Previewing Obskur Pet Shop Boys — PSB’s imminent Berlin two-nighter, what follows is a five-by eyewitness account detailing what happened back amid the temperate backdrop of April in Camden.
Helpfully, the title of the pre-recorded entry music the Boys entered the Electric Ballroom stage to each night follows the relevant London showdate.
The writers bringing you this six-part feature, which concludes today Friday July 10, Neil Tennant’s 72nd birthday, are as follows: Catherine Walters (CW), Daniel Higgins (DH), our trusty new scribes Alycia Heath (AH) and Jane White (JW), aided and abetted by yours truly (SP).
Friday 10 April: We’re The Pet Shop Boys (Robbie Williams version)
AH: Then came day five: Friday night and the mood was far from low, thank god. We knew it was the finale but the expectation was still there, as the room filled with electricity. You could feel the emotion as Petheads wanted to give back as much as Neil and Chris had given us. Resplendent in Miyake Pleats Please glamour togs, the formidable Sylvia Mason-James came out to end the week just as she started it: as a soulful powerhouse who helped make the soaring duet of Mr Vain more than raise the roof.
JW: Neil mentioned wryly that this was the concluding night of “what we in the theatre call a season.” Amid crowd chatter they started with Positive Role Model, which was only performed at a handful of shows in 2000, the year it was designated as the first 45 of an aborted greatest hits album.
Though unlike the contemporaneous Happiness Is An Option, which reappeared at the midpoint of tonight’s set, PMR holds the distinction of being cancelled not once but twice, as a PSB version with vocals by Paul Keating got as far as a promo single to promote the cast album of their musical Closer To Heaven before the commercial edition was pulled. Still, the lighting looked good.
The volume seemed to dip on After The Event but it was a nice surprise to hear this powerful piece, as well as other rare B-sides like In His Imagination, and a crystal clear Miserablism. Woah. Despite its producer Harold Faltermeyer lobbying hard, Neil and Chris thought this brilliant atmospheric number “wasn’t single material” and it was culled from the Behaviour LP at the last minute. Imagine having a song as good as that and playing it for the first time ever after 36 years, for one night only (so far).
With its name checking of Adam Ant and Bryan Ferry, the sophisti-jazz of Requiem In Denim And Leopardskin closed the main set and the sisters were swinging out to the Elysium elegy, synthesised tom-toms and all. Though I would have liked more four-on-the-floor stompers, I Dream Of A Better Tomorrow was our last chance for goodbye and a lovely song at the end of a fantastic evening.
Apart from the chatty fans, for me personally the main gripe with the venue concerned the accessible ticket because I struggle to walk. A member of staff did accompany me to my stool on the balcony, which was great, but two flights of stairs were very difficult to get up.
AH: What a week. Five fabulous nights filled with laughter, excitement, nostalgia. Neil and Chris both more relaxed and raw than we’ve ever seen them before. We had everything in Obscure, and the end result proved that concepts for the cognoscenti rather than music for the masses can work.
That they closed every show with a totally unreleased tune was a truly unforgettable experience. I Dream Of A Better Tomorrow couldn’t be more meaningful right now. Thank you to two of the most inspirational artists who have enriched the music industry for over 40 years. Thanks also to the brilliant band and special guests, and thank you to Steve for allowing me to put pen to Pethead.
By all accounts there are a couple of new additions to Berlin’s Obscure set, but it must be too obvious that they might be German titled B-sides? Whatever the songs, hopefully their Turing testimony A Man From The Future will be the next project to savour before too long, for us two former Bletchley bods but also the public at large. Welcome to PSB life.
Written by Jane White and Alycia Heath
Edited by Steve Pafford
