Pet Shop Boys – Please

Pet Shop Boys – Please

Originally released on 24 March 1986, Please is the landmark debut album by Pet Shop Boys, the London duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. Produced by Stephen Hague, the album established the distinctive Pet Shop Boys sound: sleek synthesizers, programmed rhythms, understated vocals, witty songwriting and an unmistakably British blend of electronic pop and dance music. The album reached No.3 in the UK and remained in the UK album charts for 82 weeks.

The album opens with “Two Divided By Zero”, before moving into “West End Girls”, the song that transformed the Pet Shop Boys from promising newcomers into international stars. Originally released as a single in 1985, the song reached No.1 in the UK in January 1986 and subsequently topped the charts in the USA and several other countries. Its atmospheric electronic production and portrait of London nightlife remain central to the Pet Shop Boys' identity.

Other major highlights include “Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money)”, “Love Comes Quickly” and “Suburbia”. “Opportunities” combines an infectious electronic rhythm with Tennant's deliberately deadpan delivery and sharply satirical lyrics, while “Love Comes Quickly” demonstrates the more melancholy and romantic side of the duo. “Suburbia”, meanwhile, turns everyday British life into another memorable piece of electronic pop. All three songs subsequently became UK Top 20 singles.

The second side continues with “Tonight Is Forever,” “Violence,” “I Want A Lover,” “Later Tonight” and “Why Don't We Live Together?”, giving Please considerable variety despite its highly focused electronic palette. The result is an album that captures the Pet Shop Boys at the point where synth-pop, disco, electronic dance music and sophisticated pop songwriting were coming together in the mid-1980s.

For fans of 80s synth-pop, new wave, electronic music and classic British pop, Please remains an essential Pet Shop Boys album. It also provides a fascinating snapshot of the group's early sound, before their increasingly elaborate production, orchestration and conceptual approach developed across albums such as Actually, Introspective and Behaviour.

Side A

1. Two Divided By Zero – 3:34
2. West End Girls – 4:45
3. Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money) – 3:43
4. Love Comes Quickly – 4:19
5. Suburbia – 5:30

Side B

1. Tonight Is Forever – 4:31
2. Violence – 4:27
3. I Want A Lover – 4:30
4. Later Tonight – 2:46
5. Why Don't We Live Together – 4:44