From beautiful Italian disco to the Godfather of House by way of ethereal trance and Balearic ludicrousness – not to mention flirtations with some of music’s greatest divas (and Patsy Kensit), the Pet Shop Boys have always been simpatico with the simple pleasures of the dancefloor. Following the release of their career-defining pop hits collection, ‘Smash’, über-fan Balearic Mike chooses his 20 best moments of dancefloor brilliance, while Hifi Sean, Erol Alkan, The Blessed Madonna and more chime in with their faves. What have we done to deserve them?

The Pet Shop Boys may be enjoying their fifth decade in the global pop charts, but their music has always been deeply rooted in the underground club sounds of the times. Their mini-LP ‘Disco’ was the first record I ever bought which had the bpm of each track on the sleeve. Initially that influence was the electro disco and Hi-NRG music of London’s gay clubs, music like Bobby ‘O’, Italo-disco, or the mixes of François Kevorkian and Shep Pettibone. 

Over the decades they’ve fully immersed themselves in the sounds of the exciting house music that came out of Chicago and Detroit, and also embraced the electrifying sounds of house in all its myriad forms: Balearic Beats, acid, deep, Italo, rave, techno and trance. 

Having their finger on the pulse of clubland, they’ve continually worked with a range of exciting dance music producers and remixers, and currently co-produce their records with Stuart Price, aka Jacques Lu Cont of Les Rhythmes Digitales fame and now James Ford previously of Simian Mobile Disco.

What follows is a selection of my favourite PSB-dancefloor moments – the tracks I’ve played most in various clubs, festivals, beach bars and boat parties over the years. 

‘Love Comes Quickly’ (Dance Mix/Shep Pettibone Remix) 1986

Written one night when, according to Neil in the sleevenotes to ‘Please: Further Listening’, they were in their “beautiful Italian disco mood”. They did the 12-inch ‘Dance Mix’ with Stephen Hague with a view to making it sound even more Italian disco, “very electro, the middle-range sequencer part holding everything together, and also incredibly beautiful. We loved the handclaps fluttering from side to side, which we’d loved since that Sharon Redd record ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’.” Shep Pettibone turned in a tough, New York electro disco-style remix on the US 12-inch which was also on the ‘Disco’ mini-LP,  while the ‘Dance Mix’ on the UK 12-inch was even pressed to look like an Italian Fuzz Dance / Alexander Robotnick import 12-inch with a large picture label. Both versions are dancefloor perfection.

‘Paninaro’ (Italian Remix) 1986

Originally released as the B-side to ‘Suburbia’, but then remixed by Neil and Chris with David Jacob as the ‘Italian Mix’, as it was only released in Italy. This superb version also appeared on the ‘Disco’ Mini-LP for those of us who couldn’t get the Italian import. A driving Italo disco-style beast of a track famous for Chris’ wonderful spoken word vocal. The Paninari were an Italian fashion cult. “I like the fact that all the trendies in Milan loathed the Paninari because ‘they liked Wham! and Duran Duran and Madonna’. We thought: ‘How fabulous – so do we.’” said Neil.

‘I Want To Wake Up’ (Breakdown Mix [Shep Pettibone]) 1987/2001

One of the most beautiful songs from ‘Please’ was produced with New York legend Shep Pettibone. This version was unreleased until the ‘Please: Further Listening’ CD in 2001. Going for a “more atmospheric” version, it’s two minutes before we get any percussion, and a further 90 seconds before a kick drum. It's even more dramatic for it. In ‘Please: Further Listening’’s sleevenotes they openly admit that “the ‘oooo-oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo’s are a complete New Order rip-off, from ‘Everything’s Gone Green’, I think”. 

‘Left to My Own Devices’ (The Disco Mix [Robin Hancock, Stephen Lipson, Trevor Horn]) 1988

Pet Shop Boys team up with Trevor Horn – why didn’t they think of this before? With an orchestra, they conspire to produce a disco epic, and not satisfied with the epic album version, they decide to make an EVEN MORE EPIC 11-minute ‘Disco Mix’. Does exactly what it says on the tin, as they say.

‘I Want A Dog’ (Frankie Knuckles Introspective Version) 1988

Formerly on the B-side of ‘Rent’, I always think of this song as the PSB equivalent to Soft Cell’s ‘Bedsitter’. At what 4am afterparty did Neil and Chris have the brainwave to ask the Godfather of House, Mr Frankie Knuckles to remix the song about owning a Chihuahua? The hi-hats fizz and sizzle, the bassline throbs, the strings stab, the piano adds jazzy sophistication, and Neil really doesn’t want a cat!

‘It’s Alright’ (DJ International Remixes - Tyree remix) 1989

At the time Neil and Chris took some flak from the dance music press for this cover version of Sterling Void’s house classic, rather forgetting that house music has both Black and gay roots. It’s also worth pointing out that by including it on their ‘Introspective’ LP and having a top five UK hit single with it, Sterling Void probably earned more from this version than their own release. As well as that, the boys also commissioned these superb DJ International Remixes for a stand-alone UK 12-inch release. On the B-side Sterling Void remix their own track, but it’s the Tyree Cooper remix on the A-side that steals the show, a superb acid house instrumental version, complete with those pianos and backing vocals from operatic soprano Sally Bradshaw and Trevor Horn regular Tessa Niles. Total banger!

‘So Hard’ (Morales Red Zone Mix) 1990

So hard to pick a favourite. The KLF provided a superb version for the UK remix 12-inch, but ole David Morales takes the prize with one of his dark, dramatic Red Zone remixes. Absolute house music perfection with definite techno leanings. For some reason only on the German release or a US promo 12-inch.

‘Being Boring’ (Marshall Jefferson ‘Being Remixed’ Mix) 1990

A near perfect mix of heartachingly beautiful lyrics, and a deep Chicago house rhythm track, courtesy of Marshall Jefferson’s superb remix. Written after the tragic death of one of Neil’s friends from Newcastle to AIDS. The lyric remembers the parties they held and takes its title from the Zelda Fitzgerald quote they used as an invitation, that she was never bored because she was never boring. This line is one of the greatest lyrics ever written and slays me every time: ‘I never dreamt that I would get to be, The creature I was always meant to be.’ And the sleeve is both beautiful, and funny. Replacing the title with ‘Being Remixed’ is just so Pet Shop Boys. To quote Chris Lowe: “If something looks good … it usually is.” This is.

Electronic: ‘Getting Away With It’ (Greg Wilson Re-Edit) 1990/2012/2018

Neil is invited up to Manchester to work with Bernard Sumner on his supposed solo LP, but doesn’t want to go alone, so drags Chris along. After many visits to The Haçienda, and Johnny Marr joining the fray, the project morphs into Electronic, and this slice of dance pop perfection was the first record released. Re-edited into a modern dance classic by Greg Wilson in 2012, just in time for all those Croatian boat parties. It didn’t get an official release until ‘Credit To The Edit Vol.3’ in 2018.

‘Can You Forgive Her?’ (Rollo Remix/Dub) 1993

Neil and Chris actually turned up to the LuvDup night Hell at the Number 1 Club in Manchester around the time ‘Can You Forgive Her?’ was released. Adrian LuvDup got them to sign his promos! Rollo bases the mix around an edited loop of possibly the funniest line ever written – ‘Because you dance to disco and you don't like rock’ – and the track properly rocks. The dub might just work better than the vocal, but I love both.

‘Young Offender’ (Jam & Spoon Trip-o-Matic Fairytale Remix) 1994

On the fourth and final single from the ‘Very’ LP, Jam & Spoon turn in two utterly transcendent remixes of ‘Young Offender’. They were having something of a moment, back in a time before trance music was shit. This mix is one of the reasons trance wasn’t shit. It’s awash with beautiful, ethereal synth pads and squelchy riffs, over a skittering, twitchy and delicate breakbeat. It’s when trance was subtle and gentle. Neil has stated this was the best remix they ever commissioned.

‘The Way It Used to Be’ (Left Of Love Dub [Xenomania & PSB]) 2009

From the 2009 album ‘Yes’, recorded with the songwriting behemoth behind Girls Aloud’s success Xenomania. The album is a pop masterclass, with a promo only US 12-inch and bonus CD version called ‘Etc.’ including six dub versions and a bonus track. This is the standout (although there are many), transforming one of the best songs on the album into a slice of Scandinavian cosmic disco in the vein of Lindstrøm or Prins Thomas. An absolute beauty of a track.

‘Inner Sanctum’ (Carl Craig c2 Juiced RMX) 2016

The trance-like original mix (which has definite nods to Jam & Spoon’s remix of ‘Age Of Love’ and Energy 52’s ‘Café Del Mar’) gets stripped back to the bare bones in this firm but fair rework from the Detroit techno legend. As tough and minimal as the Boys get and aimed firmly at the dancefloor of Berghain.

Their most Balearic moments…

‘Domino Dancing’ (Disco Mix) 1988

The most Balearic track the boys had released up to this point, arriving in September 1988, with that massive Euro-disco synth line fused with the Latin hip hop production of Lewis Martineé (Expose ‘Tell Me Why’) conjuring an atmosphere of dancing in an open-air disco. It’s got Spanish guitars for that ‘La Isla Bonita’ vibe, and the video is also ludicrously Balearic. Chris pretends to DJ, without moving his arms.

Eighth Wonder: ‘I’m Not Scared’ (Disco Mix) 1988

Written and recorded on the same night as ‘Love Comes Quickly’ while Chris and Neil were in their ‘beautiful Italian disco mood’, this stunning version was the first to be released, and although the Boys would record a version for the ‘Introspective’ LP, this 12-inch Disco Mix from Chris and Neil is Balearic perfection, complete with über-Balearic Spanish guitars and breathy French spoken word part. Viva Europe! Given a new lease of life by DJ Harvey a few years ago, who revived it and made it an anthem at his Mercury Rising parties at Pikes in Ibiza, also including it on the compilation of the same name.

Dusty Springfield: ‘Nothing Has Been Proved’ (Dance Mix [Marshall Jefferson]) 1989

Marshall Jefferson turns one of their most gorgeous songs – a sultry, atmospheric ballad detailing the story of the Profumo Affair and written for the movie ‘Scandal’ – into a perfect 1989 Balearic dancefloor classic that sat beautifully amongst the Soul II Soul beats, Daisy Age hip hop, and mellow Italian house sounds dominating the clubs that summer. Getting Dusty Springfield, already a pop star and part of the swinging London scene at the time the scandal broke, to sing it was a stroke of genius, especially the way she gently breathes the lyric ‘please please me’s number one’. 

Liza Minnelli: ‘If There Was Love’ ('Results' LP) 1989

Liza’s ‘Results’ album is a bit of a  lost classic among PSB fans, the orchestral arrangements of Minnelli singing ‘Rent’ and ‘Tonight Is Forever’ simply breath taking. On this number though Chris and Neil do what they often do best, writing a heartachingly gorgeous song over a driving, Italo disco-style backing track. A rubbery sequenced bass part propels the track along, driven by insistent handclaps, bleepy synth parts and soaring strings and pianos. And that voice. A heavenly disco odyssey, and criminal that it wasn’t considered for a single release.

‘We All Feel Better In The Dark’ (After Hours Climax Mix [Brothers In Rhythm]) 1990

On the flip of the ‘Being Boring’ remix is one of my favourite PSB B-sides, with excellent remixes from Brothers In Rhythm. Although I do love the original version of this track with its nice use of a vocal sample from Tramaine’s ‘Fall Down’, these are certainly more playable DJ wise. It’s a haunting, mid-tempo Balearic shuffler, with a beautiful ambient mix as well. Both gorgeous versions, but I do wish they’d left Chris Lowe’s rap in. 

‘Invisible’ (Vocal or Instrumental mixes) 2011

One of the highlights of one of my favourite PSB albums, the über-Balearic sounding ‘Elysium’ LP from 2011. The record’s softer, warmer sound harks back to 1990s ‘Behaviour’ in places, and there are several tracks I could have picked, but this haunting, elegiac hymn to the aging process is simply gorgeous. Not strictly dancefloor material – I’m selecting this as my ‘sunset’ at the Café del Mar moment record. It’s an atmospheric mix of soothing electronica, gentle, lapping percussion, and beautiful piano chords. On the double vinyl version, you also get the instrumental version for DJs not brave enough for the vocal, but why would anyone not want to hear Neil’s vocal?

‘Love Comes Quickly’ (Blank & Jones remix) 2003

Back to the beginning, and how do you improve on perfection? Well, I don’t think you can improve, but here Blank & Jones opt for a radical reinterpretation. B&J divide the Balearic communities’ opinion somewhat – perhaps it’s a distrust of their trace roots? Who knows? But on this remix, only available on the bonus disc edition of the ‘Pop Art’ compilation, there is absolutely no equivocation, they absolutely knock this remix out of the park, turning Neil and Chris’ ‘beautiful Italian disco’ record into a Balearic sunrise/sunset classic. It’s all haunting synth washes, Spanish guitars, and gentle, sparse percussion. ‘Just when you least expect it, just what you least expect’.

DJ Culture

Erol Alkan: ‘Love Comes Quickly’

“One of the most striking features of ‘Love Comes Quickly’ is its atmosphere. It connects immediately, and in doing so you are locked into this quite unique soundscape, one which touches across a variety of genres or styles. This is even before the lyric speaks directly at you, and you recognise and relate to every word. It’s often described as Balearic and I’d agree, it’s definitely an area of that sound I understand, and it’s the PSB song or single I keep going back to. I think this is a high compliment and is probably down to this record leaving a mark on a pre-teenage me which has never left.”

Abigail Ward (Ghost Assembly): Left To My Own Devices (Disco Mix)

“I had not long turned 11 when this was released. I was completely swept away by the drama and mystery of the song. The track was a precious and deeply enigmatic world I could escape into – a cinematic alternate reality I really needed at the time. I was very taken with Neil's famous line: 'Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat.' I assumed Che Guevara was an exotic dance, like the tango or foxtrot. It wasn't until I heard the epic Disco Mix that I realised Che was just some bloke 'drinking tea'. The 'party animal' Neil mentions is believed to be the writer Jon Savage. I once saw the Pet Shop Boys strolling down King Street in Manchester. It started to rain so Neil put a large umbrella up and Chris leaned in. It was like a video. I was thrilled beyond words.” 

The Blessed Madonna: Being Boring (Marshall Jefferson Remix)

“Pet Shop Boys have always managed to tread that very-tricky-to-balance line between perfect pop – being at times very literary – and then it also being real, honest-to-God, dance music. That's the Holy Grail if you can do that and I will spend the rest of my life trying to do that. This truly is a remix because it doesn't break the backbone of the original. It just recontextualizes it a little bit and makes it more DJ friendly. There are certain records that must be deserved of the moment. You have to kind of earn getting into that emotional space with a room. This is one of them for sure.

“I always loved the lines: ‘But I thought in spite of my dreams’/‘You’d be sitting somewhere here with me.’ Now aged 45, I understand it – and the gravity of it – in a way that I wasn't capable of before and it's a testament to Neil's genius. I'm in my 32nd year in dance music and I've done every job you can do, from being a mixtape vendor to the door girl, to the DJ, to the promoter, to whatever. I've done all those jobs and as you age in this world, people start to pass away and there are people who were so fundamental to my life at various points. I still feel myself picking up the telephone to call my dad and tell him something and he's not here, right? He's just not. And that is magnified in the lives of gay men who lived through the 1980s and 1990s and survived and lived with the AIDS crisis. But that sense of my life has changed so much. And I did finally get to be the creature that I am today.”

Severino (Horse Meat Disco): Eighth Wonder: ‘I’m Not Scared’ (Disco Mix)

“The first track I heard was ‘Paninaro’ when I was in my mid-teens. Obviously, I was in Italy and the song was everywhere, but my favourite track is ‘I’m Not Scared’ which I heard on Deejay TV - a sort of Italian MTV - and this song was super famous. I loved her sexy attitude. I bought it in my hometown Mantova in the north of Italy and on the dancefloor I loved its sensual vibe. The long version is kind of trippy. It also has my favourite lyric of theirs: ‘If I was you, if I was you, I wouldn't treat me the way you do.’ Or I could choose: ‘A-A-Armani!’”

Hifi Sean: Dusty Springfield: Nothing Has Been Proved (Marshall Jefferson Mix)

“I just love the fact these two likely gushed in big gay heaven getting to work with Dusty Fucking Springfield. I mean big rainbow flag exploding unicorn KUDOS! I have played this many times in chilled poolside sets and a fond memory was Shoreditch House round the pool on an insanely hot day last year and everyone was swooning away to it. I have always been obsessed with the gorgeous keyboard pad sound. They always had the best pad patches. I could gush over every synth Chris uses. His live set up from the 80s/90s was like every synth little old me could not afford.” 

Left to his own devices 

One DJ ignores our list and chooses his own...

Michael Mayer:
I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Anymore (The Morales Remix)

“In 1999, I had largely lost interest in US house music as there were a gazillion more interesting things happening in my backyard. But then David Morales delivered one of his best works ever for my favourite band. Actually, both mixes are amazing... the majestic Vocal mix and the tripped-out Dub mix. The Morales mix was huge at our Total Confusion parties here in Cologne. It's a perfect example of the late-night music we used to play there. I'm now calling three copies my own, the white label EMI sent me and two finished copies, acquired at the Kompakt record store. 

“A few years later, I accidentally poured a full glass of gin and tonic over David Morales' shirt at a MIDEM party in Cannes. It was dark, David was sitting on a tiny stool, I had a bad head cold that narrowed down my field of vision and I was super nervous as I was about to play after another house music icon, DJ Pierre. David, if you read this: My sincere apologies... send over the dry cleaner's bill anytime.”

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This article first appeared in issue four of Disco Pogo. Which you can buy here.

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