The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music history in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records.
Alphaville is a German synth-pop band formed in Münster in 1982. They gained popularity in the 1980s. The group was founded by singers Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd, and Frank Mertens. They achieved chart success with the singles "Forever Young", "Big in Japan", "Sounds Like a Melody", "The Jet Set", and "Dance with Me". Gold remains the only continuous member of Alphaville. They took their name from Jean-Luc Godard's movie of the same name.
Dubstar are an English indie-dance duo, performing songs with hints of Britpop, dream pop and synth, as well as the occasional pop ballad and guitar-laden rock with industrial twists. The group was formed in 1992 by Steve Hillier and Chris Wilkie in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Sarah Blackwood joined in 1993 as vocalist.
"Union City Blue" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie. The song was featured on their 1979 studio album Eat to the Beat. Written by Debbie Harry and Nigel Harrison, the song was inspired lyrically by Harry's experiences while acting in the 1980 film Union City as well as her New Jersey roots. Musically, the song features a drum part composed by drummer Clem Burke.
"Pledging My Love" is a blues ballad. It was written by Ferdinand Washington and Don Robey and published in 1954.
Kompakt is a Cologne-based electronic music independent record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal techno, and are known for their Total compilation series.
The Passions were a British post-punk/new wave band which formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1983. The Passions' music was grounded mainly in Barbara Gogan's voice and Clive Timperley's delicate Echoplex guitar work. They were considered a one-hit wonder due to their early 1981 single "I'm in Love with a German Film Star".
"Get It On" is a song by the English rock band T. Rex, featured on their 1971 album Electric Warrior. Written by frontman Marc Bolan, "Get It On" was the second chart-topper for T. Rex on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, it was retitled "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" to avoid confusion with a song of the same name by the group Chase.
"Heart" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, Actually (1987). It was released as the album's fourth and final single on 21 March 1988 by Parlophone. The song topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in April 1988, becoming the duo's fourth and final chart-topper to date in the United Kingdom. Its music video was directed by Jack Bond and filmed in Yugoslavia. The group had initially written the song for Madonna, though they never asked her to record it, instead keeping it for themselves.
"Jealousy" is a song originally written in 1982 by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, recorded for their fourth studio album, Behaviour (1990). It was released on 27 May 1991 as the album's fourth and final single in a slightly remixed form, which appears on both Pet Shop Boys' greatest hits albums. It has also been covered by British band Dubstar, and was performed by Robbie Williams at the Pet Shop Boys' 2006 BBC Radio 2 concert at the Mermaid Theatre, a recording of which was released on the Pet Shop Boys' live album Concrete.
Kompakt: Total 7 or Total 7 was released on 21 August 2006. The album is the seventh installment of the Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists and most promising newcomers. All tracks on the vinyl edition are previously unreleased. The CD edition includes all tracks from the vinyl edition except one, and additionally some songs which were at the time of release already available on 12 inch format.
Axel Willner is a Swedish electronic music producer and DJ from Stockholm and currently based in Berlin, best known for his releases as The Field, blending micro-samples of pop songs into atmospheric minimal techno.
Kompakt: Total 8 or Total 8 was released on 13 August 2007. The album is the eighth installment of the Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists and most promising newcomers. All tracks on the vinyl edition are previously unreleased. As with its predecessor, the CD edition includes all tracks from the vinyl edition, and additionally fourteen tracks taken already available 12 inch singles.
"Love Etc." is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their tenth studio album, Yes (2009). It was released on 16 March 2009 as the album's lead single. The single was also made available on the US and Canadian iTunes Stores on 24 March 2009, making it the duo's first single to be released in the US, albeit as a digital download, since "Break 4 Love" in 2001.
Take My Breath Away is the second studio album by Brazilian DJ and producer Gui Boratto. It was released on German label Kompakt, with an internet release on February 23, 2009, a US release on March 3, and a UK release on March 9.
Kompakt: Total 9 or Total 9 was released on 18 August 2008. The album is the ninth installment of the Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists and most promising newcomers.
Kompakt: Total 10 or Total 10 was released on 10 August, 2009. The album is the tenth installment of the Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists and most promising newcomers.
Kompakt: Total 11 or Total 11 was released on 23 August 2010. The album is the eleventh installment of the Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists and most promising newcomers.
"The Gift" is a song by English electronic music duo Way Out West featuring English singer Joanna Law, credited as Miss Joanna Law. It was released on the since defunct record label Deconstruction Records on 2 September 1996. The song reached #15 on the UK Singles Chart that year, and also peaked at #2 on the UK Dance Chart. It is the third single from their eponymous debut studio album Way Out West.
"Stars" is a song by English indie dance trio Dubstar, released in 1995 by EMI and Polydor as the debut single from their first album, Disgraceful (1995). The song peaked at number 40 in the UK, but after being re-released in 1996, it was more successful, reaching number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and number 18 in Scotland, as well as number 69 on the Eurochart Hot 100. Outside Europe, the song was a hit in Israel, peaking at number-one for three weeks. It received a great deal of play time in clubs and many remixes were also created. There were produced three different music videos to promote the single. Italian metal band Lacuna Coil covered it on their 2000 EP Halflife.
