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Music Appreciation
Related: About this forumWest End Girls -- Pet Shop Boys -vs- East 17
"West End Girls" is a song by the English pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The songs lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life which were inspired partly 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 new version was 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. In 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 12th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.[2]
The song was performed by Pet Shop Boys at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.[3]
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 new version was 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. In 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 12th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.[2]
The song was performed by Pet Shop Boys at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.[3]
In 1993, English boy band East 17 covered "West End Girls" for their album Walthamstow.
Which version do you like best?
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Pet Shop Boys | |
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East 17 | |
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I can't decide, I like both versions. | |
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West End Girls -- Pet Shop Boys -vs- East 17 (Original Post)
NurseJackie
Jul 2020
OP
Squinch
(51,021 posts)1. Definitely the original! Fabulous song!
Boy, does that bring me back! NYC in the late 80s. Wild place!
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)3. I agree.
FoxNewsSucks
(10,435 posts)2. Definitely the Pet Shop Boys
East 17 version is good, the original is just the best