Retro Respect: Pet Shop Boys: What Have I Done to Deserve This

I was thinking yesterday about the closing ceremonies of the Olympics that took place a few weeks back. There were so many likeable British Pop artists that appeared during the huge celebration: Madness, Annie Lennox, George Michael, Jessie J, and yes, even the Spice Girls deserved their spot in the ceremonies. But one group stood out: Pet Shop Boys!

At the event, lead singer Neil Tennant and the still-silent Chris Lowe were shuttled around the stadium performing their still-relevant-sounding West End Girls. I immediately thought about their fresh covers of classic songs: Always on My Mind (made famous by Elvis, as well as Willie Nelson); Go West (by The Village People) and more.

And then there’s the late-‘80s duet with Dusty Springfield: What Have I Done to Deserve This. Springfield of course was a Pop staple in the ‘60s, yet not well known in the ‘80s. This got her name back out there, as well as Quentin Tarantino’s inclusion of her classic, Son of a Preacher Man on the brilliant 1994 Pulp Fiction soundtrack. Her vocal on What Have I... is a wonderful offset to Tennant’s signature style (vocal followed by vacant-sounding spoken rap).

This powdery tinted video features Tennant and Lowe surrounded by Vegas-inspired showgirls as they get ready to go out on stage. (How hot is the “ugly duckling” showgirl wearing the black specs?) Lowe’s surprising dance burst between the curtains is a joy to watch, as well as the ending of the video, which shows the layers of curtains and scrims being raised up on stage, stripping away all the colorful showgirl visuals to just Tennant, Lowe, Springfield and backing musicians. A comment on the highly visual, “I-want-my-MTV” period, where some artists were seen as only style and not a lot of substance? Are the ‘Boys shifting the focus from dance routines and showgirl distraction back to music, real vocals, with Springfield in the middle of a protective circle of bodyguard musicians?

This Retro Respect entry salutes these distinct Pop sounds: the Brit-synth of Pet Shop Boys and the cool comfort of Dusty Springfield. BSo