Bilingual (album)

Overview

Bilingual continues the heavily instrumented arrangements and backing vocals Pet Shop Boys began adding to their music with the album Very. As suggested by the title, the songs on the album have worldwide influences, particularly from Latin America. After the release of their Very album, Pet Shop Boys toured South America and were influenced by the beats and rhythms associated with Latin American music. Three of the songs have bilingual lyrics, mixing the English language with Spanish and Portuguese.

In late 1995, the band ended their contract with the American branch of EMI and signed with Atlantic Records. A renewed marketing campaign was launched to promote the band in the United States via both radio airplay and club play.

The singles released from the album were all successful, with three of them—"Before", "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" and "A Red Letter Day"—reaching the UK top 10. A fourth, the English/Spanish-language composition "Single-Bilingual", peaked within the top 20.

The single "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" peaked at number eight on the UK chart in late August 1996, having already gained a great deal of radio airplay, and secured the band their first appearance on UK music show Top of the Pops in three years. The song soon became the summer party anthem of the year for those people who were not advocates of the UK's ever-growing club culture of the late 1980s and the 1990s, helped by its Portuguese/Brazilian feel, Latino influences and a popular video shot by Bruce Weber set mainly in a water park located in south Florida. "Se a vida é" would spend eight weeks in the Top 40 before dropping out in early November. Numerous dance remixes were also made which helped the track become one of the biggest club hits of the second half of the 1990s. It was eventually released in the US in April 1997 as a double A-side single with "To Step Aside". To promote the package, thirteen mixes of "To Step Aside" were commissioned, most of them released promotionally only.

Earlier in 1996, prior to the album's release, Tennant's vocals were featured on two live recordings by the British group Suede, which were released as B-sides to their single "Filmstar". One track was a cover of the Pet Shop Boys track "Rent" while the second was a duet with Suede singer Brett Anderson on the Suede song "Saturday Night". In addition, the Pet Shop Boys collaborated with David Bowie on the song "Hallo Spaceboy", which reached No. 15 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1996. In late 1996 The song "Up Against It" became a radio hit in Sweden and some other countries but never had a release as a CD single.

Bilingual was recorded at Bunk Junk & Genius, Sarm West and Sarm Hook End, Axis (New York), Bass Hit (New York) and the State House of Broadcasting and Sound Recording (Moscow).

In 1997, Pet Shop Boys decided to perform a series of concerts at the Savoy Theatre in London. To promote the concerts they released a cover version of "Somewhere" from West Side Story and called the concerts "Pet Shop Boys Somewhere". The single reached the UK top 10 and Bilingual was re-released in a "Special Edition", including the new single and a bonus CD of remixes and B-sides. The album was certified Platinum in Spain.

In 2001, Pet Shop Boys reissued their first six studio albums; Bilingual was re-released as Bilingual/Further Listening 1995–1997. The re-released version was not only digitally remastered but came with a second disc of B-sides and previously unreleased material from around the time of the album's original release.

Yet another re-release followed on 9 February 2009, under the title of Bilingual: Remastered. This version contains only the 12 tracks on the original. With the 2009 re-release, the 2001 2CD re-released was discontinued.

Singles

"Before" was released on 22 April 1996 as the lead single from Bilingual. It was co-produced with Danny Tenaglia and featured Barbara Tucker, Carole Sylvan and Karen Bernod on backing vocals. The B-sides were "Hit and Miss", "The Truck Driver and His Mate" and the 1995 version of "In the Night".

In the United States, Atlantic's gay marketing division promoted "Before" with a series of parties at gay nightclubs in cities where the band had previous commercial success. Several hundred clubs received import promotional 12" singles and the subsequent domestic 12" and CD maxi-single releases were focused entirely on remixes. Promotion was also targeted at Top 40, alternative, and college radio formats.

The album's second single, "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)", was co-produced with Chris Porter and featured drums by Glasgow group She-Boom. Remixes were done by Mark Picchiotti, Deep Dish and Pink Noise. The B-sides were "Betrayed" and "How I Learned to Hate Rock 'n' Roll". The single was released as a double A-side in the US, featuring exclusive remixes of "To Step Aside" that were unreleased in the United Kingdom. "To Step Aside" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 1998.

The third single to be released was "Single", which was renamed "Single-Bilingual" because Everything but the Girl had released a different single also called "Single" around the same time. Produced by Pet Shop Boys with drums by She-Boom. The single included remixes of "Single-Bilingual" and a new mix of "Discoteca". The B-sides were "Confidential (Demo for Tina)" and "The Calm Before the Storm".

A new version of "A Red Letter Day" with additional production by Motiv-8 was released as the fourth single from Bilingual. It features Barbara Tucker, Carole Sylvan and Karen Bernod on backing vocals along with the Choral Academy of Moscow. The B-sides were "The Boy Who Couldn't Keep His Clothes On" and "Delusions of Grandeur".

The album's fifth and final single, "Somewhere", was released to promote the duo's residency at the Savoy Theatre in London and to promote a repackage of Bilingual. In the US it was released as a double A-side with "A Red Letter Day". For the UK release, the B-sides were "Disco Potential" and "The View from Your Balcony".

Track listing

1. "Discoteca" – 4:37
2. "Single" – 3:48
3. "Metamorphosis" – 4:03
4. "Electricity" – 4:58
5. "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" – 4:00
6. "It Always Comes as a Surprise" – 6:05
7. "A Red Letter Day" – 5:10
8. "Up Against It" – 4:16
9. "The Survivors" – 4:30
10. "Before" – 4:32
11. "To Step Aside" – 3:48
12. "Saturday Night Forever" – 3:59

Limited edition bonus CD (1997)

1. "Somewhere" (Extended mix) – 10:53
2. "A Red Letter Day" (Trouser Enthusiasts Autoerotic Decapitation mix) – 9:59
3. "To Step Aside" (Brutal Bill mix) – 7:30
4. "Before" (Love to Infinity Classic Paradise mix) – 7:56
5. "The Boy Who Couldn't Keep His Clothes On" (Danny Tenaglia International Club mix) – 6:06
6. "Se a vida é" (Pink Noise mix) – 5:37
7. "Discoteca" (Trouser Enthusiasts Adventure Beyond the Stellar Empire mix) – 9:30

2001 reissue bonus CD: Further Listening 1995–1997

1. "Paninaro '95" – 4:11
2. "In the Night" (1995) – 4:18
3. "The Truck-driver and His Mate" – 3:33
4. "Hit and Miss" – 4:07
5. "How I Learned to Hate Rock 'n' Roll" – 4:38
6. "Betrayed" – 5:20
7. "Delusions of Grandeur" – 5:04
8. "Discoteca" (single version) – 5:14 *
9. "The Calm Before the Storm" – 2:48
10. "Discoteca" (new version) – 3:47
11. "The Boy Who Couldn't Keep His Clothes On" – 6:09 **
12. "A Red Letter Day" (expanded single version) – 5:36 *
13. "The View from Your Balcony" – 3:44
14. "Disco Potential" – 4:07
15. "Somewhere" (extended mix) – 10:55

Personnel