Simon Dillon
1 min readNov 5, 2022

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I'd add B-sides collection Alternative by Pet Shop Boys to this list. However, I still think, in true pithy Pet Shop Boys fashion, it should have been called "Besides".

It is well known among Pet Shop Boys fans that their B-sides frequently surpass the A-sides, and in some cases it is an outrage they weren't singles, let alone not being on the albums. Example: 1993's Shameless (Go West B-side) should have been the final track on Very, rather than Go West. Go West should have been the B-side. The scathing satire of Shameless is, if anything, even more relevant today. And the song is an absolute blast; an up-tempo stunner. Listen at high volume.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG5oi1FGf_I

Other great Pet Shop Boys B-sides (from various eras) include: A New Life, Do I Have To?, Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend, Decadance, Some Speculation, The Ghost of Myself, After the Event, In Bits, and An Open Mind.

Oh, and some of their limited edition expanded albums feature stunning bonus tracks. The "Fundamentalism" edition of Fundamental, for example, has a magnificent track called Fugitive (inspired by the horrible executions of homosexuals in Iran).

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Simon Dillon
Simon Dillon

Written by Simon Dillon

Novelist and Short Story-ist. Film and Book Lover. If you cut me, I bleed celluloid and paper pulp. Blog: www.simondillonbooks.wordpress.com

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