"Rent" is a song by English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

duo

Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

from their second studio album, '' Actually'' (1987). It was released as the album's third single on 12 October 1987.

Background and recording

"Rent" was written in 1984. The song is about a transactional relationship between two people. According to lyricist

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

, the title was chosen for its association with

rent boys Male prostitution is a form of sex work consisting of the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. M ...

with the intention of being provocative, but the story he envisioned for the song was about a mistress of a powerful man. The original inspiration for the music was the

Italo disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, pop, ...

song "

I Like Chopin "I Like Chopin" is a song by Italian singer-songwriter Gazebo from his debut studio album, ''Gazebo'' (1983). It peaked at number one in several European national charts. The music was composed by Pierluigi Giombini (contrary to what the title i ...

" by

Gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or Gun turret, turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden, or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. In British English, the word is also used for a tent-like can ...

. According to

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 Christopher Sean Lowe was born and raised in Bla ...

, an earlier version of "Rent" was a

Hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by its fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-flo ...

track, which they recorded with

Bobby Orlando Robert Philip Orlando 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 sound, using a ...

. For the album version, producer

Julian Mendelsohn Julian Mendelsohn is an Australian record producer, audio engineer and mixer. Early life After completing school in Australia, Mendelsohn moved to the United Kingdom. He secured his first job in 1974 at Milner Sound Fulham Rd. Chelsea, run by ...

decided that they already had enough uptempo songs for ''Actually'', so keyboard

programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles Software development, ''software developer'' and Software engineering, ''software engineer' ...

Andy Richards Andrew John Richards (born 26 October 1952) is an English pianist, Film score, composer, music producer and keyboardist. Richards has played with artists including Frankie Goes to Hollywood, George Michael, Propaganda (band), Propaganda, Grace ...

reduced the

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

by half.

Release

"Rent" was remixed in a shortened version by 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 release as a single on 12 October 1987; it reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart. The song was not released as a single in the United States. The photograph on the single sleeve (pictured) is of Tennant and Lowe on a train platform at

King's Cross station King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the List of busiest railway stations in ...

, taken by Eric Watson. The music video was also filmed in that location.

Music video

The

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

for the song was directed by

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, poet, gardener, and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing ...

. It features two intercut storylines. One, filmed in

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, shows

arriving at King's Cross station by train and walking past various low-life characters. The other, filmed in colour, features

Margi Clarke Margi Clarke (born 25 May 1954) is an English actress and radio and television presenter. She had a leading role in the film '' Letter to Brezhnev'' (1985), a low-budget film which had an international release. Later, Clarke played Jackie Dob ...

as the partner of a wealthy man (played by

Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath Alexander George Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath (6 May 1932 – 4 April 2020), styled Viscount Weymouth between 1946 and 1992, was an English peer and landowner, owner of the Longleat estate, who sat in the House of Lords from 1992 until 1999, an ...

), who is hosting a dinner party. The lyrics are sung by Tennant, who plays her chauffeur. The woman becomes annoyed when the man pays her no attention. She then gets Tennant to drive her to King's Cross railway station where she embraces Lowe on the platform.

Live performances

Pet Shop Boys performed "Rent" on ''

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'' on ITV on 11 October 1987, with Lowe wearing an

Issey Miyake was a Japanese fashion designer. He was known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances, such as '' L'eau d'Issey'', which became his best-known product. Early life and education Miyake was born on 22 April 1938 i ...

inflatable rubber jacket. On their first tour in 1989 to Hong Kong, Japan, and the UK, "Rent" was staged with Tennant interacting with backing singer

Juliet Roberts Juliet Roberts (born 6 May 1962) is a British jazz, rock, soul and house music singer of Grenadian descent. Career Roberts was born in London, England. She originally recorded as Julie Roberts in 1982, and performed on the 1983 top 10 hit si ...

as the characters from the song. During the Performance Tour in 1991, "Rent" was sung by ensemble members

Sylvia Mason-James Sylvia Mason-James (born 8 December 1958) is a British singer who has worked extensively as a backing vocalist and solo artist. Early life and career Mason-James was born on 8 December 1958 in south London, United Kingdom to immigrants from J ...

and Derek Green. Subsequent tours have also featured "Rent", including Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live in 2022–2024.

Track listing

* 7": Parlophone / R 6168 (UK) # "Rent" – 3:35 # "I Want a Dog" – 4:57 * 12": Parlophone / 12R 6168 (UK) # "Rent" (Extended Mix) – 7:06 # "Rent" (Dub) – 6:06 # "I Want a Dog" – 4:57 * also available on CD (Parlophone / CD R 6168)

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes for ''Actually: Further Listening 1987–1988'' and "Rent". Pet Shop Boys *

Additional personnel *

– keyboard

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

Fairlight Fairlight may refer to: In places: * Fairlight, East Sussex, a village east of Hastings in southern England, UK * Fairlight, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Fairlight, Saskatchewan, Canada In other uses: * Fairlight (company), ...

programming *

–

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

– mixing, editing (7-inch single version) * David Jacob – mix engineering (7-inch single version) Artwork *

Mark Farrow Mark Farrow (born May 1960) is a British graphic designer known for his work with English music label Factory Records and Manchester nightclub The Haçienda. He has also done work for bands such as Pet Shop Boys and Spiritualized. In 2009 he wa ...

and Pet Shop Boys – design * Eric Watson – photography

Charts

Cover versions

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

performed "Rent" on her 1989 album ''

Results A result is the outcome of an event. Result or Results may also refer to: Music * Results (album), ''Results'' (album), a 1989 album by Liza Minnelli * ''Results'', a 2012 album by Murder Construct * "The Result", a single by The Upsetters * "The ...

'', which was produced by Pet Shop Boys and included additional songs written by them for her. "Rent" was covered by

Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine (also known as Carter USM or simply Carter) were an English indie rock band formed in 1987 by singer Jim "Jim Bob" Morrison and guitarist Les " Fruitbat" Carter. They made their name with a distinctive style ...

and was included as a B-side for their single " R.u.b.b.i.s.h", and was later included in their compilation album '' This is the Sound of an Electric Guitar''. The song is also featured as a live version by Suede, as a B-side on their single "Filmstar" (1997), with vocals by Neil Tennant.

In popular culture

The song plays during a karaoke scene in the 2023 film '' Saltburn''. Neil Tennant commented on the use of the song: "...we've had songs in these two films recently, ''Saltburn'' and '' All of Us Strangers'', and that's given us a bit of attention. In ''Saltburn'', they sing "Rent" and it's a karaoke scene, but it's actually part of the plot. That's very rare. The song makes such a sardonic point about his relationship, with the guy in the house.

External links

Lyrics: Rent

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rent (Song) 1987 singles 1987 songs Liza Minnelli songs Parlophone singles Pet Shop Boys songs Song recordings produced by Julian Mendelsohn Songs written by Chris Lowe Songs written by Neil Tennant