Actually

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Actually
File:PetShopBoysActually.jpg
Studio album by Pet Shop Boys
Released 7 September 1987 (1987-09-07)
Recorded 1986–1987 at Sarm West Studios, Advision Studios, London
Genre Synthpop, dance-pop, disco
Length 48:14
Label Parlophone (UK), EMI Manhattan (US and Canada)
Producer Pet Shop Boys, Stephen Hague, Julian Mendelesohn, Andy Richards, Shep Pettibone, David Jacob
Pet Shop Boys chronology
Disco
(1986)Disco1986		 Actually
(1987)		 Introspective
(1988)Introspective1988
Singles from Actually
  1. "It's a Sin"
    Released: 15 June 1987
  2. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"
    Released: 10 August 1987
  3. "Rent"
    Released: 12 October 1987
  4. "Heart"
    Released: 21 March 1988

Actually (stylised as Pet Shop Boys, actually.) is the second studio album by English pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released in 1987 by record labels Parlophone (UK) and EMI Manhattan (US and Canada).

Release

Actually was released on 7 September 1987 by record label Parlophone in the UK and EMI Manhattan in the United States and Canada. In TV commercials (in the UK, at least) for the release, Lowe and Tennant were shown in black tie, blank-faced against a white background. The former seems unimpressed by a radio DJ-style Alan 'Fluff' Freeman voiceover listing their previous hits and the new LP's singles, while the latter eventually 'gets bored' and yawns, with the image then freezing to create, roughly, the album's cover shot.

Actually spawned four UK Top 10 singles: the No. 1 lead-off single "It's a Sin", "Rent", "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" – a duet with fellow Parlophone artist Dusty Springfield which peaked at No. 2 in both the UK and US and led to a major resurgence of interest in Springfield's earlier work – and another UK No. 1 in April 1988 with a remixed version of the song "Heart".

During this period the Pet Shop Boys also completed a full-length motion picture called It Couldn't Happen Here. Featuring songs by the duo, it was most famous for containing the video for "Always on My Mind" (starring Joss Ackland as a blind priest), which—while not on Actually—was released as a single during this period.

Actually was re-released in 2001 (as were most of the group's albums up to that point) as Actually/Further Listening 1987–1988. The re-released version was not only digitally remastered but came with a second disc of B-sides, remixes done by the Pet Shop Boys and previously unreleased material from around the time of the album's original release. Yet another re-release followed on 9 February 2009 under the title of Actually: Remastered. This version contains only the 10 tracks of the original release. With the 2009 re-release, the 2001 2CD re-release was discontinued. Actually has sold over 4 million copies to date.[citation needed]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4.5/5 stars[1]
Los Angeles Times 2.5/4 stars[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 4/5 stars[3]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 9/10[4]
The Village Voice A−[5]

Actually has been well-received by critics.

Robert Christgau gave the album an A– grade, writing "this is actual pop music with something actual to say—pure commodity, and proud of it."[5]

In his retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that Actually is the album "[where] the Pet Shop Boys perfected their melodic, detached dance-pop".[1]

Legacy

Actually is featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

In 2006 Q magazine placed the album at No. 22 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s".[6] In 2012 Slant listed the album at No. 88 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".[7]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Pet Shop Boys (Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe), except as noted. 

Side A
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "One More Chance"   Tennant, Lowe, Bobby Orlando 5:30
2. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" (with Dusty Springfield) Lowe, Tennant, Allee Willis 4:18
3. "Shopping"     3:37
4. "Rent"     5:08
5. "Hit Music"     4:44
Side B
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "It Couldn't Happen Here"   Tennant, Ennio Morricone, Lowe 5:20
2. "It's a Sin"     4:59
3. "I Want to Wake Up"     5:08
4. "Heart"     3:58
5. "King's Cross"     5:10

Personnel

Pet Shop Boys
Guest musicians
Technical
  • Julian Mendelsohn – production on tracks A1, A3 to A5 and B2

Chart performance

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 16
Austrian Albums Chart[9] 5
Canadian Albums Chart[10] 16
Dutch Albums Chart[11] 5
German Albums Chart[12] 1
New Zealand Albums Chart[13] 7
Norwegian Albums Chart[14] 3
Swedish Albums Chart[15] 2
Swiss Albums Chart[16] 3
UK Albums Chart[17] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 25

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between 1983 and 19 June 1988.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ "Actually > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums" at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 September 2011.

External links

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