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Hear and pre-order the Pet Shop Boys’ The Pop Kids single

By Paul Sinclair

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89

popkids

Watch the ‘lyric video’ and order the CD single of the Pet Shop Boys new single The Pop Kids…

What do you think of the song? Leave a comment.

The Pop Kids is released on 18 March 2016.

pre-order

track_listing

1. The Pop Kids (Radio Edit)
2. In Bits
3. One-Hit Wonder
4. The Pop Kids (PSB Deep Dub)
5. The Pop Kids (The Full Story)

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89 Comments

89 thoughts on “Hear and pre-order the Pet Shop Boys’ The Pop Kids single”

  1. Pingback: Pet Shop Boys to issue ‘The Pop Kids’ on white vinyl 12-inch record | superdeluxeedition

  2. I’m still waiting for my cd to come in the mail, but listening on Spotify, I think this is an awesome cd single – great b-sides and I love the extra verse in the “full story” version.

  6. Daran
    You are spot on!! Never heard of BB100 in my life. Never “researched” any music either. People that live between Florida & West Texas have very few radio stations. I live in El Paso where 70% are in Spanish. In these parts the way people acquire a love for music is through the church. First you learn the standards (Tell It on the Mountain, Will the Circle be Unbroken, etc.). At some later point you listen to secular music. If you asked the average person in 1970 who the best rock & roll music artists were you would have been told Elvis, BB, Buddy Holly & Bobby Fuller. The Beatles were not relevant until after 1972. In the 1960s the X stations appeared. They were based in the waters Gulf of Mexico & in the high desert in Mexico. Monday was Motown, Tuesday Jazz and so forth. Every southern teenager grew up listening to these stations. The song selection was epic; from Zappa to Mahler to ABB to Miles to Bay City Rollers. What fun!! The Federals in DC shut them down around MTV time. Something about royalties & licenses. If they had not done this I am confident that we would have heard PSB.
    My daughter downloaded a bunch of PSB tunes last night. West End Girls & Left To My Own devices are the faves. Was Peter Hook the 3rd Pet Shop Boy? Sure sound like it.
    J

  7. I think we need to give J a little slack here. We all know how fragmented the US music industry is with regards to radio and the charts. Perhaps he is from a part of the country that does not pay much attention to the BB100 (Nashville etc, deep south…). Besides didn’t the Pets fall off a cliff in a big way with sales and exposure after the 1988 Domino Dancing video alienated the conservative / mid-west media (as told in PSB’s A Life In Pop DVD)? Hence the East / West coast hotbeds of fans with far less in-between the coasts. They never had another top 50 BB100 since that DD single, and nearly 20 years has passed which is a long time. I can imagine since then it would be easy for a (younger) person not exposed to or looking at US dance charts to hear little or nothing about PSB through mainstream media. Hence they appear to be a non-entity these days. But still could have done some research though :) Wet Willie & Grinderswitch are a southern rock band, so I am guessing PSB is not natural territory for him.

  8. Paul
    I have never heard a PSB record before but I love the passion associated with the thread. It is interesting to me that on your side of the pond there are so many bands that never really made a dent in the US and vice versa. I have searched your site for Wet Willie & Grinderswitch and there is nothing to be found. It is a nice little cultural contrast to notice
    J

    1. If you call having a Billboard Hot 100 number one single and five top ten hits “not making a dent” then I’m sure there are plenty of bands who would love to be similarly unsuccessful in the USA ;)

  9. Super? No. Mediocre? Yes.
    It’s fine as a B Side track, but the Pet Shop Boys are capable of far better than this. The last album they did that I really enjoyed was Yes, and in particular, the songs “The way it used to be” and “More than a dream”. Since then, the quality of the song writing has dipped dramatically, as has the production on the new single. Disappointing.

  10. I’ve been following the PSBs since the mid-80s and I’ve bought practically everything they’ve released. I’ve found a number of their albums rather patchy from Bilingual onwards. However I always found enough excellent tracks on each release to make them worthwhile. I did find ‘Electric’ a major disappointment. Not enough decent tracks for my liking. Give me classic electro-pop songs anytime. For me this new single is also a big disappointment. I was hoping for something less bland and boring, in my view. I’m just hoping the new album will be more to my liking.

  11. There seems to be a lot of hate for this song but I think it’s Super (pun intended). I don’t feel that PSB should record ‘age appropriate’ songs, otherwise many other artists should pack up and go home. I don’t see that because you are 60 years old means you can’t enjoy nightclubs or reminisce about it. I think this song is about some friends moving to London anyway. Regardless, it’s not ‘golden age’ PSB but it is a good pop song. I can see why others may not like or enjoy it, but I’m looking forward to the album. I don’t post on here often but it’s a fantastic website and I enjoy reading the opinions of others. Have a great day everyone.

  12. sad to see this is what has become of the pet shop boys. i was enjoying them back when they started in the late 80’s, but they have missed the boat almost completely from the 90s until now.

    this generic dance single, trying to be self evident, and referential, instead comes off as clumsy and awkward.

    being boring is a classic if you want a song about looking back and being nostalgic.

    the 90’s has no nostalgia.

    case closed.

    later
    -1

    1. The Pet Shop Boys actually started in 1981 but didn’t get success till 1985 with West End Girls. I do agree with you that anything after after Behaviour has mostly been rubbish and the decline in my opion started when they released that Go West drivel.

    1. @Ian:agree/disagree on soemeone’s music or songs,someone who you like for the most part of his career,or from whon you enjoy some tunes opposite to others,doesn’t make people “too old” to enjoy his new music,just because they don’t feel to,or they don’t like the path the music is going to.Some of PSB tunes are great,some are beautiful,some are garbage…It’s like this with every musician.That’s what I dislike in forum like these:you can be polite and kind as much as you are and can,wrote that what you are stating it’s just your opinion,that you respect the view of others,as many here have to in previous posts,but the “real”complainers will always try to impose THEIR VIEW of seein’ things,and will always play bullies and arrogants,just to let people know – in this case especially – they’re right on like the song and the others are wrong,because for them they’re “too old” to like it or to like some of the previous songs/works,so because of a “supposed age” they think you have,[what is that in the end? 40-50?More?],”old ” people can’t appreciate it too much to recognise what’s good and what’s not based on own personal tastes, and so they can’t have their opinions,that’s what stated between the lines. That’s sad,really.

      And you Paul,as owner and moderator,should take action and say something to people posts that are offending other’s post that don’t collide with theirs’ view.

      1. I don’t have to take action if people are disagreeing. As long as it doesn’t get offensive, which I don’t think it has (has it?). Also if you disagree with someone you don’t always have to TELL THEM. You can just read their opinion, note it doesn’t align with yours and just shrug it off.

        1. Yes,that’s right…But why are you telling this only to me,and not to people who alwasy point out that one is “too old” or stuff like that if you don’t like a PSB [PSB,not Beatles,just to compare,and they made bad music too] song?That’s what I meant sayin’ take action:just tell them the same things you told me.And I started first of all addressing my complain to Ian,including all the other’s make same or similar statements,of course.That’s all.I’m sorry if I annoyed you for silly things like these,I just thought it was right to tell you.Next time I will do exactly what you said.Thanks.

          1. I was mainly responding to your request for me to ‘take action’. I can assure you I don’t tolerate trolls etc. but so far as I can see this was just a passionate exchange of views. My comments were meant more widely than just ‘you’. People (not you specifically) just need to chill a bit and not take things so personally. It’s ‘just’ a pop song :)

  16. Sorry if it’s off-topic, but according to BBC Raio2’s website

    “And, starting Wednesday 23 March, (10-11pm) is a new four-part documentary on Pet Shop Boys. With sales exceeding 50-million records and a catalogue of music that spans 12 top 10 studio albums, 40 top 20 singles, and four UK number one records, Pet Shop Boys are the most successful British music duo of all time. Programme one is narrated by Graham Norton.”

  17. I also like their more “mature” songs,and I think Electric was garbage,and the follow-up will be too.They were great until some years ago,’till Bilingual more or less,with some good “exploits” like Release,then…Every good thing comes to an end,they say:PSB have come to that.

  19. I like that they’re pandering to what I want from a PSB song/album. I don’t particularily want more of the “grown up” Boys from Release or most of Elysium. I want throw-back ’80s/’90s house/disco. It’s what they were best at then, and still best at now when they’re not trying to be “current”. For instance, I’m hoping Super doesn’t feature more of those guest-artist rap breaks like in “Thursday”… aiyeee. There’s no shame in playing to your strengths, even when they’re 25 year old strengths.

    1. I agree. It isnt like the Rolling Stones are going to do dubstep, they do what they do best, 60’s and 70’s rock, if they do anything at all, any change to the formula is to be avoided. 80’s and early 90’s pop is what psb do better than anybody else, doing that is relevant in itself. If The Cure could get it together again and do something like they did ’85-’89 then you would have old goths searching for their wigs. I agree too about the guest spots, that piece with Example was not very good, at it’s worst I felt lame listening to the rap, and at best the singing sounded like recycled Elton John.

    2. Honestly this is where I’m at with PSB too, Jakob. The “mature” tracks from their later albums (“Fundamental” on) are reaaaally spotty, and “Release” only somewhat better on that front. They’re pulling it off better in this mode, and it still sounds good. Maybe not their “Very” best, but that’s asking a lot.

  20. This track is a real grower!

    I’ve just listened to the lyrics again and noticed they are based on my life! LOL

    Except:

    1. I went to film school
    2. I was out seven nights per week.
    3. I never had to queue to get into a club :-)

    Awesome!!!

  21. of course the boys lost a bit of their magic over the years. i think nobody can expect them to write songs like the did in the mid80s until the mid90 in their imperial phase. i too found their output in the 00s and 10s a bit underwhelming but i still like them a lot and still buy all their releases. i love their commitment to design and cover art quality and i think they still put out at last 3-4 exceptional songs on each album.

  22. Great song great lyrics and great production. Although might hit the buttons of those of us who were twentysomething disco monsters in the early nineties more than others. It would fit nicely on Saint Etienne’s Words and Music album.

  23. I feel much more confident about the new album now than I did after the preview track (I can’t even remember the name of it).

    As far as the price, it’s pretty much in line with what we pay for CD single imports in the US anyway, and I tend to think of their “singles” more like “EPs” with the bsides and remixes. PSB are one of the few acts that still support the single, and i love that a new album from them tends to “continue giving” with more tracks and remixes in the months following, on real discs, with real artwork.

  25. Not bad, but the production style devalues the emotional aspect of the song and prevents it from going anywhere memorable in its few minutes. Since the best PSB singles are particularly known for exactly that, it’s unfair how high the expectations are. But definitely not “going for it” in any way, shape, or form. This is fast-forwarding directly to the mysterious club mix “radio edit” which belonged on promos but would randomly pop up on cd singles at the demand of noone.

  26. …And I loved Nightlife! The first three tracks on that album make for one of my favorite sets of album openers of all time! Not sure what album some people think they were listening to there…

    1. Jason, you’re entitled to your opionion,I’m entitled to mine.Let’s keep it this way,ok?I don’t want to start an argument with you or anybody else who complain about other people’s opinion.Just read WELL what I wrote about other’s tastes,before starting replies so polemically.

  27. Fantastic single in a long chain of fantastic singles! Can’t wait for this album, but there is certainly a lot of shade being thrown their way, and for what? If you aren’t with them, go find a band to be interested in! Every album is just different levels of greatness, and I feel as though this last patch of albums (Fundamental, Yes, Elysium, Electric) are actually some of my favorites and contain some of my favorite songs of theirs. How many groups can one say this about? They have attained a level of excellence and consistency over the course of a nearly 40 year career most artists would kill for, and Super looks to be equally great. I cannot imagine a music world without them in it.

  29. Actually, this sounds a lot like Electronic sans Johnny Marr, ie “Reality” or “Some Distant Memory”. Maybe this is a leftover from back then. Haha. However the nostalgic whistfulness does take away from some of the fun, perhaps a different subject and lyrics would have been better, a classic PSB subject such as sleeze or cold and detached love may have done the trick.

  30. This song reminds me of “We’re the Pet Shop Boys.” I dont see what everyone is complaining about. It would be cool if they had gotten a M People or Saint Etienne or a Brothers in Rhythm remix in there. In a way they didn’t take it far enough and just make it like 1992 PSB complete with authentic presets and remix effects. It does sound like there are a lot of grumpy old pop kids commenting here. :)

  31. I don’t love it, but considering Stuart Price is on production duty, I like it more than I thought I would. Though I adore Love Is a Bourgeois Construct and Thursday, the rest of the Electric album left me feeling underwhelmed. The production is just a little too amateur hour for me. Even on Thursday, why are the vocals so low in the mix? Almost ruins it for me.

    Wish the boys would have gone with Richard X as producer on this one. I hold up Saint Etienne’s Foxbase Beta as Exhibit A. He would be a perfect match for Pet Shop Boys.

  32. I like this better than anything on the dreadful Electric, but that’s not saying much. I agree with others who have suggested that it sounds like B-side material. And the Stuart Price production is, to use a favorite term of Neil’s–“ghastly.”

  37. I love this. After “Electric”, probably my least favourite PSB album, I’ve been looking forward to “Super” with less than average eagerness, but this song’s better than anything on the previous album.

  38. I blame Stuart Price, i dislike the majority of his work. Its ok as a track, sure it will grow. Was hoping for more of the new york electro vibe of Thursday, its probably a B side from the Imperious era. Now there would be a good psb album title! 7.42 is ok for a cd single these days, itll barely sell 1000 so the pressing fixed costs need to be covered. No one wants a loss leader when it is aimed at the hardcore fanbase.

  39. I’m not a PSB fanboy and they have passed me by decades but I thought it was pretty good although by no means a classic. Anyway, I’ll have to check with Alanis Morrisette but I am finding some of the comments waxing nostalgic for the past quite ironic in light of the lyrical theme of the song.

  41. I remember there were a lot of moaners when the CD single for “Vocal” was released. They said the price of £6 is too high and there are no B-sides, only remixes. Two weeks after release date the CD was completely sold out and the price is now £60 or higher on eBay/discogs. To all who moan right now about “The Pop Kids” CD single price: don’t buy it right now, who knows maybe the price will drop this time!

  42. the song is great, even if I’m not fond of the stuart price production here… The house piano is typical in the 90’s song, so as the theme of the song… It also looks like a sad look after the past… saying “Look what we were, so we aren’t anymore…”

    It has more lyrics than “vocal”.

    Really pleasant piece at first listening to me…

  44. £7 for a CD single is certainly higher than the days of the format’s apex, but it’s pretty par for the course with recent CD singles of the likes of New Order, Erasure, OMD etc.

  45. This is a good tune, but Stuart price has in no way got the best out of PSB. Assuming it was Stuart Price.

    I do like this but SP’s sound isn’t current. This could be a great pop tune, but with a different producer.

    The PSB are great but this just isn’t PSB at their greatest.

    With a different producer we could all be raving about this.

  46. I loved Thursday and much of Electric. I like this alot. If the rest of the album is comparable, I’ll be satisfied. But you’re right…I won’t be shelling out 7 GBP for the single!

      1. I hadn’t read your comment at the time so chuckled when I saw we had both used it. I too loved their early stuff. The albums were great but the B sides – some of them were just so wonderful. Hey Headmaster. Your funny uncle. It’s hard to believe this is the same band! I actually thought fundamental was a very good album but that seemed to be an island in a sea of mediocrity to me. Such a shame. Up to bilingual, as you say, hey were fantastic.

        1. Agreed, on the b sides Andrew. That’s definately where the best work has been placed. If I had to direct someone to just one album I would choose Alternative, not Behaviour or Introspective despite the acclaim those two get. For me the excitement was always what have they got up to with the b side – especially when they were in electro mood with the sync edits and and huge bassline sequences…. love it. I forgot about Hey Headmaster, yes that is a brilliant song. I also like Calm Before The Storm, and A New Life. The latter may just get played at my funeral! I miss Helena Springs backing vocals too….. nostalgia is such a bad thing when new releases are just nowhere near as good as the old stuff :)

  50. I wonder if this sort of song just confuses the radio stations and TV to the detriment of themselves. It’s not hip enough for the youth broadcasters, and too ‘young’ in content subject matter and sound (with this mix) for 30/40 year old’s MOR stations. Plus there obsession with youth is getting slightly odd with them being +/- 60 year old men now. Who is this song for Neil? I can’t see who amongst their historical main audience/fanbase either relates to or cares about ‘pop kids’ anymore? Maybe it’s me being more grumpy than they are despite being a lot younger.

    1. Daran,you have exactly my point of view,I totally agree with you.They should write songs with more “adult” themes,like excuse me for being repetitive, “Love Is A Burgeois…”which is a at the same time appropriate for the age they are and happy and poppy in the meantime at the right dose.But as you can see,there are also many fans who still love everything they do,regardless of lyrics or other…So,each and everybody has their own tastes.

      2. Hi Nicola. I saw your comment and was going to say I agree with you! So snap! Truth be told I guess my love of PSB has been dwindling for years. I was a total obsessed fan (pethead?), with all the rare ltd CD’s and Literally magazine etc. I saw them on the 1989 and 91 tours at the height of their fame and success. They could do no wrong in my eyes. But as the years / albums came and went I guess from Billingual my appreciation of the music they were making started to wane quite dramatically. Legend has it that they had a huge number of great songs they wrote in the early days, so many in fact that they used them all the way through the first 5 or so albums. But to my ears they must have mostly exhausted that collection from Billingual onwards. Having said that I do dip back into their later albums and hear a few bits of greatness – Nightlife, Release and Fundamental all had a few really good songs each. But sadly not enough to save the albums in my opinion. I can understand the desire to fight and stay relevant in a market place / industry that really wants to forget about them now, but hooking up with Stuart Price means they just sound like so many other acts that he has produced as his distinctive HNRG dance production style is overused and tired now. Lyrics apart, The Pop Kids sounds like any other of the throw away dance songs he has produced. I read a statement someone made about Coldplay’s recent album, saying that it was just ‘landfill pop’, and sadly that’s kind of how I feel about a lot of PSB’s output these days. That’s so sad for me to say as a former 100% dedicated fan. I never thought I would hear their songs and just shrug my shoulders and think ‘meh’, take it or leave it I don’t care. The legacy of PSB from their days of greatness deserves better than ‘meh’.

        1. Daran,I agree with yor opinion,don’t know why they are still doin’ so much electronic [that they show they can use properly when they want to] or dancefloor tunes [too old for that,by my opinion],that are pointless to my point of view now.Maybe it’s Stuart Price’s production [but the approved it,anyway]…I can’t cite any album or track I like or dislike that would be too much,but in the end,with some little happy exceptions [I think “Release” was their last great album,though I changed my mind over some song I liked back then,when the published it],as I stated before,I think they’re going backwards.We’ll hear…Time will tell.

      3. I’m going to speak up for the “adult” audience here and say we don’t all turn our minds to thoughts of early-bird specials at the local buffet and where our burial plot should be located the minute we pass 40. Some of us still love to go out, to dance, and to think about those things that we thought about when we were “young” (since apparently we aren’t anymore). But we DO become cranky, though, especially when we here music listeners complain that Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, and other act should suddenly turn their attentions to “grown up” ideas because they are “trying too hard to be young.” Most of us would prefer not to listen to folk albums about the health of our pensions and whether our retirement investments will work out well or not.

        Though, to be honest, I find that criticism a bit odd in the context of this song, which is looking back on youth and what it was like to be that age. They aren’t talking about BEING pop kids NOW. They’re talking about what it was like to be “pop kids” back when they were closer to being “boys” than they are in 2016. If anything, it’s just as world-weary as much of their music has been, even back in the day when they WERE pop kids. If anybody wanted to critically engage in a discussion about Pet Shop Boys and the Age-level” of their lyrics (in terms of emotional content), I would argue that their earlier lyrics often sounded like they was being written by middle age men, and their more recent music sounds the same way. Their world view or perspective hasn’t really changed much. It’s just that the general public seems to think that “old people,” should only act in a certain way, only talk about certain things. But just because we grow older doesn’t mean we need to “get old,” and when you’ve been blessed with a successful artistic career that has allowed you to not worry about whether or not you can pay the mortgage, get the kids to their piano lessons on time, or if the dog will make it to Christmas or not since he’s been limping lately, there’s even less reason for that perspective to shift dramatically.

        1. Hi Carlton…………. I agree…………… I’m in my 40’s but still love dance music and going out and shockingly still to go to discoteques ( or clubs I believe they are called these days). Oldest swinger in town ? Maybe. Ashamed of it? No.

        2. Carlton, it’s not about one foot in the grave or grumpy old man syndrome really. It’s about songs that engage with their audience. If you are from UK I’ll put money on the fact you are in a tiny tiny minority of 40 somethings who go out to clubs dancing except for occasional new years doo’s or weddings. So you don’t speak for the adult audience, only yourself and said minority. Recent surveys showed 50% of UK clubs had closed in the last decade. Fact. So it’s not just old’uns who are are not putting on their dancing shoes anymore. I’d wager this song will not resonate much now with fans or even younger casual listeners. It would not be so bad if it was biographical, but as Mr Tennant had his degree by 1975 he’s 15 years off that marker!

          1. Forgot to say I’m not against old’uns singing about the enjoyment of going out on the town and the thrill of it. Far from it. Check out Stars last album No One Is Lost for an example of how to do it right – ie with attitude and two fingers up at those who mock you. Rather than this IMO limp effort that ott’s on nostalgia, but yet neither relates to the band or original 80’s fans era or even the current club scene of today’s youngsters. It’s time frame context is just some date plucked out of thin air.

          2. But if you read either of the biographies written by Chris Heath during that time period, both Neil and Chris were staples in the club scene–in them constantly. So I don’t really see it as “randomly picked” in terms of time period, and as Neil commented in many interviews during the early-to-mid 90s that his coming out in terms of engagement with not only club culture but the gay scene was much more delayed than many people of that time period, why couldn’t this be autobiographical? I’m not really “just guessing” at this–it’s in print already.

  51. Thematically similar in its nostalgia of music to “Vocal.” Musically keeps with their modern electro sound with a heavy infusion of house piano. On first listens, really loving it!

    As for the higher price, there’s a good chance it’s tied into the fact that they are no longer using the major label system. Singles, especially physical product, have always been “loss leaders” in that they rarely in themselves generate much profit, but were seen as a necessary investment to promote the more expensive album. Many of the production costs, save for larger booklets, are similar for CD singles vs. CD albums. Removed from a giant company with money to burn pushing singles for 2-5 quid for the sake of album promotion, they are instead left with the same high costs for a targeted niche fan market, so I am not too surprised to see the cost increase.

  52. Maybe it needs to be heard more than once to be appreciated…First impression leaves you with a bitter taste…It’s like they are doin’ songs to kill time,not because they like to…I don’t hear here conviction,joy,happiness,meanigfulness that there was in songs like “Love Is A Burgeois…” or “I wouldn’t Normally Do…” or the beautiful “You Only Tell Me You love Me…”,the only song that can be called,well,”song” taken from that nightmare that was “Nightlife”…They are going backwards every new album they made,or so…I really loved ” Release” and some tracks out of “Yes”,to cited some of them randomly.And I called myself a first hour fanI owned Please since it came out in 1986,even if back then I was little…Don’t know,it’s like in every new album they care about less and less about quality…Maybe it’s age [no offense intended].It’s jut my opinion,of course.

  55. I’d expect the album for that price!! It’s no wonder people are downloading stuff for free when record companies try and rip people off like this! Disgusting!

  58. Hope that Amazon price comes down. Happy to pay that for a nine or ten track mix packed disc but £7.42 for five tracks one of which is a radio edit is a bit much.

    Let the complaining BEGIN!

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