Pet Shop Boys will release the final set of albums in their definitive Catalogue: 1985-2012 series of reissues of all their Parlophone studio albums. This fourth batch of releases will see the PSB albums Behaviour from 1990, the 1993 album Very and the 1996 album Bilingual reissued on August 31. The albums have been remastered and repackaged, and will be accompanied by Further listening albums of master quality bonus tracks – including demos, extended mixes and remixes of tracks from the albums and others created in the same period as each record. The albums are available to pre-order now.
Behaviour was Pet Shop Boys’ fourth studio album, recorded largely in Munich, Germany at co-producer Harold Faltermeyer’s studio. The album was then completed at London’s Sarm West Studios, and was released in October 1990 – hitting #2 on the UK Album Chart and going on to earn platinum certification.
The LP is seen by some as one of Pet Shop Boys’ most contemplative and moving records, and features the singles So hard, How can you expect to be taken seriously and their classic track Being boring. This ‘Catalogue’ release of Behaviour features Further listening bonus tracks such as an extended mix of Where the streets have no name (I can’t take my eyes off you) and an ambient mix of Music for boys – both of which are previously unreleased on CD.
The 1993 album Very was a #1 record for Pet Shop Boys in the UK, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, went to #2 in Australia and has to date sold in excess of five million copies worldwide. It contains five singles, including their cover of Go West – a #2 hit for PSB – and lead single Can you forgive her?.
Stylistically, Very could be said to serve as an antithesis to Behaviour, insofar as the production and lyrical themes are generally more upbeat and positive than those of the previous album. Visually, too, PSB reinvented their image to incorporate more vivid colours and brightness, including Very’s now-iconic “Lego” album cover. The album is also the first to be produced almost entirely by Pet Shop Boys themselves – with additional programming and production courtesy of Pete Gleadall and Stephen Hague. This ‘Catalogue’ issue of Very includes a Further listening disc of bonus material, such as the previously-unreleased tracks Falling (a demo for Kylie Minogue), and a 1992 twelve-inch mix of Go West.
Released in September 1996, Bilingual was the sixth studio album to be released by Pet Shop Boys. It was a UK top five record upon release and included five singles, all of which were UK top 20 singles. As is often the case with PSB records, Bilingual comprises many influences, including those of the music of Latin America, due partly to the Spanish and Latin music Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe had been listening to prior to recording the album.
The album was recorded by PSB with Danny Tenaglia and Chris Porter, and has since gained platinum certification in Spain, and Gold in the UK. This ‘Catalogue’ release of Bilingual includes a Further listening CD of bonus tracks, with previously-unreleased new versions of Discoteca and A red letter day.
The Catalogue: 1985-2012 reissues of Behaviour, Very and Bilingual will be packaged with an extensive booklet in which Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe discuss each song, illustrated with many archive photographs. The entire project is designed by Farrow.
The reissue series began last year with the release of Nightlife, Release and Fundamental, which all entered the Top 40 album charts, followed by re-issues of Yes and Elysium, and later Please, Actually and Introspective. The reissues of Please, Actually, Introspective, Behaviour, Very and Bilingual were originally released with bonus Further listening albums in 2001 and are being newly remastered with their original track-listings for this project.
