"West End Girls" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life in London which were inspired partly by T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land. It was generally well received by contemporary music critics and has been frequently cited as a highlight in the duo's career.
"West End Girls [1984 version]" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Pet Shop Boys | ||||
B-side | "Pet Shop Boys" | |||
Released | 9 April 1984[1] | |||
Recorded | 1983[2] | |||
Studio | Unique Recording (New York City) | |||
Genre | Synth-pop | |||
Length | 4:45 | |||
Label | Bobcat | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Bobby Orlando | |||
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology | ||||
|
"West End Girls" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Pet Shop Boys | ||||
from the album Please | ||||
B-side | "A Man Could Get Arrested" | |||
Released | 28 October 1985[3] | |||
Recorded | August 1985[4] | |||
Studio | Advision Studios | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
| |||
Label | Parlophone | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Stephen Hague | |||
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"West End Girls" on YouTube |
The first version of the song was produced by Bobby Orlando 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, the song was re-recorded with producer Stephen Hague 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, and Best International Hit at the Ivor Novello Awards. 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 selected "West End Girls" as the greatest UK number-one single.[5]
The song was performed by the Pet Shop Boys at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.[6]
Background
editRecording and production
editBobby O version
editIn 1983, Neil Tennant met producer Bobby Orlando, while on an assignment in New York interviewing Sting for Smash Hits. After listening to some demos, Orlando offered to produce for the duo.[7]
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)", "One More Chance", "I Want a Lover", "That's 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.[8] It included a drum part lifted from Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", and an arrangement involving what Tennant called "Barry White chords".[9] Orlando was thrilled by the song's production; his idea was to make a rap record in a British accent.[10]
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,[11] but was only available in the United Kingdom as a 12-inch import.[12] In March 1985, after long negotiations, Pet Shop Boys cut their contractual ties with Orlando, and hired manager Tom Watkins, who signed them with EMI.[13]
Stephen Hague version
editAn entire week had been spent re-recording and rearranging "West End Girls" with producer Stephen Hague at Advision Studios,[14] using Studio Two housed with an Otari 24-track tape machine and an SSL console.[15]
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.[15] The rhythmic foundations were laid down with an Oberheim DMX drum machine.[15] 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.[15]
The bass part is a composite of different sounds from an Emulator II, a Yamaha DX7 and a Roland Jupiter-6, all of which were connected by MIDI. 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.[15]
The song features a cowbell-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.[15]
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'".[15]
The traffic noise which introduces the song was recorded by Hague using a Sony Professional Walkman on Gosfield Street outside Advision.[15]
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.[15]
They re-released the song in late 1985, topping the charts in both the UK and the US.[16]
Music and lyric
edit"West End Girls" is a synth-pop song[17] influenced by hip hop music.[16] It has also been described as dance-pop,[18][19][20] disco,[21][22] and new wave.[23][24][25] The song's socially conscious streak, as well as the propulsive bass line, derives from Grandmaster Flash's protest rap song "The Message".[12] Lowe and Hague created a "snaky, obsessive rhythm punch" for the music,[16] replacing the song's previously sparse beats and minimal keyboard lines.[12]
Tennant started to write the song when he was staying at his cousin's house in Nottingham 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".[1] The lyrics were inspired by T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land, particularly in the use of different narrative voices and arcane references.[12] The song's lyrics are largely concerned with class, inner-city pressure.[9][16] Tennant later said that some listeners had assumed the song referred to prostitutes, but was actually, "about rough boys getting a bit of posh."[26][1]
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",[14] 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.[27]
In 2022, Tennant changed the line "From Lake Geneva to the Finland Station" in the last verse to "From Mariupol to Kyiv Station" during their co-headline Unity Tour with New Order and at their Glastonbury Festival 2022 Sunday night headline appearance. The change was done in solidarity for Ukraine in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine (also because Finland Station is located in Russia).[28]
Critical reception
edit"West End Girls" has been generally well received by music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic 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".[29] In a review for the group's second studio album Actually, Rob Hoerburger from Rolling Stone 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".[30] In a review of the live album Concrete, 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".[31]
Cash Box called it "a sensational pop single."[32] Billboard called it a "cannily haunting song" in which "disco meets sociology, rap and the Al Stewart catalogue."[33]
Nitsuh Abebe from Pitchfork, in a review of their compilation album PopArt: 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".[34]
In 1987, "West End Girls" won for Best Single at the Brit Awards,[35] and for Best International Hit at the Ivor Novello Awards.[36] 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.[37][38]
In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 12th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.[39] In 2020, The Guardian selected "West End Girls" as number one in a critics' poll of the 100 greatest UK number-one singles.[5] It was ranked No. 433 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2021[40] and No. 65 on their "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" in 2022.[41]
Music video
editThe accompanying music video for "West End Girls" was directed by Andy Morahan and Eric Watson,[42][43] 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 uninterested 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 shop on the station concourse as the duo walk past. It cuts to a brief shot of a No. 42 red double-decker bus, showing the destination as Aldgate, also advertising the stage-show Evita, then black and white shots of the Tower Bridge, Westminster and the Westminster Palace Clock Tower from the sky. The duo poses on the South Bank of the River Thames in a pastiche of a postcard image, with the Houses of Parliament as a background.[44]
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 vigil.[45] 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.[45] 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".[46]
Commercial performance
edit"West End Girls" was first released in April 1984 through writer and producer Bobby Orlando's label. The song was a club hit in the United States,[47] and in some European countries, such as Belgium, where it debuted at number 24 on the VRT Top 30 chart on 28 July 1984,[48] peaking at 17 four weeks later.[49] In Canada, "West End Girls" first entered the RPM singles chart in April 1985, reaching a peak position of 81 in June 1985.[50]
Having signed with EMI, the group released their first major label single "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" in mid-1985, but it failed to attract attention.[47] The Pet Shop Boys then decided to re-record "West End Girls", and issue this new version as a single. Producer Stephen Hague helmed the new, re-recorded version of "West End Girls".[16]
The re-recorded version of "West End Girls" was released in the United Kingdom in October 1985, debuting on the UK Singles Chart at number 80, and within eight weeks of its release it had reached the top of the chart.[51] It maintained the number one position for two weeks[51] and received a platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in May 2023.[52] Across Europe, "West End Girls" also topped the singles chart in Norway,[53] as well as peaking in the top ten in Australia, Belgium, West Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.[54][55][56][57][58]
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.[59] In the United States, West End Girls debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 71,[60] reaching the number one position on 10 May 1986, and remained on the chart for 20 weeks.[61] The song also peaked at number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart for two weeks.[62]
"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 series It's a Sin, named after the song of the same name, and a popular Allstate Super Bowl ad featuring the song "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)". Consequently, several singles have re-entered the charts, with "Opportunities" having reached number one in February 2021 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales 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.[63][64][65]
In May 2024 it was reported to have 70 million streams on music streaming services in the UK, making it the most streamed Pet Shop Boys song in the UK.[66]
Track listings
edit
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.
|
|
Credits and personnel
edit1984 Bobby O version
edit- Neil Tennant – vocals
- Chris Lowe – keyboards, bassline
with:
- Bobby Orlando – keyboards, synthesizers
1985 Stephen Hague version
edit- Neil Tennant – vocals
- Chris Lowe – synthesizers
with:
- Stephen Hague – synthesizers, emulator "trumpet" solo
- Helena Springs – background vocal
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
|
Year-end chartsedit
|
Certifications
editRegion | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada)[101] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[102] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
East 17 version
edit"West End Girls" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by East 17 | ||||
from the album Walthamstow | ||||
Released | 14 June 1993 | |||
Length | 3:59 | |||
Label | London | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
East 17 singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"West End Girls" on YouTube |
In 1993, English boy band East 17 covered "West End Girls" for their debut album, Walthamstow (1993). The single was released in June 1993 by London Records and was a top-10 hit in Australia, Finland, Israel and Portugal. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number 11. The music video for the song was directed by L. Watson & C. Clunn.[103] Siân Pattenden from Smash Hits gave East 17's version of "West End Girls" three out of five.[104]
Track listing
edit- 7-inch single
- A. "West End Girls" (Faces on Posters Mix)
- B. "West End Girls" (Kicking in Chairs)
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
|
Year-end chartsedit
|
Certifications
editRegion | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[116] | Gold | 35,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
editRegion | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 14 June 1993 |
|
London | [117] |
Japan | 25 July 1993 | Mini-CD | [118] | |
25 August 1993 | Remix CD | [119] |
References
edit- ^ a b c Elliott, Mark (9 April 2021). "West End Girls: Behind Pet Shop Boys' Cinematic Signature Song". Dig!. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys Interview - 1986". YouTube.com. 1996. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- ^ Smith, Robin (26 October 1985). "Index: Go West End". Record Mirror. p. 4. ISSN 0144-5804.
- ^ "Absolutely Pet Shop Boys Unofficial web site – Profile On boys". Petshopboys.net. 27 May 1991. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ a b Snapes, Laura (5 June 2020). "The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 1, Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls". The Guardian.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (12 August 2012). "Olympics closing ceremony music: big acts, big hits, but no big gasps". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ Barrow & Newby 1994, p. 67
- ^ Cowton 1991, p. 11
- ^ a b "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born: 51–100". Blender. October 2005. Archived from the original on 5 March 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
- ^ Cowton 1991, p. 14
- ^ Cowton 1991, p. 15
- ^ a b c d "West End Girls – Pet Shop Boys". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
- ^ Cowton 1991, p. 22
- ^ a b Snapes, Laura (5 June 2020). "Neil Tennant on West End Girls: 'It's about sex and escape. It's paranoid'". theguardian.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Betteridge, Jim (March 1986). "Track Record: The Pet Shop Boys". International Musician And Recording World. pp. 114–115.
- ^ a b c d e Raggett, Ned. "West End Girls > Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
- ^ Brown, Jake (2012). Behind the Boards: The Making of Rock 'n' Roll's Greatest Records Revealed. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-4803-2976-8.
the Pet Shop Boys' debut LP would break the band, and arguably the burgeoning synth-pop genre itself, in both Europe and the United States via radio smashes like 'West End Girls' and 'Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)'
- ^ "You Say It's Your Birthday: Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys". MTV. 3 October 1997. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ Partridge, Kenneth (2 June 2015). "With "West End Girls," Pet Shop Boys set a high standard for U.K. hip-hop". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ Lamb, Bill (21 August 2019). "25 Best Dance Pop Songs of All Time". LiveAbout. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ Hunt, Dennis (4 May 1986). "These Boys Aren't the Critics' Pets". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ Snapes, Laura (5 June 2020). "The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 1, Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "CNN - WorldBeat Interviews - Pet Shop Boys get moving with 'Nightlife' - November 1, 1999". Edition.cnn.com.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys Essentials". Apple Music.
- ^ "AV Undercover Archives - GWAR covers Pet Shop Boys' "West End Girls". A totally brash take on the new wave jam for AV Club's Undercover series". A.V. Undercover.
- ^ Neil Tennant (2001). Please (reissue) (Inset).
- ^ "May 1986: Pet Shop Boys Hit #1 in America With "West End Girls"". Totally 80s. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys and New Order delight fans with long-awaited Hollywood Bowl show". Daily News. 8 October 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Album Review > Please". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ Hoerburger, Rob (3 December 1987). "Pet Shop Boys: Actually: Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ Hubbard, Michael (22 October 2006). "Pet Shop Boys – Concrete (Parlophone)". musicOMH. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. 1 March 1986. p. 11. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ "Reviews". Billboard. 1 March 1986. p. 71. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ Abebe, Nitsuh (6 October 2006). "Pet Shop Boys: Pop Art: The Hits". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ "Brit Awards 1987". IMDb. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys: Summary". TV.com. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- ^ "The Songs of the Decades". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ "Beatles fail to get in best song list". The Daily Telegraph. UK. 25 May 2004. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ Westbrook, Caroline (25 July 2015). "The Nation's Favourite 80s Number One: 12 more classic 80s chart-toppers which didn't make the cut". Metro. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
- ^ Dolan, Jon; Lopez, Julyssa; Matos, Michaelangelo; Shaffer, Claire (22 July 2022). "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls". Mvdbase.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ Zuberi 2001, p. 88
- ^ Zuberi 2001, p. 89
- ^ a b Zuberi 2001, p. 90
- ^ "1986 MTV Video Music Awards". 5 September 1986. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ a b Ankeny, Jason. "Pet Shop Boys > Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
- ^ "Radio 2 – Top 30 van zaterdag 28 juli 1984" (in Dutch). VRT Top 30. 28 July 1984. Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ "Radio 2 – Top 30 van zaterdag 25 augustus 1984" (in Dutch). VRT Top 30. 25 August 1984. Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ "Top Singles – Volume 42, No. 12, June 01 1985". RPM. 1 June 1985. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ a b c "Pet Shop Boys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Royal Blood, Royal Blood, Album".
- ^ a b "Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls". VG-lista. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ a b "Offiziellecharts.de – Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ a b c "The Irish Charts – Search Results – West End Girls". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ a b "Nederlandse Top 40 – Pet Shop Boys" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ a b "Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0673." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Hot 100: Week of March 01, 1986 – West End Girls". Billboard. 1 March 1986. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
- ^ "Please > Charts and Awards > Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ Murray, Gordan (18 February 2021). "Super Bowl Ad Propels Pet Shop Boys' 'Opportunities' on Dance Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
- ^ Copsey, Rob (18 February 2021). "It's a Sin: Pet Shop Boys Classic Sees a Huge Uplift From Channel 4 Series". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Griffiths, George (2 May 2024). "Pet Shop Boys' Official most-streamed songs in the UK". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0527." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 232. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
- ^ "European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 3, no. 5. 8 February 1986. p. 4. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 233. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ^ Oricon Chart Book: Artist Series 1968–1987 (in Japanese). Tokyo: Original Confidence. 1988. ISBN 978-4871310215.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ Currin, Brian. "SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts P". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending May 10, 1986". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Cash Box Top Black Contemporary Singles – Week ending May 24, 1986". Cash Box. Retrieved 22 July 2022.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "Top 100 Singles (January 5–December 28, 1985)" (PDF). Music Week. 18 January 1986. p. 10. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1986". Kent Music Report. No. 650. 29 December 1986 – via Imgur.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1986 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Top 100 Singles of '86". RPM. Vol. 45, no. 14. 27 December 1986. p. 5. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "European Hot 100 Singles – Hot 100 of the Year 1986" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 3, no. 51/52. 27 December 1986. p. 28. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1986" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1986" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Top Selling Singles of 1986". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1986". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Top 100 Singles (January to December 1986)" (PDF). Music Week. 24 January 1987. p. 24. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Dance Club Songs – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "1986 The Year in Music & Video – Top Dance Sales Singles/Albums". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 52. 27 December 1986. p. Y-26. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1986 – Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. 27 December 1986. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1986" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Canadian single certifications – Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls". Music Canada. 22 January 1986.
- ^ "British single certifications – Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ "East 17 West end girls VIVA VHS". YouTube. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ Pattenden, Siân (9 June 1993). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 50. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "East 17 – West End Girls". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 28. 10 July 1993. p. 19. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 30. 24 July 1993. p. 22. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ^ "East 17 – West End Girls" (in French). Les classement single.
- ^ "East 17 – West End Girls" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "East 17 – West End Girls" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 31. 31 July 1993. p. 20. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "East 17: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Top 50 Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. 24 July 1993. p. 20. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 26 June 1993. p. 28. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
- ^ a b Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 90.
- ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 12 June 1993. p. 21.
- ^ "ウエスト・エンド・ガールズ | East 17" [West End Girls | East 17] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ "ウエスト・エンド・ガールズ・リミックス | East 17" [West End Girls Remix | East 17] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
Bibliography
edit- Barrow, Tony; Newby, Julian (1994). Inside the Music Business. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-13660-1.
- Cowton, Michael (1991). Pet Shop Boys: Introspective. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0-283-99825-3.
- Zuberi, Nabeel (2001). Sounds English: Transnational Popular Music. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02620-9.