‘Nightlife’: A Track-By-Track Guide To Every Song On Pet Shop Boys’ Transitional Album

Closer To Heaven

At one stage, the entire album was to be built around the musical that Tennent and Lowe were working on with playwright Jonathan Harvey. Those plans changed, but Closer To Heaven did give the subsequent stage production (which opened in London’s West End in May 2001, 18 months after Nightlife’s release) its title and, of course, featured in the project. It was produced by Craig Armstrong, who has scored dozens of hit movies, and is another soaring dance number that Tennant and Lowe later slowed down for a ballad interpretation.

I Don’t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give It Anymore

Nightlife’s first single, and a song written in the Sussex studio, near Tennant’s then home, where some of the album was recorded, I Don’t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give It Anymore is arguably one of the duo’s most definitive breakup songs (alongside 1990’s So Hard). Produced by David Morales, this Giorgio Moroder-inspired midtempo track peaked at No.15 in the UK and went all the way to No.2 in the US dance listings. Its Pedro Romhanyi-directed video showcased the flamboyant costumes and visual identity adopted for the album, which softened as the promotional campaign continued into the new millennium.

Happiness Is An Option

One of Tennant and Lowe’s favourite songs on Nightlife, Happiness Is An Option was written in response to a claim by the duo’s US record label that the album lacked an obvious single. It’s an outlier on the record: midtempo, built around a Neil Tennant rap and a Rachmaninov sample and featuring Sylvia Mason-Jones on vocals. Whether it was ever considered for a stateside single release is lost to history, but, as a distant cousin of the Dusty Springfield duet What Have I Done To Deserve This?, it would have been a strong candidate.

You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk

Nightlife’s highest charting single in the UK, You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk is a masterful ballad that’s among the best Pet Shop Boys songs. Its glorious melody has an effortless, sweeping melancholia, and the duo seriously considered passing the song to another artist to record, such is its universal appeal. Country legend Dolly Parton was one likely candidate – no doubt the lightly twanging guitars helped spark that idea. Another Pedro Romhanyi video is a winner, too, making the song a worthy candidate for this strong album’s finest moment.

Vampires

Craig Armstrong produces this moody slice of electronica, which also featured in the Closer To Heaven stage show. There’s a shuffle-y swingbeat vibe to the song, which is about the darker sides of the club scene, and it arguably stands as the centrepiece of the entire album. Written three years before Nightlife’s release, Vampires certainly seems to have inspired the musical that later emerged. Actor Frances Barber’s pithy monologue, delivered over the version on the Closer To Heaven cast recording, was one of the show’s indisputable highlights.

Radiophonic

Another Rollo club banger, Radiophonic has a hedonistic 80s throwback riff that hasn’t dated a bit. Tennant has admitted that the song’s title was borne of his admiration for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s pioneering early electronic music, particularly their work on the Doctor Who theme tune (he remembers watching the first episode back in 1963).

The Only One

Originally created for Closer To Heaven but later cut from the project, The Only One features a Craig Armstrong production framing a strong pop melody. As with a lot of Nightlife’s songs, the storytelling in the lyrics is very direct, but this is another universal ballad. As Lowe observes in the sleevenotes to the expanded 2017 reissue of the album, subtitled Further Listening 1996-2000, “There are a lot of slow tracks for a dance album, aren’t there? I suppose it’s not a dance album, it’s a night album.”

Boy Strange

An atmospheric curiosity built around piano and guitar, Boy Strange gives a hint to the more acoustic direction of the duo’s next record, 2002’s Release, and is about as indie-rock as you could ever imagine Pet Shop Boys getting. The fact it was produced by Rollo offers testament to his versatility, and the electronic climax adds a vibrant top note. Another album highlight.

In Denial

When it was announced that Kylie Minogue would guest on In Denial, fans expected a pop-club banger, yet this theatrical gem is anything but. It came just before Minogue’s triumphant pop return with 2000’s Light Years album, and is another Closer To Heaven number. It’s not far removed from Minogue’s classic Nick Cave duet, Where The Wild Roses Grow, and thus is a firm fan favourite.

New York City Boy

Nightlife’s most out-there pop moment, New York City Boy is a retro throwback crafted by David Morales, who apparently suggested creating a “Village People anthem”. While New York City Boy failed to scale the heights of PSB’s actual Village People cover, 1993’s Go West, it was an obvious pick for single release, peaking at No.14 in the UK and doing predictably well on the US dance charts, where it went to No.1. This song and You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk both made BBC Radio 2’s 2024 listeners’ poll of the 30 Ultimate Pet Shop Boys Songs (at No.27 and No.26, respectively). Disco legend Vince Montana created the fantastic string arrangement.

Footsteps

Nightlife’s seductive conclusion, Footsteps leans heavily into a Chi-Lites-like synth-sitar riff that nicely complements a broody melody brimming with poignant end-of-the-evening reflection. It’s another solid pop track and a fitting footnote to a diverse but strong album.

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