Track-by-Track: From Please to Nonetheless

[TallThinMan]

Being boring is their defining moment. The single release signaled the end of their imperial phase…

‘Domino Dancing’ reaching number 7 in the UK charts in 1988 signalled the end of their imperial phase. That’s when Neil “knew it was all over”.

[daveid]

For me Being Boring, for all it's greatness, has become a bit tired for me over the years. I can not deny what an amazing song it is, but it just doesn't have the impact or resonance it once had.

I have forbidden my relatives to play it at my funeral, threatening to haunt them in the afterlife if they do.

Interesting. For me it never loses its impact, although it took many years before I realised how superb it was. When I bought Discography (two years after it came out) this was the one that I actually found, not exactly boring, but a little pedestrian-sounding. It probably says more about the listener - as we get older we appreciate things in a different way. I also, for what it's worth, love the new Furthermore version.

[Leonidas]

Being boring is their defining moment. The single release signaled the end of their imperial phase…

‘Domino Dancing’ reaching number 7 in the UK charts in 1988 signalled the end of their imperial phase. That’s when Neil “knew it was all over”.

It’s all about opinions but I believe Lleonard Pler is more accurate than Mr T.

[Pinhead44]

If I was stuck forevermore on a desert island with just a volleyball and one song I could take, this would be it.

I don't want it played at my funeral either though, I want something more upbeat like The Way it Used to Be.

I need to tell my family this, otherwise they will assume I want Being Boring.

(10/10)

[Pinhead44]

Being boring is their defining moment. The single release signaled the end of their imperial phase…

‘Domino Dancing’ reaching number 7 in the UK charts in 1988 signalled the end of their imperial phase. That’s when Neil “knew it was all over”.

It’s all about opinions but I believe Lleonard Pler is more accurate than Mr T.

Neil did say that about Domino dancing, but in truth I think the imperial phase lasted until So Hard.

The disappointment for Domino dancing was the (UK) first week charting position, but it did then stay in the top 10 for 3 consecutive weeks, as did the subsequent 2 other singles from Introspective, and So Hard.

What Being Boring (and the Behaviour album) did, was completely divide the opinion of the common fan. I had friends who loved them to that point, but hated Behaviour, and they never subsequently went back to listening to them again. However, my Dad, who always complained that everything pre-Behaviour sounded 'exactly the same' (it didn't !), loved Behaviour, and has been a fan ever since.

Being Boring's low position in the charts must have been Parlophone's worst nightmare, because (unlike Please) there was nothing left on the album that was going to reverse that !

It was a brave release by the boys. For me, they should have been even braver, and replaced So Hard with Miserablism.

[TallThinMan]

They didn’t have any UK number ones from ‘Introspective’, ergo they were no longer imperial.

[Too Many Shadows]

They didn’t have any UK number ones from ‘Introspective’, ergo they were no longer imperial.

Could it be argued that Behaviour expanded their empire?

[Leonidas]

They deserve MASSIVE credit for releasing albums like Behaviour, Release, and Elysium.

[Leonidas]

For me Very/Alternative was still the imperial phase. By Bilingual it all dried up.

[Leonidas]

How can Domino dancing be the end of the Imperial Phase when Introspective became their biggest ever selling album plus all the singles were UK top 10!!

[Kaykay808]

I remember when I bought Behaviour on CD, the most commercial song that struck out for me was 'How Can I Expect...' with it's bouncy swing beat that the casual fan would find it fun and easily accessible to their ears. If this was released before the album as tbe second single, I'm pretty sure it would have been Top 5, but they released Being Boring, a peice of art instead with its moody and warm sound after the album release which was always not going to be exclusive as everyone had heard it beforehand on the album. I could be wrong but Ive always felt that's why it suffered a low chart position.

[Patrick Bateman]

Loved Being Boring from the first moment. I remember reading a review before I heard it, possibly in Record Mirror, talking about how it felt like a comb running down the back of your neck, which is an odd simile but I kind of understand.

Always thought it was the obvious second single as the melody is so strong. Was stunned by it entering the chart at number 36. With hindsight, it's probably because after the dancefloor vibe of Introspective and dramatic orchestral stabs of So Hard, it feels understated. Neil whispers the lyric in your ear like a confidant.

I didn't have MTV but remember catching glimpses of the video on The Chart Show and round my friend's house. It did feel different, as though they'd created something that was truly art. And so it remains today. It probably is their greatest single as it transcends the contemporary https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/u ... 25/750140/ (Timmy Mallet's follow-up single bought by more people) and becomes a timeless elegy every time you hear it.

[jasonjohn]

Imagine being them. Already famous for pure pop stylings. They take an extra year off between albums. And they return with this strong, lovely mature "bohemian" track. After being pigeon-holed and dismissed by some critics, it must have been so exciting to be them at this time and to return with these new fresh colours.

They didn't really take a year off though did they. They worked on Liza's album, half of Dusty's album, the first Electronic single and undertook their first ever tour. Pretty busy!

True! More referencing the visibility for Pet Shop Boys as a group, even if they themselves were very active with other things

[petshopgrrl]

Track 45 : Being Boring
Behaviour Further Listening Disc 1 - Track 1

It's 1990 and the fourth studio album lands. "Behaviour." or "Behavior." depending on where you are in the world. Is this the only PSB album with two different spelt titles for the same content?

The second single from the album opens Side A - so good, it is the only encore ending song that suits the Dreamworld Tour. Beautiful.

I remember Being Boring in 1990. I wasn't into PSB so it was... boring. Didn't rise above the noise that I was into at the time.

Now I'm a convert, I can see its appeal, but that's because you have to LISTEN to the story. I feel that second verse viscerally - I did that train ride to London (although it was up from the south, not down from the north). And the third verse is a gut punch.

Whoever mentioned the liminal harp marking the passage of time - I had never thought of it like that but yeah, you're right! Although when I first heard it, I thought I was about to go through the round window in PlaySchool... (70s flashback alert!)

[TallThinMan]

How can Domino dancing be the end of the Imperial Phase when Introspective became their biggest ever selling album plus all the singles were UK top 10!!

I’m not going to say any more on the subject after this because it’s off topic for this discussion. As Neil invented the term “imperial phase” when he was a journalist, as Neil is in the Pet Shop Boys and as Neil has said that their imperial phase was over when ‘Domino Dancing’ failed to top the UK charts (as their two prior singles had) then that’s good enough for me.