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Suburbia (song)
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Suburbia (song)
"Suburbia" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their debut album, Please (1986). It was re-recorded with producer Julian Mendelsohn for release as the fourth single from the album. Peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, "Suburbia" was the band's second top 10 hit after "West End Girls", and in their view it saved them from becoming a one-hit wonder.
The song's primary inspiration was the 1983 Penelope Spheeris film Suburbia, and its depiction of violence and squalor in the suburbs of Los Angeles. The recent events of the Brixton riots of 1981 and of 1985 were another influence. The lyrics convey the boredom of suburbia ("I only wanted something else to do but hang around") and the underlying tension among disaffected youth. The music is punctuated by sounds of suburban violence, riots, and smashing glass, along with barking dogs—a motif derived from scenes in Spheeris's film.
"Suburbia" was written in 1985 at Terminal Studios in London. Chris Lowe composed the music; according to him, the bassline was inspired by Madonna's hit song of that time, "Into the Groove". Neil Tennant wrote the lyrics afterwards. They added car crash samples from an Emulator and riot noises from a film. The duo did not have time to rework the track during the 10-week recording session for Please, and the album version is essentially a polished version of their demo.
A completely new version was made for the single, using barking dogs recorded at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, audio of riots obtained from the BBC, and real breaking glass. Julian Mendelsohn brought in Fairlight programmer Andy Richards, who created a horn section sound with the synth line. Gary Barnacle played saxophone on the track. The single version is an edit of a longer piece called "Suburbia (The Full Horror)", which includes a spoken word segment with the refrain, "Suburbia, where the suburbs met utopia…", and ends in a series of explosions.
Pet Shop Boys had thought that their career might be on a downward trajectory when "Love Comes Quickly", the follow-up single to their number one hit "West End Girls", only reached 19 on the UK Singles Chart, but "Suburbia" alleviated those concerns. In a 2023 interview with Classic Pop, Tennant recalled, "When we finished ["Suburbia"] with Julian Mendelsohn, I thought: 'Now, that is a hit record', and it was huge, particularly in Germany and France. "Suburbia" led to "It's a Sin" and everything that followed."
"Suburbia" was released on 22 September 1986. It spent four weeks in the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, with two weeks at its peak position of number eight. The duo promoted the single heavily in Europe, where it received widespread radio airplay. In West Germany, "Suburbia" was in the top 10 for nine weeks from 10 November 1986 to 12 January 1987; its peak position was number two, which it held for four weeks. The song was also a top 10 hit in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Sweden, and Austria (see Charts).
The B-side of the 7-inch single had Lowe's first lead vocal appearance, "Paninaro". A 7-inch EP in a double pack sleeve, limited to 25,000 copies, came with the standard single on one disc and a Shep Pettibone remix of "Love Comes Quickly" backed with "Jack the Lad" and the short edit "Suburbia Part 2" on the other. "Suburbia (The Full Horror)" was released as a 12-inch single and is also on Disco and the reissue Please: Further Listening 1984–1986.
The 7-inch version of "Suburbia" has been included on the compilation albums Discography: The Complete Singles Collection, Ultimate, and Smash: The Singles 1985–2020. PopArt: The Hits includes the "Video Mix" from the music video, which has an intro featuring the spoken word refrain.
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Suburbia (song)
"Suburbia" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their debut album, Please (1986). It was re-recorded with producer Julian Mendelsohn for release as the fourth single from the album. Peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, "Suburbia" was the band's second top 10 hit after "West End Girls", and in their view it saved them from becoming a one-hit wonder.
The song's primary inspiration was the 1983 Penelope Spheeris film Suburbia, and its depiction of violence and squalor in the suburbs of Los Angeles. The recent events of the Brixton riots of 1981 and of 1985 were another influence. The lyrics convey the boredom of suburbia ("I only wanted something else to do but hang around") and the underlying tension among disaffected youth. The music is punctuated by sounds of suburban violence, riots, and smashing glass, along with barking dogs—a motif derived from scenes in Spheeris's film.
"Suburbia" was written in 1985 at Terminal Studios in London. Chris Lowe composed the music; according to him, the bassline was inspired by Madonna's hit song of that time, "Into the Groove". Neil Tennant wrote the lyrics afterwards. They added car crash samples from an Emulator and riot noises from a film. The duo did not have time to rework the track during the 10-week recording session for Please, and the album version is essentially a polished version of their demo.
A completely new version was made for the single, using barking dogs recorded at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, audio of riots obtained from the BBC, and real breaking glass. Julian Mendelsohn brought in Fairlight programmer Andy Richards, who created a horn section sound with the synth line. Gary Barnacle played saxophone on the track. The single version is an edit of a longer piece called "Suburbia (The Full Horror)", which includes a spoken word segment with the refrain, "Suburbia, where the suburbs met utopia…", and ends in a series of explosions.
Pet Shop Boys had thought that their career might be on a downward trajectory when "Love Comes Quickly", the follow-up single to their number one hit "West End Girls", only reached 19 on the UK Singles Chart, but "Suburbia" alleviated those concerns. In a 2023 interview with Classic Pop, Tennant recalled, "When we finished ["Suburbia"] with Julian Mendelsohn, I thought: 'Now, that is a hit record', and it was huge, particularly in Germany and France. "Suburbia" led to "It's a Sin" and everything that followed."
"Suburbia" was released on 22 September 1986. It spent four weeks in the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, with two weeks at its peak position of number eight. The duo promoted the single heavily in Europe, where it received widespread radio airplay. In West Germany, "Suburbia" was in the top 10 for nine weeks from 10 November 1986 to 12 January 1987; its peak position was number two, which it held for four weeks. The song was also a top 10 hit in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Sweden, and Austria (see Charts).
The B-side of the 7-inch single had Lowe's first lead vocal appearance, "Paninaro". A 7-inch EP in a double pack sleeve, limited to 25,000 copies, came with the standard single on one disc and a Shep Pettibone remix of "Love Comes Quickly" backed with "Jack the Lad" and the short edit "Suburbia Part 2" on the other. "Suburbia (The Full Horror)" was released as a 12-inch single and is also on Disco and the reissue Please: Further Listening 1984–1986.
The 7-inch version of "Suburbia" has been included on the compilation albums Discography: The Complete Singles Collection, Ultimate, and Smash: The Singles 1985–2020. PopArt: The Hits includes the "Video Mix" from the music video, which has an intro featuring the spoken word refrain.