is a song by pop group the Pet Shop Boys . It was written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe and was the duo's first hit reaching number one in the US and UK in 1986 .
The song lyrics were written in the early .
It was first released in April 1984 through writer/producer Bobby Orlando 's label, and although not a hit in the United Kingdom, it was a minor dance hit in The Netherlands , Belgium , France and the USA . This initial release, on Epic in the UK, featured a mainly instrumental B-side called "Pet Shop Boys".
Having signed to the EMI label Parlophone and having their first major label single "Opportunities (Let's make lots of money)" sink without a trace, it was decided to give "West End girls" another go. After some serious reworking by producer Stephen Hague the track was re-released in August 1985 to greater acclaim. It was number one on the United Kingdom singles chart for two weeks and number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week. It also was a top ten hit in Australia and throughout Europe. The success of the song helped the album '' Please '' climb into the top ten of the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
The duo continue to dip into the "West End girls" well. In 1994 '' album, DJ Hell completed a remix that eventually featured on the "Flamboyant" single.
- As Tennant rapped the lyrics of the song, BBC.co.uk and Allmusic.com consider it to be the first number one hit to be rapped rather than sung. However, New Edition 's "Candy Girl" and Chaka Khan 's "I Feel For You", which both feature rap elements, had previously reached number one in the UK.
- The lyric "From Lake Geneva to the Finland Station " refers to the train route taken by Vladimir Lenin when he was smuggled by the Germans to Russia during the World War I , a pivotal event in the Russian Revolution . The Bobby Orlando produced version of the single also had the extra line of "All your stopping, stalling and starting, Who do you think you are, Joe Stalin?" which was removed for the 1985 version. Neil Tennant has a degree in history and his interest in Russian history is evident in many other Pet Shop Boys projects such as their soundtrack to the silent film '' Battleship Potemkin ''.
- The song has been heard as incidental music on television several times, including in a 1986 episode of '' Moonlighting '' ("Sleep Talkin' Guy") and on a 2003 episode of '' The Simpsons '' (" Three Gays Of The Condo ").
- The song title was the inspiration for the Jonathan Harvey television production of the same name. Pet Shop Boys would later work with Harvey on their musical '' Closer To Heaven ''.
- In 2005, a Pet Shop Boys tribute band named themselves after the song. West End Girls come from Sweden and are comprised of Isabelle Erkendal and Rosanna Jirebeck. In October 2005, they released a cover version of "Domino dancing" as a single.
- British Boy Band East 17 had a hit in the UK and Australia with their version of the song from the album ''Walthamstow'' in 1993.
- British Girl Band Mis-teeq used a sample of the song for their top-20 single "Style" in 2003 .
- In October 2005, Scottish band Blaknoisewhitesoul tried to use lyrics from "West End girls" on a single called "Sometimes With The Pet Shop Boys", but an argument over royalties forced Blaknoisewhitesoul to rewrite the lyrics and remove all references to "West End girls". The rewritten single was released as "Sometimes Without The Pet Shop Boys".
- U.S. urban act Kelis used an adapted version of the line 'call the police there's a mad man around' ('...mad girl in town') in her 2003 track "Trick me" From her album ''Tasty''.
- West End Girls, the Swedish Pet Shop Boys tribute band, have performed a cover version of "West End girls" live.
- "West End girls" won the Ivor Novello award as song of the decade 1985-1994. It was preselected by the critics together with "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" ( U2 ), "Addicted to Love" ( Robert Palmer ), "Creep" ( Radiohead ) and "Unfinished Sympathy" ( Massive Attack ).
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