"How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?" is a "satire of late-eighties rock stars relentlessly saving the planet", according to lyricist Neil Tennant.[4] The song addresses those who take on fashionable causes and trivialise them. In an interview for Record Mirror, Tennant was asked if it was written specifically about Sting; he replied that it was not about any one person but that he had several people in mind.[5]
"How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?" was originally intended for solo release as the third single from Behaviour.[1] After the second single, "Being Boring", peaked at number 20, breaking the duo's run of 10 consecutive top 10 songs,[7] they decided they needed a release that was more likely to be a hit. The song was drastically remixed in a ragga style by Brothers in Rhythm, and it was included on a double A-side with a non-album cover version of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" in a medley with "Can't Take My Eyes Off You".[8] It entered the UK Singles Chart at number seven on 23 March 1991 and peaked at number four the following week.[9]
In the United States, "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?" was released separately in February 1991.[10] A remix of "Being Boring", which had not been a single in the US,[2] was included as an additional track. The release reached number 10 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music 12-inch Singles Sales chart.[11]
Of interest to collectors, EMI USA commissioned dance DJ David Morales to create five remixes that were released to clubs and DJs on a limited promotion 12-inch. Morales would later work with the duo co-writing and co-producing the 1999 single "New York City Boy".
Artwork
The US single cover (pictured) featured a photograph of Tennant with sunglasses and a bouquet of flowers in the manner of a rock star. Chris Lowe is in the background. The picture was taken by Lawrence Watson at Narita Airport in Tokyo during the Pet Shop Boys' first tour in 1989. The UK double A-side single used an edited version of the same photo.[12]
Music video
The music video for "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?" was directed by Liam Kan. It featured street dancers Trevor Henry and Mark Martin, who also joined the Performance Tour, as well as several women posing in a white space. Lowe played keyboards and danced, wearing a red bobble hat with red glasses and a blue Champion hat with green glasses. Tennant's outfits included a BOY belt buckle and an Elvis Presley costume as he sang and lectured from a podium. A speeded-up version of the video was included at the beginning of the video for "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)". The two complementary videos were filmed at the same time.[12]
The version of the song used for the music video was also released on 7-inch vinyl and cassette single. Due to its playing time of 4:10 minutes, it is often confused with the similar "Perfect Attitude mix",[14] which has an identical playing time, but a different introduction.
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