THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

378-Pet Shop Boys-Suburbia.

1986-Number 8 single.

Best Bit-At 0.15. For a period in the 1980’s Neil Tennant was the assistant editor at ‘Smash Hits’ magazine, artists would complain about their song revues if they were not favourable, some saying, ‘Let’s see if you can do better,’ so he did.

The Pet Shop Boys (see also best songs 871) met by chance in 1981 on King’s Road, Chelsea, London, where Neil Tennant had just purchased a synthesizer, this sparked a conversation with Chris Lowe. They discovered a mutual interest in ‘Electronic Music,’ and soon began working together.They eventually settled on the name Pet Shop Boys, as they had friends who owned a pet shop. The Pet Shop Boys are one of the world’s best selling artists with sales in excess of 100 million, and are the UK’s best ever selling duo.

The discography of the Pet Shop Boys includes 15 studio Albums released between 1986-2024, and 79 singles released between 1984-2024, there are also four extended plays, (EP’s) five soundtrack Albums, four remix Albums, nine official compilation Albums, and five live Albums available. In the UK, all 15 of their studio Albums have reached the top 10, with their fifth release ‘Very,’ peaking the highest at Number 1 in 1993, while 42 of their singles have made the UK top 40, with four of those tracks reaching the Number 1 position, they have also had two top 40 UK hits as the featured artist. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, six of their singles have made the top 40, with ‘West End Girls’ peaking the highest at Number 1 in 1986, while ‘Suburbia’ stalled at Number 70.

‘Suburbia’ was the fourth and final single released from ‘Please,’ the debut studio Album by the Pet Shop Boys, from March 1986, the song was co-written by Neil Tennant, and Chris Lowe, with the production being by Julian Mendelsohn. All 15 of the Pet Shop Boys studio Albums have one word titles. They chose the title ‘Please,’ so that when customers went in to a record shop they would have to ask for the ‘Pet Shop Boys album please’. The single version of ‘Suburbia’ is different to the one which appears on the ‘Please’ Album, which was produced by Stephen Hague, who also produced all 11 tracks on the Album, as well as co-writing ‘Love Comes Quickly,’ (1986-UK Number 19.) This remixed single version includes sound effects such as dogs barking, audio of riots obtained from the ‘BBC,’ and glass smashing. The remixed single version is an edit of a longer piece called ‘Suburbia (The Full Horror.’) which includes a spoken word segment with the refrain, ‘Suburbia, where the suburbs met utopia,’ and ends in a series of explosions, this can be found on the 12 inch version, and also on ‘Disco,’ the Pet Shop Boys first remix Album, (1986) and the reissue ‘Please: Further Listening 1984–1986.’ Julian Mendelsohn who produced this remix was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1954, he is a record producer, audio engineer, and mixer, and started working in England in 1974. His other notable Album productions include the Pets Shop Boys ‘Actually,’ (1987) Level 42 ‘Running in the Family,’ (1987) and Paul McCartney ‘Off the Ground’ (1993.)

The lesser recognisable member of the Pet Shop Boys is Chris Lowe, who was born Christopher Sean Lowe on October 4th, 1959, in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. He performs as the Pet Shop Boys’ keyboardist, and occasionally provides spoken word or sung vocals, and has taken the lead on a few songs, including ‘Paninaro,’ the ‘B’ side to ‘Suburbia.’ In 1993 he wrote and produced the track ‘Do the Right Thing,’ (UK-Number 43) for Arsenal footballer Ian Wright. Chris Lowe has always adopted an understated public presence, often wearing sportswear and with his eyes hidden behind sunglasses, and usually wearing head wear of some sort. In 1995 the British newspaper ‘The Guardian’ wrote that he was, ‘Possibly more famous for not doing anything than almost anyone else in the history of popular entertainment.’ It was the English music video director Eric Watson (1955-2012) who suggested the image portrayed by Chris Lowe, ‘Chris didn’t want to be seen playing keyboards or anything. We realised there was something about somebody singing and somebody else doing nothing, just looking, then looking away, that adds a hideous tension.’

‘Suburbia’ was co-written by Neil Tennant, and Chris Lowe, and was inspired by the 1984 American film ‘Suburbia,’ which was written and directed by Penelope Spheeris. Another inspiration was the Brixton riots of 1981, and 1985, which got Tennant and Lowe thinking about the boredom of suburbia, and the struggles of working class youths. The lyrics tell of the boredom of suburbia (‘I only wanted something else to do but hang around’) and the underlying tension among disaffected youth.

‘Lost in the high street, where the dogs run, roaming suburban boys. Mother’s got a hairdo to be done, she say’s they’re too old for toys.’