Just encouraged my sister to order them both for my bday ;)
― or something, Friday, 20 March 2020 16:52 (four years ago) link
They just want to have something to do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRNJ9GbNULM
― clemenza, Thursday, 4 June 2020 03:13 (four years ago) link
West End Girls just topped The Guardian's list of best UK no. 1 singles and old rockists are pissed. This makes me very happy.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/apr/27/the-100-greatest-uk-no-1s
― daavid, Friday, 5 June 2020 16:43 (four years ago) link
Skimmed through the list in record time and only found 5-10 songs I unequivocally like better. Great choice.
― clemenza, Friday, 5 June 2020 16:46 (four years ago) link
there's no better choice
― imago, Friday, 5 June 2020 16:52 (four years ago) link
i recently found out that 'always on my mind' kept that bloody pogues nonsense off xmas number 1. absolutely awesome
― imago, Friday, 5 June 2020 16:54 (four years ago) link
There are easily 27 songs on the list I unequivocally like better.
― Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Friday, 5 June 2020 16:56 (four years ago) link
(Cool tune though.)
― Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Friday, 5 June 2020 17:04 (four years ago) link
Otm every post so far
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 5 June 2020 17:12 (four years ago) link
'West End Girls' kept me interested in music at a point where I could easily have stopped paying any attention to music.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Friday, 5 June 2020 17:22 (four years ago) link
As happy as I am to see West End Girls at number one I feel the list is in serious need of an I Feel For You. Not even in the top 100
― or something, Friday, 5 June 2020 18:46 (four years ago) link
I love West End Girls but can't take that list seriously as it doesn't include Israelites.
― The fillyjonk who believed in pandemics (Lily Dale), Friday, 5 June 2020 18:49 (four years ago) link
"Let Me Be Your Fantasy" is too low
― shout-out to his family (DJP), Friday, 5 June 2020 18:55 (four years ago) link
(xpost) Hadn't thought about that--those 100 are culled from 100s of #1s. So no knock on "West End Girls," but there are no doubt dozens of #1s I like better.
― clemenza, Friday, 5 June 2020 18:56 (four years ago) link
Does Mr Oizo's Flat Beat appear in the list? That's the actual best number one of all time.
― djh, Friday, 5 June 2020 19:35 (four years ago) link
The big omission for me was Soul II Soul's "Back to Life"
― daavid, Friday, 5 June 2020 20:04 (four years ago) link
probably should move this discussion to its own thread but Groovejet, Dreamer, Lola's Theme, Feel It and Stay were the notable absences for me
― boxedjoy, Saturday, 6 June 2020 09:06 (four years ago) link
elton john the biggest wtf. were they just throwing him a bone as none of his other songs got to #1?
― neith moon (ledge), Saturday, 6 June 2020 09:51 (four years ago) link
There was a poll of UK number ones in 2005 and ‘West End Girls’ was #8.
#100 Professional Widow - Tori Amos 18/01/97 185 points, 7 votes99 Total Eclipse Of The Heart - Bonnie Tyler 12/03/83 187 points, 6 votes98 Sunday Girl - Blondie 26/05/79 189 points, 8 votes97 Get It On - T.Rex 24/07/71 191 points, 11 votes96 Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival 20/09/69 192 points, 9 votes95 Cum On Feel The Noize - Slade 03/03/73 192 points, 7 votes94 Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - Ian Dury & The Blockheads 27/01/79 196 points, 7 votes93 Help! - The Beatles 05/08/65 197 points, 9 votes92 Pure Shores - All Saints 26/02/00 200 points, 9 votes91 Honky Tonk Women - The Rolling Stones 23/07/69 202 points, 6 votes90 Doctorin' The Tardis - The Timelords 18/06/88 205 points, 7 votes89 My Sweet Lord - George Harrison 30/01/71 205 points, 6 votes88 The Sun Always Shines On TV - A-Ha 25/01/86 206 points, 8 votes87 Stand & Deliver - Adam & The Ants 09/05/81 209 points, 7 votes86 Hey Jude - The Beatles 11/09/68 211 points, 9 votes85 The Israelites - Desmond Dekker & The Aces 16/04/69 214 points, 9 votes84 Theme From S'Express - S'Express 30/04/88 215 points, 10 votes83 Should I Stay Or Should I Go - The Clash 09/03/91 216 points, 8 votes82 You Really Got Me - The Kinks 10/09/64 218 points, 8 votes81 Call Me - Blondie 26/04/80 221 points, 8 votes80 Maggie May - Rod Stewart 09/10/71 223 points, 9 votes79 Rock Your Baby - George McCrae 27/07/74 224 points, 6 votes78 Block Rockin' Beats - The Chemical Brothers 05/04/97 225 points, 8 votes77 Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out - The Beatles 16/12/65 225 points, 8 votes76 Stand By Me - Ben E. King 21/02/87 228 points, 9 votes75 Je T'Aime... Moi Non Plus - Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg 11/10/69 232 points, 11 votes74 Breathe - The Prodigy 23/11/96 234 points, 10 votes73 Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) - Spiller 26/08/00 236 points, 11 votes72 Without You - Nilsson 11/03/72 239 points, 7 votes71 Vogue - Madonna 14/04/90 239 points, 6 votes70 99 Red Balloons - Nena 03/03/84 241 points, 11 votes69 Paperback Writer - The Beatles 23/06/66 242 points, 8 votes68 Telegram Sam - T.Rex 05/02/72 242 points, 7 votes67 I Feel Fine - The Beatles 10/12/64 244 points, 8 votes66 Waterloo - Abba 04/05/74 245 points, 8 votes65 Sound Of The Underground - Girls Aloud 28/12/02 247 points, 10 votes64 Don't Look Back In Anger - Oasis 02/03/96 247 points, 7 votes63 Brimful Of Asha - Cornershop 28/02/98 254 points, 14 votes62 The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore - The Walker Brothers 17/03/66 255 points, 10 votes61 A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles 23/07/64 259 points, 11 votes60 A Town Called Malice/Precious - The Jam 13/02/82 264 points, 9 votes59 I'm A Believer - The Monkees 19/01/67 264 points, 9 votes58 She Loves You - The Beatles 12/09/63 265 points, 7 votes57 You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) - Dead Or Alive 09/03/85 269 points, 11 votes56 Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel 28/03/70 276 points, 9 votes55 I'm Not In Love - 10cc 28/06/75 283 points, 9 votes54 Telstar - The Tornados 14/10/62 287 points, 8 votes53 Toxic - Britney Spears 13/03/04 291 points, 15 votes52 It's Over - Roy Orbison 25/06/64 297 points, 12 votes51 Voodoo Chile - Jimi Hendrix Experience 21/11/70 297 points, 9 votes50 Like A Prayer - Madonna 25/03/89 298 points, 14 votes49 Tears Of A Clown - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles 12/09/70 300 points, 11 votes48 Ashes To Ashes - David Bowie 23/08/80 307 points, 11 votes47 Firestarter - The Prodigy 30/03/96 309 points, 10 votes46 Ticket To Ride - The Beatles 22/04/65 314 points, 12 votes45 Your Woman - White Town 25/01/97 316 points, 11 votes44 Stan - Eminem 16/12/00 317 points, 13 votes43 Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks 07/07/66 327 points, 13 votes42 3AM Eternal - The KLF featuring Children of the Revolution 02/02/91 329 points, 14 votes41 Jumpin' Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones 19/06/68 334 points, 14 votes40 Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners 07/08/82 341 points, 13 votes39 Metal Guru - T.Rex 20/05/72 343 points, 11 votes38 Brass In Pocket - The Pretenders 19/01/80 350 points, 12 votes37 Space Oddity - David Bowie 08/11/75 352 points, 13 votes36 It's A Sin - The Pet Shop Boys 04/07/87 360 points, 11 votes35 The Winner Takes It All - Abba 09/08/80 362 points, 11 votes34 Baby One More Time - Britney Spears 27/02/99 363 points, 15 votes33 Are Friends Electric? - Tubeway Army 30/06/79 372 points, 12 votes32 Under Pressure - Queen & David Bowie 21/11/81 379 points, 10 votes31 Make It Easy On Yourself - The Walker Brothers 23/09/65 388 points, 15 votes30 Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen 29/11/75 398 points, 13 votes29 Freak Like Me - Sugababes 04/05/02 400 points, 15 votes28 Geno - Dexy's Midnight Runners 03/05/80 400 points, 11 votes27 Relax - Frankie Goes To Hollywood 28/01/84 405 points, 17 votes26 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones 09/09/65 417 points, 14 votes25 All The Things She Said - Tatu 08/02/03 428 points, 15 votes24 Paint It, Black - The Rolling Stones 26/05/66 429 points, 15 votes23 Reach Out I'll Be There - The Four Tops 27/10/66 439 points, 15 votes22 Band Of Gold - Freda Payne 19/09/70 452 points, 14 votes21 Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue 29/09/01 459 points, 17 votes20 Crazy In Love - Beyonce 12/07/03 477 points, 18 votes19 I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye 26/03/69 488 points, 15 votes18 Pump Up The Volume - M/A/R/R/S 03/10/87 493 points, 19 votes17 Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor 03/02/90 507 points, 17 votes16 Uptown Top Ranking - Althea & Donna 04/02/78 510 points, 19 votes15 Into The Groove - Madonna 03/08/85 527 points, 16 votes14 Ignition (remix) - R Kelly 17/05/03 536 points, 14 votes13 Atomic - Blondie 01/03/80 545 points, 22 votes12 Don't You Want Me - The Human League 12/12/81 607 points, 22 votes11 Dancing Queen - Abba 04/09/76 640 points, 19 votes10 The Model / Computer Love - Kraftwerk 06/02/82 657 points, 20 votes9 Always On My Mind - Pet Shop Boys 19/12/87 704 points, 22 votes8 West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys 11/01/86 736 points, 23 votes7 Tainted Love - Soft Cell 05/09/81 749 points, 19 votes6 Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush 11/03/78 776 points, 22 votes5 Heart Of Glass - Blondie 03/02/79 795 points, 28 votes4 Billie Jean - Michael Jackson 05/03/83 824 points, 25 votes3 I Feel Love - Donna Summer 23/07/77 825 points, 23 votes2 Ghost Town - The Specials 11/07/81 876 points, 25 votes1 Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys 17/11/66 1024 points, 29 votes
― Dan Worsley, Saturday, 6 June 2020 10:07 (four years ago) link
Think Ignition (Remix) would poll a little lower in 2020
― Anti-Cop Ponceortium (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 6 June 2020 10:14 (four years ago) link
how on earth did "ghost town" make it to #2 in that poll
― ufo, Saturday, 6 June 2020 10:18 (four years ago) link
in both that and the guardian list! it's a good song, sure, but it's not an all time great or anything to me. maybe you have to be british to understand?
― ufo, Saturday, 6 June 2020 10:21 (four years ago) link
The lyrics are very relevant to the political and social situation in Briatin at the time.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Saturday, 6 June 2020 10:22 (four years ago) link
i get that but it's not enough to make me understand it being ranked as high as that
― ufo, Saturday, 6 June 2020 10:34 (four years ago) link
I Feel For You didnt even make our top 100 wtf ilm? Didnt it win the 80s r&b poll?
― or something, Saturday, 6 June 2020 11:04 (four years ago) link
I would argue that the one quality shared by the top ten is that they each generate an atmosphere that seemed excitingly sui generis to the record-buying public, at a time when a large part thereof was still open to new ideas. This was an era when Laurie Anderson made it to number 2 in the UK charts!"Ghost Town" is unforgivingly stark, but it had a cool beat and a message that captured the national mood. Like the others in the list its impact was sufficient to lodge it permanently in the imagination of people who came of age in the early '80s.
― Soz (Not Soz) (Vast Halo), Saturday, 6 June 2020 11:45 (four years ago) link
that makes sense, it's just easier to understand the musical impact of say "i feel love" compared to "ghost town" which seems to be a real "you had to be there" thing capturing the mood of the moment? doubt it'd do as well in a modern ilx poll since the board is nowhere near as uk-oriented as it seemed to be back in like 05
― ufo, Saturday, 6 June 2020 12:13 (four years ago) link
I Feel Love won our poll of Best Songs (of the 20th century iirc) Ever and would almost certainly do so again
― imago, Saturday, 6 June 2020 12:15 (four years ago) link
just easier to understand the musical impact of say "i feel love" compared to "ghost town"
Yes, but do either have the musical impact of "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"?
― Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Saturday, 6 June 2020 13:31 (four years ago) link
Pet shop boys are a really underrated group.I love them !! My mom always used to listen to them.— iamcardib (@iamcardib) March 22, 2021
― too cool for zen talk (Eazy), Monday, 22 March 2021 12:27 (three years ago) link
Collaboration next.Now that I think about it Collaboration surely should be the name of a PSB album with guest singers for duets.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 22 March 2021 13:10 (three years ago) link
That's the premise behind the new album by The Paper Kites, _Roses_, fwiw.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Monday, 22 March 2021 13:42 (three years ago) link
Would seem appropriate for Cardi B to give them a boost in the same way that they worked with Dusty Springfield.
Not that they're anywhere near as commercially adrift as Dusty was in the mid-80s.
― Dan Worsley, Monday, 22 March 2021 14:05 (three years ago) link
*flat British monotone*Get a bucket and a mopThat’s a wet ass pussy
― too cool for zen talk (Eazy), Monday, 22 March 2021 16:38 (three years ago) link
in a wet ass town, a dead end world
― voodoo chili, Monday, 22 March 2021 16:42 (three years ago) link
Cardi B, here is all of my money, please re-record "Shopping"
― Dana Jel Pey (DJP), Monday, 22 March 2021 16:47 (three years ago) link
thought for sure you'd say "Domino Dancing," then corrected myself. You'd say, "Cardi B, here is all of my money, please destroy the masters of 'Domino Dancing.'"
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 22 March 2021 16:55 (three years ago) link
xpost -- It must happen.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 22 March 2021 16:56 (three years ago) link
Thought this would be on here: "Opportunities" achieves "new dance chart high" while in Allstate commercial: https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9527827/super-bowl-pet-shop-boys-opportunities-dance-charts (hood ornament smiling and singing along is shit, and reminds me that Consumer Reports concluded, citing reader surveys, that some of the worst car insurance providers have the most elaborate commericals, because they have to replace so many customers every year)(do like the dsert drive being all into the song tho)
― dow, Monday, 22 March 2021 17:12 (three years ago) link
I'd been waiting for that article since seeing the commercial at least five times last week.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 22 March 2021 17:14 (three years ago) link
I have a dance party every time that commercial comes on
― Dana Jel Pey (DJP), Monday, 22 March 2021 17:16 (three years ago) link
it's airing constantly during the ncaa tournament (the bettors seem to have latched onto the chorus lyric)
― voodoo chili, Monday, 22 March 2021 17:17 (three years ago) link
also lmao that article says "sorry, only for Billboard pros!" when I click on it
― Dana Jel Pey (DJP), Monday, 22 March 2021 17:17 (three years ago) link
"The 1986 classic sold 1,000 downloads"Incredible stuff. Neil and Chris certainly are making lots of money, amirite?
― I Advance Masked (Vast Halo), Monday, 22 March 2021 17:22 (three years ago) link
Huh, hadn't even realized this ad existed.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 22 March 2021 17:24 (three years ago) link
it is one of the two best ads on television right now
obv #1 is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDAg3VkZPg8
― Dana Jel Pey (DJP), Monday, 22 March 2021 17:26 (three years ago) link
Indeed! You saw that Undefeated article about it, yes?
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 22 March 2021 17:28 (three years ago) link
I did!
― Dana Jel Pey (DJP), Monday, 22 March 2021 17:29 (three years ago) link
Separately, so this "Opportunities" talk is making me think of a hilarious little-talked-about moment from their imperial phase. So there was that Billionaire Boys Club movie with Kevin Spacey a few years back, but well before that there was a 1987 NBC miniseries about the same case, starring Judd Nelson. It is VERY 1987 network TV on all fronts. Thankfully the full thing is available on YouTube.
Anyway, I remember watching it at the time, and I distinctly remember there was a montage on it where our non-hero gets himself all made over to be a power player by his fellow assholes. (Again, how perfectly 1987.) As you can see here -- the link should hopefully start at the right place; if not, skip ahead to 21 minutes into the video and let it play from there -- it is soundtracked by a terrible cover of "Opportunities" which is spectacularly missing the point, clearly because the music supervisor or producer or whoever was just all "Wow a song about money, perfect!" I kinda want to know who the guilty party who did this cover is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQOTcBbZQU4
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 22 March 2021 17:37 (three years ago) link
omigod that "Opportunities" montage
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 22 March 2021 18:01 (three years ago) link