Burning The Ground Exclusive 1988
Spooky Season Spin
The music video alone qualifies this one for a spooky season spin.
“Heart” is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, Actually (1987).
Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, “Heart” was the fourth and final single from the duo’s second studio album, Actually. A new mix different to the album version was released as a single in March 1988, ascending to the top of the charts to become the duo’s fourth—and, to date, last—UK number-one single. It was also successful across Europe.
The genesis of the song goes back to the sessions for the duo’s first album Please in early 1986 with Shep Pettibone. Originally, the duo had planned to offer it to Hi-NRG singer Hazell Dean or—more notoriously—Madonna, but they ultimately kept it for themselves. The duo’s version of the song was intended to be used in the Steven Spielberg-produced film Innerspace, but the dance sequence it was intended for was at the wrong tempo for the song. The song was originally called “Heartbeat”, but was changed after Culture Club drummer Jon Moss announced the formation of a group named Heartbeat UK.
The lyrics are more traditional than most Pet Shop Boys songs, being a straightforward declaration of love—a characteristic common in many pop songs. On the commentary of the Pet Shop Boys’ live video album Cubism, Tennant reveals that the “oh – ah – oh’oh ah” refrain which repeats throughout the song features the vocals of himself, Pavarotti, and Wendy Smith (of Prefab Sprout).
According to Tennant, they were inspired by the song I Like You by Phyllis Nelson, which was produced by Shep Pettibone, who did a remix of Heart.
The song was re-recorded for Actually with producer Andy Richards and was mixed by Julian Mendelsohn. The single remix is an edit of the Richards’ version with the use of a wah-wah guitar, giving the song more of a 1970s sound.
Despite topping the UK chart for three weeks and being a worldwide success, the duo themselves tend to dismiss it, with Lowe stating in 2001: “It just shows that chart positions aren’t the be-all and end-all. ‘Heart’ isn’t in the same league as ‘Being Boring’.” However, many fans regard the song highly and Pet Shop Boys like it enough to have performed the song on their 1989 tour, the Fundamental world tour in 2006 and 2007 as well as their Pandemonium tour in 2009–2010.
When included in the retrospective PopArt: The Hits collection, the album version of the track was used for the UK release rather than the hit single mix, the reason for this is unknown. The single mix was included in the US release.
Music video
Directed by Jack Bond, director of the band’s 1987 film It Couldn’t Happen Here, the music video for “Heart” is based on the 1922 film Nosferatu. The video opens with Tennant and his bride (played by model Danijela Čolić Prižmić) being driven to a castle with Lowe as his chauffeur. As he goes to bed with his bride, the vampire, played by Ian McKellen, spies them. Later, he seduces the bride and bites her. Finally, Lowe drives Nosferatu and his bride away, leaving Tennant to stare bitterly after them from a castle window. The video was shot in Mokrice Castle, Slovenia, then one of the Yugoslavia republics.
SIDE A:
Heart (Disco Mix) 8:28
Engineer – Tony Phillips
Guitar – J. J. Belle*
Producer – Andy Richards, Pet Shop Boys
I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too) 4:54
Engineer – Mark Stent
Guitar – Steve Lipson*
Programmed By [Fairlight], Organ [Hammond] – Blue Weaver
Vocals [Additional] – Dee Lewis, Shirley Lewis
SIDE B:
Heart (Dance Mix) 6:10
Engineer – Tony Phillips
Engineer [Remix] – Steve Peck
Guitar – J. J. Belle*
Producer – Andy Richards, Pet Shop Boys
Remix, Producer [Additional Production] – Shep Pettibone
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Parlophone – 12R 6177, Parlophone – 12R6177
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: Mar 21, 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: House, Synth-pop
CREDITS:
- Design – Mark Farrow, Pet Shop Boys
- Mastered By – Nick Webb
- Photography By – Eric Watson (3)
NOTES:
Dee Lewis courtesy of Phonogram.
Mastered at Abbey Road Studios.
Buy the Neil 12″ at DISCOGS
Buy the Chris 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
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It’s very spooky on Halloween night.