Suburbia (song)

1986 single by Pet Shop Boys

"Suburbia"
Single by Pet Shop Boys
from the album Please
B-side
  • "Paninaro"
  • "Jack the Lad"
Released22 September 1986 (1986-09-22)[1]
Genre
  • Synth-pop
  • dance-pop[2]
Length
  • 5:06 (album version)
  • 4:02 (single version)
  • 5:11 (video mix)
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
  • Neil Tennant
  • Chris Lowe
Producer(s)Julian Mendelsohn
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)"
(1986) 		"Suburbia"
(1986) 		"It's a Sin"
(1987)

"Suburbia" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was remixed and released as the fourth single from the duo's debut studio album, Please (1986), and became the band's second UK top-10 entry, peaking at number 8.[3] "Suburbia" has drawn comparisons to the theme from ALF, which coincidentally premiered the day that the song was released.[4] The (uncredited) saxophone part on this track was played by Gary Barnacle.

Background

The song's primary inspiration is the 1983 Penelope Spheeris film Suburbia, and its depiction of violence and squalor in the suburbs of Los Angeles; in addition, the tension of the Brixton riots of 1981 and of 1985 hanging in recent memory led Neil Tennant of the duo to thinking about the boredom of suburbia and the underlying tension among disaffected youth that sparked off the riots at the least provocation.

The various versions of the song are punctuated by sounds of suburban violence, riots and smashing glass, as well as snarling dogs on the re-recorded single version (extended even further on the music video), which were derived from typical scenes in suburbia. The version used for the video was the song that appeared on the PopArt compilation in 2003.

Music video

The video was directed by Eric Watson, and features footage of the duo in a Los Angeles suburb, as they happened to be there for that year's MTV Video Music Awards and a contrasting image of British suburbia, filmed in Kingston-upon-Thames, a suburb of south-west London.

B-sides

The B-sides to the single are "Jack the Lad" and "Paninaro". The "Full Horror" mix of "Suburbia" and the "Italian" mix of "Paninaro", both appeared on the Pet Shop Boys' album Disco and were later collected on the 2001 two-disc re-release of "Please".

Track listings

7-inch: Parlophone / R 6140 (UK)

  1. "Suburbia" – 4:06
  2. "Paninaro" – 4:37

2×7-inch: Parlophone / RD 6140 (UK)

  1. "Suburbia" – 4:05
  2. "Paninaro" – 4:37
  3. "Love Comes Quickly" [Shep Pettibone Mastermix] (Early Fade) – 6:12
  4. "Jack the Lad" – 4:30
  5. "Suburbia Pt. Two" – 2:20

MC: Parlophone / TC R 6140 (UK)

  1. "Suburbia" – 4:06
  2. "Paninaro" – 4:37
  3. "Jack the Lad" – 4:30
  4. "Love Comes Quickly" [Shep Pettibone Mastermix] – 7:34

MC: Parlophone / TR 6140 (UK)

  1. "Suburbia" (The Full Horror) – 8:55
  2. "Paninaro" – 4:37
  3. "Jack the Lad" – 4:30
  4. "Love Comes Quickly" [Shep Pettibone Mastermix] (Even Earlier Fade) – 5:31

12-inch: Parlophone / 12 R 6140 (UK)

  1. "Suburbia" (The Full Horror) – 8:55
  2. "Paninaro" – 4:37
  3. "Jack the Lad" – 4:30

12-inch: EMI America / V-19226 (US)

  1. "Suburbia" (The Full Horror) – 8:55
  2. "Suburbia" (7-inch version) – 4:06
  3. "Jack the Lad" – 4:30

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Suburbia"
Chart (1986–1987) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 1
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[7] 11
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] 13
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10] 2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 5
Spain (AFYVE)[13] 2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 6
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 3
UK Singles (OCC)[3] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 70
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[17] 46
US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[18] 37
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[19] 79
West Germany (Official German Charts)[20] 2
Weekly chart performance for "Suburbia"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[21] 60

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Suburbia"
Chart (1987) Position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[22] 55
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 80
West Germany (Official German Charts)[24] 55

In Australia, "Suburbia" missed the Kent Music Report Top 100 Singles chart, but was listed as one of the singles receiving significant sales reports beyond the top 100 for one week in November 1986, being ranked tenth on this list.[25]

References

  1. ^ "Suburbia". petshopboys.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ a b "Pet Shop Boys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Suburbialf – Totally 80's Club".
  5. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Suburbia" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  6. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Suburbia" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  7. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 3, no. 48. 6 December 1986. p. 12. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Suburbia". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Pet Shop Boys" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Suburbia" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  12. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Suburbia". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  13. ^ Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  14. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Suburbia". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  15. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Suburbia". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  16. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending January 17, 1987". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pet Shop Boys – Suburbia" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  21. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  22. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1987 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  23. ^ "Top 100 Singles (January to December 1986)" (PDF). Music Week. 24 January 1987. p. 24. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  24. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1987" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  25. ^ "Singles receiving significant sales reports beyond the Top 100". Kent Music Report. No. 645. 24 November 1986 – via Imgur.

Further reading

  • Heath, Chris (2001). Suburbia. In Please / Further Listening 1984–1986 [CD liner notes]. London: Pet Shop Boys Partnership.
  • "Interviews: Pet Shop Boys". Remember the Eighties. March 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2006.
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