Pop Art: Pet Shop Boys - The Hits
Encyclopedia
PopArt: Pet Shop Boys – The Hits is the fourteenth album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 duo Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

. It was released in 2003. PopArt is a compilation of Pet Shop Boys' top-20 UK singles along with two new tracks, "Miracles" and "Flamboyant" which have subsequently also been singles.

History

The most notable exclusion was "Was It Worth It?" (which was included as a brand new song on Discography) because it only peaked at #24, while "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?" (part of a double A-side with the U2 cover) was omitted as it had been for Discography in 1991.

Chartwise the album reached number 30 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

 on original release and re-entered the UK charts in 2009 at #18. It kept on selling steadily, and proved a strong seller in other countries (With its best chart position in Norway, peaking at #2). Pet Shop Boys stated on their website they were happy with sales. The weekend after the Pet Shop Boys received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Popular Music in February 2009, PopArt re-entered the UK Albums Chart at number 19, advancing to number 18 the week after.

Contrary to most "best of" compilations (including the earlier Discography), the tracks on the discs are not arranged chronologically, but split into two categories. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe split the tracks into ones they thought were pure pop music ("Pop") and the ones that they thought were more creative/experimental ("Art").

A special limited edition was released with a third Compact Disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 (CD), "Mix", appropriately featuring Tennant and Lowe's favourite remixes from their career.

The album edit of "Heart
Heart (Pet Shop Boys song)
"Heart" is a song recorded by Pet Shop Boys which reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in April 1988 . This is also their last number 1 song to date...

" was used on PopArt instead of the single edit. Whether this was by design or by accident remains unclear. A previously unreleased version of "I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing
I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing
"I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" is the third single from Pet Shop Boys' fifth album Very. It was released in the UK by Parlophone Records on where it eventually reached #13 in the chart. It reached #2 in the US Club chart where it was released in...

", using the structure of the seven-inch mix but with some elements of the album version, was also used instead of the version that had appeared on the 1993 single release. Several of the other tracks on the album appear in slightly different edits from their original single versions, such as "Suburbia
Suburbia (song)
"Suburbia" is a song by UK synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was remixed and released as the fourth single from the album Please in 1986 and became the band's second UK Top 10 hit, peaking at #8.-Overview:...

", which for the first time appears on its music video edit in a Pet Shop Boys compilation album instead of the seven-inch single edit of that song. Again, it is not clear whether or not this was deliberate. A similar incident occurred with the Brazilian compilation Party in 2009. The US version of PopArt included the single versions of these tracks, but still omits the same tracks as the UK release.

After three years of its release in the rest of the world, PopArt was finally released in the United States in October 2006. The delay was due to legal problems caused by the fact that since Pet Shop Boys began, they have been with four different record labels in the US: EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

 (1985–1995), Atlantic
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

 (1996–1998), Sire
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...

 (1999–2001) and Sanctuary
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...

 (2002–2003). The album didn't chart in the US but has sold almost 100,000 copies since its release.

The album was re-issued on Monday, 26 November 2007 in the UK as a box set with the corresponding DVD intact.

Track listing

Pop
  1. "Go West
    Go West (song)
    "Go West" is a song by the 1970s disco group Village People. The song eventually found greater success when it was covered in 1993 by the synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys.-Village People version:...

    " – 5:03
  2. "Suburbia
    Suburbia (song)
    "Suburbia" is a song by UK synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was remixed and released as the fourth single from the album Please in 1986 and became the band's second UK Top 10 hit, peaking at #8.-Overview:...

    " (Video Mix) – 5:10
  3. "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" – 3:59
  4. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" – 4:18
  5. "Always on My Mind
    Always on My Mind
    "Always on My Mind" is an American country music song by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, originally recorded by Brenda Lee in 1972.Allmusic lists over 300 recorded releases of the song in versions by dozens of performers...

    " – 4:00
  6. "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing
    I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing
    "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" is the third single from Pet Shop Boys' fifth album Very. It was released in the UK by Parlophone Records on where it eventually reached #13 in the chart. It reached #2 in the US Club chart where it was released in...

    " – 4:44 (4:28 on US release)
  7. "Home and Dry
    Home and Dry
    "Home and dry" is a song by British music group Pet Shop Boys released as the first UK single and the second US single from their album Release. It reached the top 15 on the UK Singles Chart at #14 and peaked at #44 on the US Hot Dance Club Play....

    " – 3:58
  8. "Heart
    Heart (Pet Shop Boys song)
    "Heart" is a song recorded by Pet Shop Boys which reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in April 1988 . This is also their last number 1 song to date...

    " – 3:57 (4:17 on US release)
  9. "Miracles" – 3:54
  10. "Love Comes Quickly
    Love comes quickly
    "Love Comes Quickly" is a song by UK synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the third single from their 1986 album Please, and the last of its singles to be released before the album itself. Although a Top 20 hit in the UK, and cited as one the band's own favourite songs, its chart performance was...

    " – 4:17
  11. "It's a Sin
    It's a Sin
    "It's a Sin" is a song recorded by Pet Shop Boys which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in 1987.-Background and writing:...

    " – 4:59
  12. "Domino Dancing
    Domino Dancing
    "Domino Dancing" is a song recorded by the British synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys which reached #7 on the UK Singles Chart. It was released as the lead single from their 1988 album, Introspective.-Song:...

    " – 4:17
  13. "Before
    Before (song)
    "Before" is a single by UK electronic music group Pet Shop Boys released as the first single from the group's 1996 album Bilingual. The single, upon its release, peaked at #7 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it reached #1 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play and reached #7 on the US Bubbling Under...

    " – 4:05
  14. "New York City Boy
    New York City Boy
    "New York City Boy" is the second single off the album Nightlife by British music group Pet Shop Boys. In the UK, the single peaked at #14 on the UK Singles Chart...

    " – 3:20
  15. "It's Alright
    It's Alright (Pet Shop Boys song)
    "It's Alright" is the 13th single from Pet Shop Boys and was released in the UK by Parlophone Records on 26 June 1989.The lyrics list a wide variety of serious political issues in the headlines at the time , and then offers the positive message of the title—that on its "timeless wavelength", "music...

    " – 4:19
  16. "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
    Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes off You)
    "Where the Streets Have No Name " is a 1991 single by UK synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. The song is a medley of covers of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", the 1960s single by Frankie Valli, though in an arrangement informed by the 1981 disco version of the song...

    " – 4:29
  17. "A Red Letter Day
    A Red Letter Day
    "A Red Letter Day" is a single by British electronic music group Pet Shop Boys. It was released the fourth single from their 1996 album Bilingual on March 17, 1997. The single peaked at high #9 on the UK Singles Chart, making it another top 10 single for the group. However it then fell straight out...

    " – 4:32


Art
  1. "Left to My Own Devices
    Left to My Own Devices
    "Left to My Own Devices" is a song recorded by Pet Shop Boys, released as the second single from their third studio album, Introspective. It was also the first track of the album. It is their 9th best selling-hit....

    " – 4:47
  2. "I Don't Know What You Want but I Can't Give It Any More
    I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More
    "I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More" is a song by British electronic music group Pet Shop Boys, featured on their 1999 album Nightlife...

    " – 4:23
  3. "Flamboyant
    Flamboyant (song)
    "Flamboyant" is a single by Pet Shop Boys, released in 2004. It was the second single and one of two new songs from their 2003 singles compilation, PopArt.It peaked at #12 in UK....

    " – 3:50 (3:40 on US release)
  4. "Being Boring
    Being Boring
    "Being Boring" is a single by the British pop group Pet Shop Boys.As the second single from the 1990 album Behaviour, after "So Hard" which was released before the album, "Being Boring" was not particularly successful upon release, only reaching number twenty in the UK Singles Chart and being the...

    " – 4:50
  5. "Can You Forgive Her?
    Can You Forgive Her? (song)
    "Can You Forgive Her?" is a song by Pet Shop Boys, recorded for their 1993 album Very.Starting with a huge crash of synth and trumpet, it remains one of the more dramatic songs recorded by the duo—reminiscent of early hits like "It's a Sin". It was released as Verys lead single, almost four...

    " – 3:52
  6. "West End Girls
    West End Girls
    "West End Girls" is a song by British pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. It is a synthpop song, influenced by hip hop music. The lyrics focus on class, and inner-city pressure, and were inspired by T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land...

    " – 4:03
  7. "I Get Along
    I Get Along (Pet Shop Boys song)
    "I get along" is a single by the Pet Shop Boys from their album Release. A love song, Neil Tennant has also hinted that it can also be interpreted as commentary on the then fraught relationship between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and New Labour architect Peter Mandelson after the latter had...

    " – 4:10
  8. "So Hard
    So Hard
    "So Hard" is a song by the British pop group Pet Shop Boys and was the first single lifted from the 1990 album Behaviour. It peaked at #4 in the UK...

    " – 3:58
  9. "Rent
    Rent (song)
    "Rent" is a 1987 single by the Pet Shop Boys. It was released in the UK by Parlophone on 12 October 1987. The lyrics deal with a financially one-sided relationship, i.e...

    " – 3:33
  10. "Jealousy
    Jealousy (Pet Shop Boys song)
    "Jealousy" is a song originally written in 1982 by the Pet Shop Boys, recorded for their 1990 album Behaviour. In 1991, it was released in a slightly remixed form as a single, which appears on both Pet Shop Boys' greatest hits albums...

    " – 4:15
  11. "DJ Culture
    DJ Culture
    "DJ Culture" is the first single released by British electronic music group Pet Shop Boys from their singles collection album Discography: The Complete Singles Collection. The single peaked at #13 on the UK Singles Chart in 1991...

    " – 4:20
  12. "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk
    You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk
    "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk" is a single by UK electronic music group Pet Shop Boys, released as the third and last single from their album Nightlife in 2000. It was a success on the UK Singles Chart, reaching the top 10 at #8, but failed to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...

    " – 3:12
  13. "Liberation
    Liberation (song)
    "Liberation" is the fourth single released by UK electronic music group Pet Shop Boys from their album Very. It peaked at #14 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the lowest-charting single in the UK from Very....

    " – 4:05
  14. "Paninaro '95
    Paninaro (song)
    "Paninaro" is a song by English synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. Originally a B-side to the 1986 single "Suburbia", it was released as a limited-edition single in Italy during the same year; later, in 1995, a re-recording entitled "Paninaro '95" was released to a wider market, to promote the B-side...

    " – 4:09
  15. "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)
    Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)
    "Opportunities " is a song by UK synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as a single in 1985 and then in 1986, gaining greater popularity in both the UK and U.S...

    " – 3:44
  16. "Yesterday, When I Was Mad
    Yesterday, When I Was Mad
    "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" is a single by UK Electronic music group Pet Shop Boys released as the fifth and last single from their 1993 album Very. The single peaked at #13 on the UK Singles Chart and #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play charts. It is reputedly a parody of the bland...

    " – 4:00
  17. "Single-Bilingual
    Single-Bilingual
    "Single-Bilingual" is a single by the British electronic music group Pet Shop Boys. It was released as the third single from their 1996 album Bilingual. The single peaked at #14 on the UK Singles Chart....

    " – 3:29
  18. "Somewhere
    Somewhere (song)
    "Somewhere" is a song from the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story which was made into a film in 1961. The music is composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and takes a phrase from the slow movement of Beethoven's 'Emperor' Piano Concerto, which forms the start of the...

    " – 4:42


Mix (Disc 3 – Limited edition CD)
  1. "Can You Forgive Her?" (Rollo
    Rollo Armstrong
    Rollo Armstrong is one half of the music producers/remixers team Rollo and Sister Bliss and is a founding member of the electronic music group Faithless.-Early life:...

     Remix) – 6:00
  2. "So Hard" (David Morales Red Zone Mix) – 7:42
  3. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" (Shep Pettibone
    Shep Pettibone
    Robert E. Pettibone, Jr. is a record producer, remixer, songwriter and club DJ, one of the most prolific of the 1980s. His earliest work known to the public was for one of New York City's top disco/dance radio stations, WRKS 98.7 "Kiss" FM, and later as remixer/producer for the disco label Salsoul...

     Mix) – 8:08
  4. "West End Girls" (Sasha
    Sasha (DJ)
    Sasha is a Welsh DJ and record producer. Sasha began his career playing acid house dance music in the late 1980s...

     Mix) – 7:45
  5. "Miserablism" (Moby
    Moby
    Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...

     Electro Mix) – 5:35
  6. "Before" (Danny Tenaglia
    Danny Tenaglia
    Danny Tenaglia is a New York-based DJ and Grammy nominated record producer.-Early life:At the age of ten, Tenaglia first started to collect records. In 1979 he began going to nightclub Paradise Garage, where DJ Larry Levan's genre-less blend of music appealed to him...

     Classic Paradise Mix) – 7:56
  7. "I Don't Know What You Want but I Can't Give It Any More" (Peter Rauhoffer
    Peter Rauhofer
    Peter Rauhofer is a DJ, remixer and producer who formerly went under the moniker Club 69 as well as Size Queen. A native of Vienna, Austria, he is famous for his remixes of a number of Madonna's songs including "Nothing Really Matters", "American Life", "Nothing Fails, "Nobody Knows Me", "Get...

     New York Mix) – 10:26
  8. "New York City Boy" (Lange
    Stuart Langelaan
    Stuart Langelaan, stage name Lange, is a British DJ and record producer.-Career:Lange's career began in 1997, signing his first recording contract with Additive Records in the UK...

     Mix) – 7:04
  9. "Young Offender" (Jam and Spoon
    Jam & Spoon
    Jam & Spoon was an electronic dance duo from Frankfurt, Germany, that consisted of composers and producers Rolf Ellmer and Markus Löffel . They also worked under the pseudonyms Tokyo Ghetto Pussy, Storm and Big Room...

     Trip-o-matic Fairy Tale Mix) – 7:18
  10. "Love Comes Quickly" (Blank and Jones
    Blank & Jones
    Blank & Jones is a Cologne, Germany based Trance duo, consisting of the members Jan Pieter Blank , known as Piet Blank; René Runge , better known as DJ Jaspa Jones; and the producer Andy Kaufhold...

     Mix) – 5:00


In France, both the CD and vinyl versions contain "Paris City Boy", a version of "New York City Boy" recorded by Tennant and Lowe in 2003, replacing the original version.

Different versions of some songs were included on the U.S. release.

DVD

A DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 was released at the same time as the CD editions. The sleeve artwork is the same, but the track listing is chronological.

There are bonus videos including: both videos for "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)"; "Paninaro", which was released as a single in Italy; "Was It Worth It?", which doesn't appear on the CD; "London
London (Pet Shop Boys song)
"London" is a single by the Pet Shop Boys released as the third single from their album Release. It was released exclusively in Germany and Europe and as a promotional-only release in the UK....

" which was only released as a single in Germany; and extended videos for "Domino Dancing", "So Hard" and "Go West". The only other video that is missing is the 1994 Comic Relief single "Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom created by Jennifer Saunders, based on an original idea by her and Dawn French, and written by Saunders, who plays the leading character. It also stars Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha, along with June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks...

", which remains unavailable on DVD due to licensing hurdles.

The videos to "Miracles" and "Flamboyant" were not ready when the DVD went to press, so they were not included. They were released along with the videos for "I'm with Stupid", "Minimal" and "Numb" on the A Life in Pop documentary DVD.

The DVD also features a commentary by Neil Tennant
Neil Tennant
Neil Francis Tennant is an English musician, singer and songwriter, who, with bandmate Chris Lowe, makes up the successful electronic dance music duo Pet Shop Boys.-Childhood:...

, Chris Lowe
Chris Lowe
Chris Lowe is an English musician, who, with colleague Neil Tennant, makes up the pop duo Pet Shop Boys.-Childhood:...

 and Chris Heath
Chris Heath
Chris Heath is a British writer who was a regular contributor to the popular English music magazine Smash Hits in the eighties and early nineties....

.
  1. "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (original version)
  2. "West End Girls"
  3. "Love Comes Quickly"
  4. "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (second version)
  5. "Suburbia"
  6. "Paninaro"
  7. "It's a Sin"
  8. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"
  9. "Rent"
  10. "Always on My Mind"
  11. "Heart"
  12. "Domino Dancing"
  13. "Left to My Own Devices"
  14. "It's Alright"
  15. "So Hard"
  16. "Being Boring"
  17. "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?"
  18. "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)"
  19. "Jealousy"
  20. "DJ Culture"
  21. "Was It Worth It?"
  22. "Can You Forgive Her?"
  23. "Go West"
  24. "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing"
  25. "Liberation"
  26. "Yesterday, When I Was Mad"
  27. "Paninaro '95"
  28. "Before"
  29. "Se a Vida É (That's the Way Life Is)"
  30. "Single-Bilingual"
  31. "A Red Letter Day"
  32. "Somewhere"
  33. "I Don't Know What You Want but I Can't Give It Any More"
  34. "New York City Boy"
  35. "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk"
  36. "Home and Dry"
  37. "I Get Along/E-mail"
  38. "London"
  39. "Domino Dancing" (extended version)
  40. "So Hard" (extended version)
  41. "Go West" (extended version)

Chart performance

Chart Peak
position
German Albums Chart
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...

24
UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

18
Swiss Albums Chart
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...

99
Swedish Albums Chart
Sverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....

20
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