BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985
“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. It was generally well received by contemporary music critics and has been frequently cited as a highlight in the duo’s career.
The first version of the song was produced by Bobby Orlando and was released on Columbia Records’ Bobcat Records imprint in April 1984, becoming a club hit in the United States and some European countries. After the duo signed with EMI, the song was re-recorded with producer Stephen Hague for their first studio album, Please. In October 1985, the song was re-released, reaching number one in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1986. In 1987, the song won Best Single at the Brit Awards, and Best International Hit at the Ivor Novello Awards. In 2005, 20 years after its release, the song was awarded Song of The Decade between the years 1985 and 1994 by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters.
The B-side “A Man Could Get Arrested” was another track that was originally recorded with Bobby Orlando but not released until later. The 12″ version of this original cut was finished off by Neil and Chris after signing with EMI, and they went on to record a more complex and polished version for the 7″.
The song was inspired, according to Neil, by “an incident with a friend of ours where we ended up being chased by these lads through Russell Square and onto Kingsway. Bottles were thrown; there were bottles smashing in the street…But I made the song into a story about someone who is trying to get his girlfriend to have it off with him, basically, and he’s so frustrated that … he’s driven to distraction. It’s a song about sexual frustration.”
SIDE A:
West End Girls (The Shep Pettibone Mastermix) 8:09
Producer – Stephen Hague
Remix, Producer [Additional Production] – Shep Pettibone
SIDE B:
West End Dub 9:30
Producer – Stephen Hague
Remix, Producer [Additional Production] – Shep Pettibone
A Man Could Get Arrested (12″ Version) 4:18
Producer – Bobby Orlando, Pet Shop Boys, The*
Remix – Frank Roszak
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
CHARTS:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | West End Girls | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #1 |
| 1986 | West End Girls | U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | #26 |
| 1986 | West End Girls | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play | #1 |
| 1986 | West End Girls | U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles | #36 |
| 1986 | West End Girls | U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | #37 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Parlophone – 1C K 060 20 0998 6, EMI – 1C K 060-20 0998 6
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: Europe
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Written-By – Tennant / Lowe
NOTES:
Later pressings (1986-7) include a boxed logo and message on the front sleeve stating “Number 1 in England – Original Top Hit as seen on ‘Formel Eins'” (a German pop TV show).
A, B1: Mixing and additional production for Mastermix Productions.
Printed In Germany
Find The 12″ On DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
