12RX034: Please (pt1)

Graham and Chris return to 1986 for the second half of their 40th-anniversary Please deep dive, placing Pet Shop Boys’ debut into the wider world it landed in - Cold War tension, Chernobyl panic, post-Live Aid earnestness, brick-sized mobile phones and a pop landscape buzzing with the likes of A‑ha, Five Star and Madonna. From there they go track‑by‑track, and enter Advision’s world of talking calculators, existential mathematics, singing lessons, sax solos, misfiring sequencers, kebab-house retsina, studio parties, drunken TV appearances, tubular bells and truculent trombonists. Along the way they unearth lost demos, unlikely influences, rare remixes, and some of Neil’s first and finest lyrical blueprints.  What emerges is a love letter to London, to escape, to youth and to hedonism. Forty years on, and Please still sounds like the beginning of something. This season the Pod Cast Boys are joining Pet Shop Boys in supporting War Child — donate via our JustGiving page and get your name in the credits of a future episode: https://www.justgiving.com/page/pet-shop-boys-in-depth-podcast Check out our T‑shirt store — all profits from our exclusive designs support the podcast: https://in-depth.teemill.com Find extra In Depth content on our social channels: Facebook: http://tiny.cc/3jhcvz Bluesky: http://tiny.cc/jc7h001 X: http://tiny.cc/lc7h001

Unboxing the opening chapter of their 40th-anniversary super deluxe celebration of Please, Graham and Chris rewind to PSB Year Zero - the moment an “ex-Smash Hits journalist” met a “weird architect” and began politely reshaping pop. They trace the stories of five pivotal Please people who helped turn Neil and Chris into Pet Shop Boys: eight-track mentor Ray Roberts; Hi-NRG maverick Bobby O, maximalist manager Tom Watkins; rock-steady producer Stephen Hague; and legendary vocalist and Dylan collaborator Helena Springs.  Along they way, they tell the full, cinematic origin stories of West End Girls and Opportunities - from knee-slapping demos and New York studio bills to T.S. Eliot, sealed trains and chart-dodging false starts - and share their own first steps into PSB fandom. It’s the beginning of a two-part deep dive into the album that started everything.  Plus: stay tuned right to the end of the credits for news of the first ever In Depth podcast competition! This season the Pod Cast Boys are joining Pet Shop Boys in supporting War Child - donate via our Just Giving page and get your name in the credits of a future episode: https://www.justgiving.com/page/pet-shop-boys-in-depth-podcast Check out our T-shirt store - all profits from our exclusive designs support the podcast: https://in-depth.teemill.com Find extra In Depth content on our social channels: Facebook: http://tiny.cc/3jhcvz Bluesky: http://tiny.cc/jc7h001 X: http://tiny.cc/lc7h001

For their season finale, Graham and Chris go full‑throttle at Electric, the album that jolted Pet Shop Boys back into ‘banging and lasers’ mode — and inspired the Pod Cast Boys to embrace the same rule‑breaking, high‑voltage fun. Following Neil, Chris and Stuart Price’s alphabetical recording method, they present the full A–Z of Electric, diving into its wild mix of influences from Italo disco and Madonna to William Blake and Lionel Richie; duty disco doctors witnessing the birth of Elysium’s unruly twin. There’s the story of how Axis recharged lapsed fans, a headspin into the politics of dancing, and how freedom, faffing and freewheeling joy shaped both the record and this episode. Plus: listener memories, the x2 origin story, and Escape to the Country — a celebration of Pet Shop Boys at their most liberated.” Want to show your love for the Pet Shop Boys In Depth podcast?    Visit our new Crowdfunder - anything appreciated! Get your name mentioned in a future episode: https://gofund.me/cf16f4bc3   Check out our T-shirt store - all profits from our exclusive designs go towards supporting the podcast: https://in-depth.teemill.com   And there’s additional In Depth content on our social media channels: Facebook: http://tiny.cc/3jhcvz Bluesky: http://tiny.cc/jc7h001 X: http://tiny.cc/lc7h001

In the first instalment of what promises to be an occasional Further Listening series, Graham and Chris delve into the Pet Shop Boys’ b‑side and fan favourite The Resurrectionist. Joining them is historian and author Sarah Wise, whose acclaimed book The Italian Boy inspired Neil’s macabre lyric about 1830s body snatching and the grisly trade in corpses. A devoted Pethead herself, Sarah reflects on her fandom while spilling the guts on the chilling history behind her work. Together, they explore how Victorian true crime found its way into pop music - and whether The Resurrectionist might finally resurface at next year’s Obscure shows. 📚 Order Sarah Wise’s The Italian Boy: http://tiny.cc/xywv001 📚 Order her latest book The Undesirables: http://tiny.cc/2zwv001”

It’s the second Disco 5 In Depth episode, and Graham and Chris’s wayward moves take them from the dancefloor to the art gallery - where they encounter orgasm addict Sam Taylor-Johnson and rodent fanatic Wolfgang Tillmans. Meanwhile, at the Disco 5 launch party, it’s time for some difficult questions: would you rather be a live Sex Pistol or a dead Pet Shop Boy? Is Paul Weller gay? What did Olly do next? And are Sleaford Mods for real? It’s like punk never happened! Plus: buckle up for Chris’s tracklist remix, and some speculation as to what life might be like when Disco 6 arrives. Will any of us will be around to hear it?   Want to show your love for the Pet Shop Boys In Depth podcast?  Visit our new Crowdfunder - anything appreciated! Get your name mentioned in a future episode: https://gofund.me/cf16f4bc3 Check out our T-shirt store - all profits from our exclusive designs go towards supporting the podcast: https://in-depth.teemill.com And there’s additional In Depth content on our social media channels: Facebook: http://tiny.cc/3jhcvz Bluesky: http://tiny.cc/jc7h001 X: http://tiny.cc/lc7h001

Disco 5 has landed, and Graham and Chris are remixing everything — even themselves. In part one of this two‑episode celebration, they rewind through the Disco series’ chaotic legacy, spar with Noel, redefine Tina, unmask Claptone, and spotlight Carroll Thompson, Soft Cell and The Hidden Cameras as they uncover surprising connections across Pet Shop Boys history. But - Disco Demolition alert - what would Graham’s remixed tracklist look like?” Want to show your love for the Pet Shop Boys In Depth podcast?    Visit our new Crowdfunder - anything appreciated! Get your name mentioned in a future episode: https://gofund.me/cf16f4bc3   Check out our T-shirt store - all profits from our exclusive designs go towards supporting the podcast: https://in-depth.teemill.com   And there’s additional In Depth content on our social media channels: Facebook: http://tiny.cc/3jhcvz Bluesky: http://tiny.cc/jc7h001 X: http://tiny.cc/lc7h001

In a special celebratory 30th episode, Graham and Chris countdown their favourite 30 Pet Shop Boys songs - each a new excuse to fall down the usual rabbit holes of stories and memories! Girls Aloud, Tom Watkins, Dame Anna Neagle, Zelda Fitzgerald, Trevor Horn, TS Eliot and Kermit the Frog each make an appearance, and there’s also time to reappraise those negative reviews of Behaviour, the collapse of the music industry and - you know you really want it - the actual secrets of sexual attraction. But first - the real challenge: agreeing a joint list!   Want to show your love for the Pet Shop Boys In Depth podcast?  Visit our new Crowdfunder - anything appreciated! Get your name mentioned in a future episode: https://gofund.me/cf16f4bc3 Check out our T-shirt store - all profits from our exclusive designs go towards supporting the podcast: https://in-depth.teemill.com And there’s additional In Depth content on our social media channels: Facebook: http://tiny.cc/3jhcvz Bluesky: http://tiny.cc/jc7h001 X: http://tiny.cc/lc7h001

Graham and Chris celebrate 40 years of Pet Shop Boys fans and fandom with a special Petheads episode of In Depth! Armed with nearly 100 lovingly-completed listener surveys, the stories and memories come thick and fast. From favourite songs and treasured items to fan creativity and real-life encounters with Neil and Chris themselves, they share your thoughts and feelings in a heartfelt first-of-its-kind podcast tribute. But there’s still time to get under the skin of what makes a Pet Shop Boys fan, and a reminder of what we all did to deserve the label Petheads in the first place. Want to show your love for the Pet Shop Boys In Depth podcast?  Visit our new Crowdfunder - anything appreciated! Get your name mentioned in a future episode: https://gofund.me/cf16f4bc3 Check out our T-shirt store - all profits from our exclusive designs go towards supporting the podcast: https://in-depth.teemill.com And there’s additional In Depth content on our social media channels: Facebook: http://tiny.cc/3jhcvz Bluesky: http://tiny.cc/jc7h001 X: http://tiny.cc/lc7h001

Graham and Chris make a midnight return to the garden shed to unleash the full horror of the In Depth Halloween podcast! As they exorcise the ghosts, vampires, skeletons and will-o-the-wisps haunting the Pet Shop Boys catalogue, unholy guest appearances abound - from Joan of Arc and Ed Gein to Count Dracula and Francisco Goya. Expect a quest to uncover the spookiest PSB album, a chilling tally of all the ways to die in their videos… and the ominous reveal of a mysterious box unearthed from Graham’s loft. What could possibly be inside?”   Want to show your love for the Pet Shop Boys In Depth podcast?  Visit our new Crowdfunder - anything appreciated! - Get your name mentioned in a future episode: https://gofund.me/cf16f4bc3 Check out our T-shirt store - all profits from our exclusive designs go towards supporting the podcast: https://in-depth.teemill.com And there’s additional In Depth content on our social media channels: Facebook: http://tiny.cc/3jhcvz Bluesky: http://tiny.cc/jc7h001 X: http://tiny.cc/lc7h001