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Pet Shop Boys offer to replace SMASH blu-ray disc

New disc includes uncensored Being Boring video

By Paul Sinclair

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119

An edited version of the video to the Pet Shop Boys 1990 single Being Boring was accidentally included on one of the blu-rays included with the five-disc deluxe edition of their recent career-spanning collection SMASH. The video was censored by the group’s American record company back in the day without the band’s knowledge and it’s this version that inadvertently ended up on the disc.

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have now acknowledged this error and are offering to replace the discs for fans affected.

Visit this page on the Pet Shop Boys website to apply for your replacement disc. The offer is open for a “limited time”.

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119 Comments

119 thoughts on “Pet Shop Boys offer to replace SMASH blu-ray disc”

  3. US here… Still no replacement blu-ray and no communication since the Nov. 3 email. Has anyone in the US received a replacement disc yet?

    1. You’re not alone! US here as well and I haven’t received it either. On June 8, I sent a follow-up email but heard nothing in response.

  5. Hi Paul! Would you have any contact in PSB management to let them know that some (I would say “lots”) fans are still waiting to receive the disc replacement? It was the 3rd of November last year (6 months ago) when we received an email stating: “We are in the process of getting these out to everyone that registered so please bear with us”. Thanks beforehand

  6. To also help out, it is not clear on the ‘cover’ of the BR1 disc which is the replacement. However, on the silver side on both the two rings the original disc is listed as EN93692-01, the replacement ‘fixed’ BR1 it is listed as EN97049-01. They might have also put the ‘fixed’ disc in later versions of the boxset. Paul are you able to confirm with your contacts ?

  10. I finally received the replacement disc in the Netherlands today!
    It was sent in a blank envelope from within the Netherlands and probably other people here will get it too.

  14. hi all im from canada and good news this morning i receive my replacement pet shop boys bluray and is sending by warner music canada maybe is same for other country for replacement good luck for all

  16. Mine arrived also this week. It even came with a handwritten card from a Warner Music Switzerland employee.
    My address in Switzerland written on the envelope was correct. So finally a happy end.

  18. People, don’t lose hope! Unbelievably, today I received my replacement BluRay! I live in Germany and didn’t expect it to arrive anymore. But today it was in the letter box.
    One thing I have to confirm: Something totally went wrong with the address data! My name, street and house number were correct. But then the city they had on the envelope was a city called Uetersen, about 15 kms away from my actual home town, called Elmshorn. Strangely enough, the postal code in the next line was the correct one for Elmshorn, so maybe that’s why it finally reached me.
    I hope for all that are still waiting that their replacement BluRays will show up very soon!
    Regards from Germany!

    1. I also live in Germany, and mine arrived, too, on 10 February, postmarked 9 February, with a German postmark, so obviously sent from Germany. Strangely, like in Sonic’s case, while the postcode was correct, the town name was changed to that of another town in the same postal region, this time with the English name used instead of the German one. But everything went well after all, probably due to the correct postcode.

  19. I wrote to Warner Music to enquire about it and this is their reply. Sigh it seems like no one knows what is happening:
    Thanks for getting in touch with us. Please be advised the Pet Shop Boys Blu Ray DVD replacement program isn’t being facilitated by the Warner Music Customer services for UK & Europe.
     Please use the below link; https://www.petshopboys.co.uk/contacts
     Alternately contact the following email address:
     PSB management: [email protected]
     Pet Shop Boys Official Shop: Customer Services: [email protected]

  20. Hi Paul,
    Is there any chance you could do anything for us on this matter please?It looks like nobody outside UK got a disc..and even some people on here but in UK said the addresses were wrong but postcode was what got it to customer.I bought mine from Amazon UK & went through process of seeking replacement.Thanks.

  21. This entire replacement is so poorly managed. I am still waiting for my copy after a long time. I contacted the customer service of the PSB store, which is handled by Universal Music UK, and they told me that they can’t help me because I bought mine from Amazon UK. I checked with Amazon UK and they wanted me to return the old disc so that they can give me a refund and I can order again, quite ridiculous.

      1. Good to know that. I wonder if they are still in the process of sending out the discs in stages or they have stopped already. There are no updates unfortunately :(

    1. I’m in the UK and haven’t had mine yet. Got an e-mail back on the 3rd of November saying they were in the process of sending them out but nothing since.

      Has everyone in the UK had theirs?

      1. you’re not alone, thought it was just me! I sent the email way back to the link provided but nothing since – I can’t recall whether I got an acknowledgment or an update either. I can see the link off the PSB site has now gone too – I’ll see if I can follow up another way.

  23. No replacement disc, No answer to several e-mails.
    It’s starting to look that nobody outside the UK will receive it.
    If that’s the case they should have stated in the announcement that the offer was valid for UK residents only.
    A major letdown for all fans outside the UK!

  24. I could be mistaken but I somehow get the idea that especially members who live outside the UK are still eagerly waiting for their replacement disc.

  27. I’m in the U.S. and I still haven’t received the replacement disc. Every email address that I’ve tried either bounces back or hasn’t replied.

    3. I live in The Netherlands too and still did not receive anything. I already send a reply to the mail that I recieved early November from them

  30. Got my disc yesterday – thank goodness for post codes as they had a different town on the address nearly 200 miles away!
    Not sure how they managed that!
    Great to have received it though.

  38. Glad to see others have also had an updated email from PSB site on this. My email had the Blu Ray Replacement in the heading but no other detail in the message. I am hoping for some reason that was just s blip and like others my replacement is to arrive soon!

  39. Had an email update today saying “Thanks for registering” and “We are in the process of getting these out to everyone that registered”.

  42. Just received email from Pet Shop Boys website, that they’ve received request for replacement disc and are working on getting these out to everyone that registered with them.

  43. Received mail today:

    Thank you for registering for your replacement Blu-Ray for
    ‘Smash – The Singles: 1985 – 2020° We are in the process of getting these out to everyone that
    registered so please bear with us.
    Thank you for your patience.

      1. Thank you Paul. I did finally receive a reply from the PSB UK site saying to take the the disc back to where I bought it for a replacement. They seemed to know nothing of the replacement offer. I am wondering where the info/source originated that they were going to offer the replacement. Just curious, where did you hear about it??

        2. Very confusing that. They tell you to return the disc back to where you bought it then deny there was no replacement offer. I wonder what the exact point of this exercise was ?

      2. Thanks for confirming Paul. Came to ask same question as others. The website request form said you had to submit your request by end of August but then they said they would produce discs for those who asked by then. You can get discs produced in less than a month, so something funny going on.
        @Paul do you have contact with PSB’s management or PR, even the guys themselves to ask what is going on.

    2. Just got email: Thank you for registering for your replacement (…) We are in the process of getting these out to everyone that registered so please bear with us. Thank you for your patience.

  47. I tried contacting the customer service email on the PSB website ([email protected]) – which bounces back as an unmonitored email address and instead asks you to raise a ticket on the UKNM helpdesk. After several days, despite making clear that I had purchased Smash from Amazon.co.uk, they responded saying they couldn’t find my order on their system (they were assuming I had ordered from the PSB website I guess). I responded again pointing out that the order was with Amazon, that I could prove my purchase if needed, and that the offer of the replacement Blu Ray was regardless of where the original box set was purchased. Again they responded with the same message that they couldn’t find my order on their system and would help no further.
    In frustration I contacted the PSB management company, again listed on the PSB Contacts page ([email protected]) a week ago, again requesting an update and for some clarity – response (so far) I’ve had none….

    2. No replacement disc or any kind of info received, but a mail trying to sell me merchandise from their latest tour made me aware that they did get my email adress in the process :(

  52. in Any case the manufacturing cost of a blu- ray “alone” ( exluding box, leaflet, royalties etc) is probably lower than 1€. Postage will be more expensive. So no need no check because the salary of the checker would make it very costly!

  54. Weird to not be asked for even a screenshot of proof of purchase.

    I know that Neil and Chris instigated this whole Smash project because of an initial request to reissue Discography on vinyl… but I hope someone still asks the question about actually (pun noted) reissuing Discography on vinyl anyway!

    It was my original PSB entry point album ‘back in the day’, though on CD, so I’d really love the chance to get a shiny vinyl reissue. I hope they realise that part of the appeal of the original ask was about nostalgia for the original product; not necessarily related to its [now] incomplete career content.

  55. Thanks for letting us know Paul. Not a regular viewer of the PSB website so I wouldn’t have had a clue without it being mentioned here.

  57. As they aren’t checking each “competition entry” I guess it’s cheaper for them to rely on honesty than to pay for someone to check each email for a copy of a receipt.

  58. maybe they need an initial registration for a month, so that to know about how many copies they will have to cut. They are SDE site readers!

  60. It’s great that they’ve listened to the fans, though as the censored version has been on YouTube for years it’s bizarre they never cottoned on to the U.S. censored version. I ordered mine via Amazon and hope the replacement offer still applies for purchases from there also, rather than just those bought from the PSB store.
    A separate Blu-Ray audio of all the tracks in Hi-Res WOULD be fab though the ones on the 2xBR’s sound pretty amazing anyway.

  61. What do you mean “Thanks for entering”. Did I just enter a contest, lol? No proof of purchase? I think something is up with that page. Makes no sense.

    2. It goes without saying that the land of the free didn’t censor the gun in the Twenty-something video. The US really is the challenging child in the back of the class, ruining the lesson for everyone, whilst no one wants to admit he’s there.

  64. This has sat opened but unplayed since I received it, which is rare for me, I usually play stuff as soon as i get it, but I now have an excuse to wait even longer.
    ‘Thank you for entering’ it says on the web site, maybe there’s only one lucky winner who’ll get a replacement disc.

  65. I just applied for a replacements. Curiously, I was not asked for a proof of purchase nor I received an email confirmation. I hope all will work out well. I was super disappointed when I saw that black screen for the first 20 seconds or so of what is otherwise their best music video to me.

  66. OK!
    What about a complete replacement?
    The sound of the CDs (especially CD2) is totally compressed and lifeless.
    A remaster should make the music sound better, not just louder!

    1. Interesting. I bought this box. Enjoyed seeing all the videos all the way through. Have not played the CDs. The new high-res masters on Qobuz sound really great, nice improvement and it would be lovely to have the albums in high-res. (I’d buy them on blu-ray if it was a thing.)

    3. i m curious, does anyone , the artist ,or the management, see /hear at least once the masters or the files that are to be cut on vinyl/cds/blu-ray etc? yes, i know, the answer is NO.

    4. Thanks, if i was in any doubt I’ll safely stick with PopArt. The videos I’d watch once and not likely again. Also apart from the latter tracks they are merely an upscale from the DVD…

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