"West End Girls" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by

Neil Tennant Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for ''Smash Hits'', and ...

and

Chris Lowe Christopher Sean Lowe (born 4 October 1959) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Neil Tennant in 1981. Biography Lowe attended Arnold School, an independen ...

, the song was released twice as a single. The song's 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 ''The Waste Land'' is a poem by T. S. Eliot, widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century and a central work of modernist poetry. Published in 1922, the 434-line poem first appeared in the United Kingdom in the Octob ...

''. 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 Robert Philip Orlando (born 1958), also known as Bobby Orlando or just Bobby O, is an American record producer, indie record label owner, songwriter, and musician. He is regarded as an innovator in the hi-NRG genre for developing his signature s ...

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 EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

, the song was re-recorded with producer

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session ...

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 The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, and Best International Hit at the

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

. 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. A critic's poll in 2020 by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' selected "West End Girls" as the greatest UK number-one single. The song was performed by the Pet Shop Boys at the

2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony The closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, also known as A Symphony of British Music, was held on 12 August 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London. The chief guest was Prince Harry of Wales representing Queen Elizabeth II. The closi ...

Background

Recording and production

Bobby O version

In 1983,

met producer

, while on an assignment in New York interviewing Sting for '' Smash Hits''. After listening to some demos, Orlando offered to produce for the duo. In 1983 and 1984, the duo recorded twelve songs with Orlando at Unique Studios in New York, "West End Girls", "

Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their debut studio album, ''Please'' (1986). It was released as a single in 1985 and re-recorded and reissued in 1986, gaining greater popularity ...

", " One More Chance", "I Want a Lover", "Thats My Impression", "A Man Could Get Arrested", "I Get Excited", "Two Divided by Zero", "Rent", "It's a Sin", "Pet Shop Boys", and "Later Tonight". Orlando played most of the instruments on "West End Girls", including the jazz riff at the end. Lowe played one chord and the bassline. It included a drum part lifted from

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's "

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and ...

", and an arrangement involving what Tennant called "

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

chords". Orlando was thrilled by the song's production; his idea was to make a rap record in a British accent. In April 1984, "West End Girls" was released, becoming a club hit in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and a minor dance hit in Belgium and France, but was only available in the United Kingdom as a 12-inch import. In March 1985, after long negotiations, Pet Shop Boys cut their contractual ties with Orlando, and hired manager Tom Watkins, who signed them with

Stephen Hague version

An entire week had been spent re-recording and rearranging "West End Girls" with producer

at Advision Studios, using Studio Two housed with an Otari 24-track tape machine and an SSL console. The song, according to engineer David Jacob, was musically "constructed with only four basic rhythmical patterns throughout", with no 'real' instruments production-wise except for one cymbal. The rhythmic foundations were laid down with an Oberheim DMX drum machine. In addition to that, the synthesizer strings that run throughout the song were created using a blend of string sounds from an E-mu Emulator I and an Emulator II. The bass part is a composite of different sounds from an Emulator II, a

Yamaha DX7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 1980 ...

and a

Roland Jupiter-6 The Roland Jupiter-6 (JP-6) is a discontinued synthesizer, manufactured and introduced by the Roland Corporation in January 1983. Background Although introduced as a less expensive ($2,500-$3,000 market price) alternative to the Roland Jupiter- ...

, all of which were

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...

’d together. It had been played by hand to "lend more fluidity to the track", although initially there was a bit of difficulty in keeping the part in time with the drum machine. The song features a

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...

-like sound, which is in fact a combination of a cowbell and an Emulator II choir sound recorded into a Roland MSQ-700 sequencer, and spun in manually at appropriate places in the song. The trumpet solo in this version was played by Hague on the Emulator. According to Jacob, "it took about six hours to get the trumpet to sound genuine, purposely playing wrong notes to make it sound more 'jazz'". For the traffic noise that runs in the beginning, Hague recorded it using a

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

Professional Walkman out on Gosfield Street outside Advision. In addition to the rap verses and choruses sung by Tennant (each using different microphones - one for verse and another for choruses), singer Helena Springs was brought in to sing background vocals - parts of these were sampled into the Emulator to be used wherever wanted in the track. They re-released the song in late 1985, topping the charts in both the UK and the US.

Music and lyrics

"West End Girls" is a synth-pop song influenced by hip hop music. The song's socially conscious streak, as well as the propulsive bass line, derives from Grandmaster Flash's protest rap song " The Message". Lowe and Hague created a "snaky, obsessive rhythm punch" for the music, replacing the song's previously sparse beats and minimal keyboard lines. Tennant started to write the song when he was staying at his cousin's house in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

while watching a gangster film. Just when he was going to sleep he came up with the lines: "Sometimes you're better off dead, there's a gun in your hand and it's pointing at your head". The lyrics were inspired by T.S. Eliot's poem ''

'', particularly in the use of different narrative voices and

arcane Arcane may refer to: Books and comics * Anton Arcane, a DC Comics character * Arcane Jill Watson, a character in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' * Arcane literature, such as in Cthulhu Mythos Gaming * Arcane magic (''Dungeons & Drago ...

references. The song's lyrics are largely concerned with class, inner-city pressure. Tennant later said that some listeners had assumed the song referred to prostitutes, but was actually, "about rough boys getting a bit of posh." Sound-wise, the 1985 version also features a considerably smoother arrangement than the 1984 version, trading out the collage of disjointed samples (such as glass breaking and Tennant shouting the word "I") in favour of soft synth pads and Hague's Emulator trumpet solo. At the same time, however, the 1985 version “starts off like a film noir", opening with ambient traffic sounds not heard in the 1984 version. In the liner notes to the 2001 reissue of ''Please'', Tennant noted that this was born out a desire for "filmic" music. The 1985 single has also been described as dance-pop, disco, and new wave.

Critical reception

"West End Girls" has been generally well received by music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

in a review of the album '' Please'' called the song "hypnotic", adding that "it's not only a classic dance single, it's a classic pop single". In a review for the group's second studio album ''

Actually ''Actually'' (stylised as ''Pet Shop Boys, actually.'') is the second studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 7 September 1987 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and by EMI Manhattan in North America. According to Nei ...

'', Rob Hoerburger from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine commented that "West End Girls" was "as catchy as anything on the radio in 1986", praising "its enticing bass line and foreboding synth riffs", but felt that it was almost "nullified by peevish spoken asides and the cryptic posturing of the duo's lyrics". In a review of the live album ''

Concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

'', Michael Hubbard from musicOMH said that "West End Girls" was one of the songs that "round out a collection that never feels too long or superfluous", adding that it "goes some way to installing Tennant and Lowe as national treasures". '' Cash Box'' called it "a sensational pop single." '' Billboard'' called it a "cannily haunting song" in which "disco meets sociology, rap and the Al Stewart catalogue." Nitsuh Abebe from ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'', in a review of their compilation album '' PopArt: Pet Shop Boys - The Hits'' commented that in the song "we meet Tennant not as a singer, but as a speaker", adding that "he mumbles the verses to us not like a star, but like a stranger in a raincoat, slinking alongside you and pointing out the sights". In 1987, "West End Girls" won for Best Single at the

, and for Best International Hit at the

. In 2005, the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters gave to ''West End Girls'' the Ivor Novello Award for Song of The Decade between the years 1985 and 1994. In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 12th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV. In 2020, ''

'' selected "West End Girls" as number one in a critics' poll of the 100 greatest UK number-one singles. It was ranked No. 433 on ''Rolling Stones "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2021 and No. 65 on their "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" in 2022.

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "West End Girls" was directed by

Andy Morahan Andrew Douglas Morahan (born 11 August 1958) is a British commercial, film and music video director. He is the son of director Christopher Morahan and the half-brother of actress Hattie Morahan. Married to Joanna Lewis, he has two children. ...

and Eric Watson, and consists of shots of the duo around London. At the beginning of the video, noises from the city can be heard, a camera passes Lowe on the street, and focuses on mannequins in a shop window. Then appears a sequence of quick cuts with shots of the city's different sub-cultures; the video freezes and cuts to Tennant and Lowe, who walk through an empty Wentworth Street in Petticoat Lane Market. They stand in front of a red garage door; Tennant is in front dressed with a long coat, white shirt and dark necktie, directly addressing the camera, with Lowe standing behind him with a blank expression. Lowe is filmed in double-exposure and appears almost ghostlike. In other shots, Tennant power-walks imperiously while Lowe casually follows behind. While Tennant delivers the lyrics and chorus directly at the viewer, Lowe appears at times disinterested in the proceedings or preoccupied with other goings-on around them. Then the video shows various shots at Waterloo Station, as the chorus starts. In slow motion, the camera pans across the

WHSmith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...

shop on the station concourse as the duo walk past. It cuts to a brief shot of a No. 42 red

double-decker bus A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and also in cities such as Sydney; the best-known example is the ...

, showing the destination as

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...

, also advertising the stage-show '' Evita'', then black and white shots of the Tower Bridge,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

and the

Westminster Palace The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

Clock Tower from the sky. The duo poses on the South Bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

in a pastiche of a postcard image, with the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north ban ...

as a background. The camera shows shots of young women, and passes through arcades and cinemas in Leicester Square. The camera now passes South Africa House showing protestors in the Non-Stop Picket, an anti-

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

vigil. The video cuts to a closeup of Tennant singing the chorus, with a purple neon sign eerily passing across his face. At the end the camera passes again through Leicester Square, where people queue to see '' Fletch'' and ''

Desperately Seeking Susan ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' is a 1985 American comedy-drama film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn and Madonna. Set in New York City, the plot involves the interaction between two women – a bored housew ...

''. The video was nominated for Best New Artist in a Video at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to A-ha's "

Take On Me "Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that same year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was p ...

Commercial performance

"West End Girls" was first released in April 1984 through writer and producer

's label. The song was a club hit in the United States, and in some European countries, such as Belgium, where it debuted at number 24 on the

VRT Top 30 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

chart on 28 July 1984, peaking at 17 four weeks later. In Canada, "West End Girls" first entered the '' RPM'' singles chart in April 1985, reaching a peak position of 81 in June 1985. Having signed with

, the group released their first major label single "

" in mid-1985, but it failed to attract attention. The Pet Shop Boys then decided to re-record "West End Girls", and issue this new version as a single. Producer

helmed the new, re-recorded version of "West End Girls". The re-recorded version of "West End Girls" was released in the United Kingdom in October 1985, debuting on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

at number 80, and within eight weeks of its release it had reached the top of the chart. It maintained the number one position for two weeks and received a

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

certification by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

(BPI) in January 1986. Across Europe, "West End Girls" also topped the singles chart in Norway, as well as peaking in the top three in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. In Canada, where the original recording of "West End Girls" had already been a minor hit in 1985, the re-recorded version was issued as a single in early 1986. The re-recorded song entered the chart in March 1986, peaking at number one for one week on 17 May 1986. In the United States, ''West End Girls'' debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 71, reaching the number one position on 10 May 1986, and remained on the chart for 20 weeks. The song also peaked at number one on ''Billboards Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart for two weeks. "West End Girls" re-entered the charts in February 2021 as Pet Shop Boys received some exposure in early 2021 thanks to the premiere of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

series ''

It's a Sin "It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, ''Actually'' (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's ...

'', named after the song of the same name, and a popular Allstate Super Bowl ad featuring the song "

". Consequently, several singles have re-entered the charts, with "Opportunities" having reached number one in February 2021 on ''Billboard''

Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales, previously Dance/Electronic Digital Songs is a weekly chart that ranks the best-selling digital dance and electronic singles in the United States, according to '' Billboard''. Although it originally started tra ...

chart and spending three consecutive weeks atop the chart. "West End Girls" re-charted with the latter song, re-entering the charts for the week of 27 February 2021 at number nine on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart, nearly having switched places in chart rankings with "Opportunities" from their 1986 entries. The song rose to number six on the chart for the week of 12 March 2021.

Track listings

* 7-inch UK (1984 release) #"West End Girls" (Nouvelle version) – 4:10 #"Pet Shop Boys" – 5:10 * 12-inch UK (1984 release) #"West End Girls" (extended mix) – 7:50 #"Pet Shop Boys" – 5:10 * 7-inch Belgium (1984 release) #"West End Girls" (Nouvelle version) – 4:10 #"Pet Shop Boys" – 5:10 * 7-inch Germany (1984 release) #"West End Girls" (Nouvelle version edit) – 3:21 #"Pet Shop Boys" (Edit) – 3:26 * 7-inch Canada (1984 release) #"West End Girls" (Original 7″ version) – 4:14 #"West End Girls" (Original 7″ version) – 4:14 Note: The titles ''Nouvelle version'' and ''original 7″ version'' do not appear on any releases. They are names created by fans in order to distinguish the different versions. * 7-inch UK (1985 release) Parlophone / R 6115 #"West End Girls" – 3:55 #"A Man Could Get Arrested" (7″ version) – 4:50 * 10" limited edition – UK (1985 release) Parlophone / 10R 6115 #"West End Girls" (10" mix) – 7:05 #"A Man Could Get Arrested" (Bobby Orlando version) – 4:18 * 12-inch UK (1985 release) Parlophone / 12R 6115 #"West End Girls" (dance mix) – 6:31 #"A Man Could Get Arrested" (12″ version) – 4:09 #"West End Girls" – 3:55 * 12-inch The Shep Pettibone Mastermix – UK (1985 release) Parlophone / 12RA 6115 #"West End Girls" (The Shep Pettibone Mastermix) – 8:09 #"West End Dub" – 9:31 #"A Man Could Get Arrested" (12″ version) – 4:09

Credits and personnel

1984 Bobby O version

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

– keyboards, bassline with: *

- keyboards, synthesizers

1985 Stephen Hague version

–

– synthesizers, E-mu Emulator with: *

- synthesizers, Emulator "trumpet" solo * Helena Springs - background vocal

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

East 17 version

In 1993, English boy band

East 17 East 17 are an English pop boy band started by Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy, and Terry Coldwell in 1991. As of 2020, the group consists of Coldwell, Robbie Craig, and Joe Livermore. East 17 have undergone multiple lineup changes, wi ...

covered "West End Girls" for their debut album, '' Walthamstow'' (1993).

Critical reception

Sian Pattenden from '' Smash Hits'' gave East 17's version of "West End Girls" three out of five.

Music video

The accompanying

for "West End Girls" was directed by L. Watson & C. Clunn.

Track listing

* 7-inch single :A. "West End Girls" (Faces on Posters Mix) :B. "West End Girls" (Kicking in Chairs)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* {{Authority control 1984 songs 1984 debut singles 1985 singles 1993 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Brit Award for British Single Cashbox number-one singles EMI Records singles London Records singles Music videos directed by Andy Morahan Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Parlophone singles Pet Shop Boys songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Stephen Hague Songs about London Songs written by Chris Lowe Songs written by Neil Tennant UK Singles Chart number-one singles