I assumed that I would enjoy any group that takes its name from a Pet Shop Boys song, but I had no idea that there was a Swedish female pop duo out there performing nothing but Pet Shop Boys covers. Thank you, West End Girls, for making my head explode with joy.
The duo has existed since October 2005 and has reached No. 3 on the Swedish pop charts, which I clearly don’t spend enough time following. Regardless of past mistakes, there’s still time for me to catch up, I think, by tracking down their 2006 album of covers Goes Petshopping (or the Japanese version with the far better title, We Love Pet Shop Boys!), and repeatedly listening to their new song “A Little Black Dress,” which is still a PSB cover even if the title doesn’t sound familiar—the track was written for the Pet Shop Boys’ 2001 musical Closer To Heaven but didn’t make the cut, so Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe apparently gifted the song to their copycats. Classy.
“A Little Black Dress”:
“What Have I Done To Deserve This?”:
“Suburbia”:
West End Girls [Official site]
Don’t follow the Swedish pop charts right now. Like 57 of the top 60 are Melodifestivalen losers. And, except for Lili & Sussie there’s not much point listening to those.
Also all winter it’s clogged up with Idol performances, because the Swedish charts allow performances from the show to be on the charts every week. (I’m not sure why, if they get played on the radio or if every song from every show is actually released as a single or what. But it’s dreadful.)
It will probably surprise no one to discover I freakin’ love the West End Girls; I think I discovered them a few years back, and my head did indeed explode with joy at the time. OMG.