buy the Daily Mail I always read it if a copy is in a cafe shop. Its good to know what the other side are saying. And it tends to be the same. Ignorance mixed in with Princess Diana, stories of benefit fraud and of course illegal immigrants. To avoid the OTHER is dangerous for a number of reasons. One must welcome the other. As scary as that might be. Survey the other. Go all Foucauldian on The Daily Mail. They'll love it!
ReplyDeleteThank you Phil for posting the track content, saved me When I received a Pet Text last Sunday I too was suprised the Pet Shop Boys joined up with the Daily Mail, but I imagine they would know what they were getting into despite how a the mail despite the reaction by the fans.
ReplyDeleteI thought there would a new track on the CD (sich as a b-side) but I'm waiting until the pre-order arrives :).
Beth
XO and Robbie, pleased to oblige... Rob: Neil said he read The Sun as well as The Guardian for a balanced view - personally he likes the celeb tittle tattle of The Sun but wouldn't admit it. People forget Boy George used to write a column for the very Tory Daily Express. His reasons, to be the subversive element and 'a voice in the wilderness' can easily apply to PSB piggy-backing the enemy.
ReplyDeleteBeth: There's be plenty of B-sides on the way!