Why do we say the "Imperial Phase" finished in the 80's?

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Nickname
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Why do we say the "Imperial Phase" finished in the 80's?

#1 Post by Nickname »

Sometimes many people talk about PSB like a 80's pop duo. I know pretty well most of PSB hits came from that era but I always say the "Imperival Phase" finished in the 80's with "Very" (I know Neil didn't say the same thing).

My reason are two:

1) "Go West" was a global hit: it was Number 1 in many countries and a Top 3 almost everywhere (at least in Europe).

2) "Very" is the best selling album of all time by PSB (around 5 millions). The only PSB album Number 1 in UK.

So for me, the "Imperial Phase" finished in the 90's, not in the 80's-
Last edited by Nickname on Thu 08 Mar 2018, 10:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phrase" finished in the 80's?

#2 Post by Butcher Of Bucharest »

Its actually "Phase" and defines the period from Its a sin to Heart, which had 3 number ones.

Neil doesn't extend this period to include Domino Dancing as he feels this wasn't as big a hit as expected.

Granted, their top 5 hits continued and include Devices, Its Alright before Go West but the phase ended before with Heart

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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phrase" finished in the 80's?

#3 Post by ArtHist »

I think it's a bit of a shame that Go West is considered one of their 'signature' tunes to be honest. It's a bit obvious and lacks the subtlety of the majority of their songs.

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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phrase" finished in the 80's?

#4 Post by tottenhammattspurs »

Imperial Phase was the 80’s. Very was an “encore”.
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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phrase" finished in the 80's?

#5 Post by popfreak »

Because the rest of the singles from very didn't do well around world. Not one broke the top ten in any other country except Can you forgive her which got to 7 in the uk

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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phrase" finished in the 80's?

#6 Post by Disco. »

Very is not their bestselling album, Introspective is. This has been made clear several times.

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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phrase" finished in the 80's?

#7 Post by Nickname »

Disco. wrote: Very is not their bestselling album, Introspective is. This has been made clear several times.

According to this, "Very" was Number 1 in more countries tan "Introspective" and recieved more certifications than "Introspective":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Shop_Boys_discography

Actually (2 Number 1):

UK: 3× Platinum[3]
CAN: Platinum[16]
FIN: Platinum[17]
GER: Platinum[18]
US: Gold[5]

Introspectie (1 Number 1):

UK: 2× Platinum[3]
CAN: Platinum[16]
FIN: Gold[17]
GER: Gold[18]
US: Gold[5]

Very (5 Number 1):

UK: Platinum[3]
AUS: Platinum[19]
AUT: Gold[20]
FR: Gold[21]
SWE: Gold[22]
SWI: Platinum[23]
CAN: Platinum[16]
FIN: Gold[17]
GER: Platinum[18]
US: Gold[5]

According to this, "Actually" sold 4,5 M but "Very" sold 5 M.
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anexo:Dis ... _Shop_Boys

So, I don't see so clear.

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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phrase" finished in the 80's?

#8 Post by y3potential »

By responding to these threads you are only encouraging him/her...
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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phrase" finished in the 80's?

#9 Post by Nickname »

y3potential wrote: Wed 07 Mar 2018, 7:57 pm By responding to these threads you are only encouraging him/her...
Oh, poor y3pontential. Don't worry, this is for you:
https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-stop-farting#1

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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phrase" finished in the 80's?

#10 Post by G_Goalden »

I like to think we are currently in the Renaissance phase.
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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phrase" finished in the 80's?

#11 Post by jasonjohn »

The phrase phase craze is a bit silly IMO.

Neil was talking about a relatively short period where they had hits. They were relatively new and every single had good exposure and anticipation.

Some ppl seem to confuse that with evidence their older stuff is better than their newer stuff, which is weird since much of their "classic" stuff is well outside of the Imperial.

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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phrase" finished in the 80's?

#12 Post by Disco. »

nickname wrote: Wed 07 Mar 2018, 7:46 pm
Disco. wrote: Very is not their bestselling album, Introspective is. This has been made clear several times.

According to this, "Very" was Number 1 in more countries tan "Introspective" and recieved more certifications than "Introspective":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Shop_Boys_discography

Actually (2 Number 1):

UK: 3× Platinum[3]
CAN: Platinum[16]
FIN: Platinum[17]
GER: Platinum[18]
US: Gold[5]

Introspectie (1 Number 1):

UK: 2× Platinum[3]
CAN: Platinum[16]
FIN: Gold[17]
GER: Gold[18]
US: Gold[5]

Very (5 Number 1):

UK: Platinum[3]
AUS: Platinum[19]
AUT: Gold[20]
FR: Gold[21]
SWE: Gold[22]
SWI: Platinum[23]
CAN: Platinum[16]
FIN: Gold[17]
GER: Platinum[18]
US: Gold[5]

According to this, "Actually" sold 4,5 M but "Very" sold 5 M.
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anexo:Dis ... _Shop_Boys

So, I don't see so clear.
Pet shop boys and Parlophone, have stated that Introspective is their bestselling album.
Not everything you read on wiki is true :roll:

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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phrase" finished in the 80's?

#13 Post by TallThinMan »

I think the whole imperial phase thing is more about how it felt at the time. During the Actually era it felt like PSB were unstoppable and they were one of the biggest pop acts in the world. They had huge visibility. Also, don't forget that the relative commercial failure of Behaviour came before Very, so by definition it couldn't have been one imperial phase because the run of hits had been broken.
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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phase" finished in the 80's?

#14 Post by tottenhammattspurs »

To be fair, Nickname was asking about the “Impervial phase”. The time when water wouldn’t soak through them In which case it wa probably the Se A Vida Es video......
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Re: Why do we say the "Imperial Phase" finished in the 80's?

#15 Post by Nickname »

According to many of you the "Imperial Phase" is basically "Actually"
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