PopArt: The Hits is a greatest hits album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was released on 24 November 2003 by Parlophone. The album consists of Pet Shop Boys' top 20 UK singles along with two new tracks, "Miracles" and "Flamboyant", which were also released as singles.
"Always on My Mind" is a ballad written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James, first recorded by Brenda Lee, Gwen McCrae, and Elvis Presley, and first released by McCrae in 1972. The song has been a crossover hit, charting in both the country and western and pop categories.
"Policy of Truth" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 7 May 1990 as the third single from their seventh studio album, Violator (1990). It is the only Depeche Mode single to chart higher on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart than on the UK Singles Chart, and it became the band's second chart-topper on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Brother Brown was a Danish house music duo, consisting of Atle Rønne Thorberg and Henrik Olsen. In the later half of the 1990s and beginning of the 2000s, Brother Brown made numerous remixes, most significantly of Madonna and of the Pet Shop Boys. Three of their remixes reached No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Chart: Madonna's "Die Another Day", Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" and Cher's version of "When the Money's Gone".
"Go West" is a song by American disco group Village People, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album of the same name (1979). It was written by Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and the group's lead singer Victor Willis. The song was successful in the disco scene during the late 1970s. "Go West" found further success when it was covered in 1993 by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys.
"Being Boring" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Behaviour (1990). The song reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart, marking the duo's first single to miss the top 10 since "Opportunities " in 1986.
"Suburbia" is a song by English synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was remixed and released as the fourth single from the duo's debut studio album, Please (1986), and became the band's second UK top-10 entry, peaking at number 8. "Suburbia" has drawn comparisons to the theme from ALF, which coincidentally premiered the day that the song was released.
"It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, Actually (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's second number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks atop the chart. Additionally, the single topped the charts in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, while reaching number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100. A demo of the track was first cut in 1984 with Bobby Orlando, and the song's form in the demo remained intact to the final version, although the released production is far more dramatic.
"Paninaro" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Originally a B-side to the 1986 single "Suburbia", it was released as a limited-edition single in Italy that same year.
"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. 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. The group had initially written the song for Madonna, though they never asked her to record it, instead keeping it for themselves.
"Domino Dancing" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the lead single from their third studio album, Introspective (1988). It reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart and topped the charts in Finland, Poland and Spain.
"So Hard" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Behaviour (1990). The song is about "two people living together; they are totally unfaithful to each other but they both pretend they are faithful and then catch each other out". It peaked at No. 4 in the United Kingdom and reached the top three in at least seven European countries, including Finland, where it reached No. 1.
"It's Alright" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 26 June 1989 as the third and final single from their third studio album, Introspective (1988). It reached number five on the UK Singles Chart. Originally performed by Sterling Void and Paris Brightledge, the song came to the attention of Pet Shop Boys on a house compilation issued by DJ International Records in 1987.
"Yesterday, When I Was Mad" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the fifth and final single from their fifth studio album, Very (1993), on 29 August 1994. The single peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and number four on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. The song was remixed by Jam & Spoon for its single release, among other things removing a compression effect applied to Neil Tennant's voice during the verses. The B-sides included a cover of the Noël Coward song "If Love Were All".
"A Red Letter Day" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 17 March 1997 as the fourth single from their sixth studio album, Bilingual (1996). The single peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, making it another top 10 single for the group. However, it then fell straight out of the UK top 40 the following week. At the time, this was a record as the biggest such fall to ever occur in UK chart history, but it was then beaten the following year by Embrace with their single "My Weakness Is None of Your Business".
"Home and Dry" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 18 March 2002 as the first UK single and the second US single from their eighth studio album, Release (2002). It reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and number 44 on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart.
"New York City Boy" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 27 September 1999 as the second single from their seventh studio album, Nightlife (1999). In the UK, the single peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached the charts in numerous European countries, peaking at number three in Spain, and number four in Finland and Hungary. In the US, the song hit number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and number 53 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart.
"I Don't Know What You Want but I Can't Give It Any More" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their seventh studio album, Nightlife (1999). Released on 19 July 1999 as the album's lead single, it peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart, number two on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, and number 66 on the US Hot Singles Sales chart.
"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.
Ultimate is a greatest hits compilation album by UK electronic music band Pet Shop Boys. It is their third greatest hits album, released on 1 November 2010 by their long-time label Parlophone. The album contains 18 previously released singles, in chronological order, and one new song ("Together"). Ultimate was released to celebrate 25 years since the band's first single release "West End Girls" in standard single-CD and expanded CD/DVD configurations. It charted at number 27 on the UK Albums Chart on 7 November 2010, with first-week sales of 8,886 copies. On the European Top 100 Albums it reached number 50 on 20 November 2010.
