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115-412: " West End Girls " is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys . Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe , the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life in London which were inspired partly by T. S. Eliot 's poem The Waste Land . It was generally well received by contemporary music critics and has been frequently cited as

230-511: A Roland MSQ-700 sequencer, and spun in manually at appropriate places in the song. The trumpet solo in this version was played by Hague on the Emulator. According to Jacob, "it took about six hours to get the trumpet to sound genuine, purposely playing wrong notes to make it sound more 'jazz'". The traffic noise which introduces the song was recorded by Hague using a Sony Professional Walkman on Gosfield Street outside Advision. In addition to

345-651: A Doughnut" in particular was an early techno-pop fusion track, which made early use of a music sequencer . Izitso reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart, while the song "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard" was a top 40 hit. That same month, the Beach Boys released their album Love You , performed almost entirely by bandleader Brian Wilson with Moog and ARP synthesizers, and with arrangements somewhat inspired by Wendy Carlos's Switched-On Bach (1968). Although it

460-455: A Lover", "That's My Impression", "A Man Could Get Arrested", "I Get Excited", "Two Divided by Zero", "Rent", "It's a Sin", "Pet Shop Boys", and "Later Tonight". Orlando played most of the instruments on "West End Girls", including the jazz riff at the end. Lowe played one chord and the bassline . It included a drum part lifted from Michael Jackson 's " Billie Jean ", and an arrangement involving what Tennant called " Barry White chords". Orlando

575-538: A background in musical theatre, released his own synth-driven re-imagining of Irving Berlin's " Puttin' On the Ritz "; resulting in a subsequent long-play, After Eight , a concept album that takes music of 1930s sensibilities as informed by the soundscape of 1980s technology. The proliferation of acts led to an anti-synth backlash, with groups including Spandau Ballet, Human League, Soft Cell and ABC incorporating more conventional influences and instruments into their sounds. In

690-551: A bass guitarist and a drummer for the rhythm section. A single from the album, " Cars " topped the charts. Numan's main influence at the time was the John Foxx -led new wave band Ultravox who released the album Systems of Romance in 1978. Foxx left Ultravox the following year and scored a synth-pop hit with the single " Underpass " from his first solo album Metamatic in early 1980. In 1979, OMD released their debut single " Electricity ", which has been viewed as integral to

805-638: A duo where their partner played all the instrumentation. Although synth-pop in part arose from punk rock , it abandoned punk's emphasis on authenticity and often pursued a deliberate artificiality , drawing on the critically derided forms such as disco and glam rock . It owed relatively little to the foundations of early popular music in jazz , folk music or the blues , and instead of looking to America, in its early stages, it consciously focused on European and particularly Eastern European influences, which were reflected in band names like Spandau Ballet and songs like Ultravox's " Vienna ". Later synth-pop saw

920-493: A guitarist playing keyboards, who turned "punk songs into electronic songs". A single from the second Tubeway Army album Replicas , " Are Friends Electric? ", topped the UK charts in the summer of 1979. The discovery that synthesizers could be employed in a different manner from that used in progressive rock or disco, prompted Numan to go solo. On his futuristic album The Pleasure Principle (1979), he played only synths, but retained

1035-511: A highlight in the duo's career. The first version of the song was produced by Bobby Orlando and was released on Columbia Records ' Bobcat Records imprint in April 1984, becoming a club hit in the United States and some European countries. After the duo signed with EMI , the song was re-recorded with producer Stephen Hague for their first studio album, Please . In October 1985, the new version

1150-445: A hit with their debut single " The Promise ". Several German synth-pop acts of the late 1980s included Camouflage and Celebrate the Nun . Canadian duo Kon Kan had major success with their debut single, " I Beg Your Pardon " in 1989. An American backlash against European synth-pop has been seen as beginning in the mid-1980s with the rise of heartland rock and roots rock . In the UK

1265-430: A large number of acts, a number of them enjoying huge mainstream popularity in the country, like Beograd , Laki Pingvini , Denis & Denis , and Videosex . In the mid-1980s, key artists included solo performer Howard Jones , who S.T. Erlewine has stated to have "merged the technology-intensive sound of new wave with the cheery optimism of hippies and late-'60s pop", (although with notable exceptions including

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1380-618: A major influence on subsequent synth rock. In 1971, the British film A Clockwork Orange was released with a synth soundtrack by American Wendy Carlos . It was the first time many in the United Kingdom had heard electronic music . Philip Oakey of the Human League and Richard H. Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire , as well as music journalist Simon Reynolds, have cited the soundtrack as an inspiration. Electronic music made occasional moves into

1495-449: A major influence on the later synth-pop sound. David Bowie 's Berlin Trilogy , comprising the albums Low (1977), "Heroes" (1977), and Lodger (1979), all featuring Brian Eno, would also be highly influential. The Cat Stevens album Izitso , released in April 1977, updated his pop rock style with the extensive use of synthesizers, giving it a more synth-pop style; "Was Dog

1610-457: A more conventional drum sound. Lyrics were generally more optimistic, dealing with more traditional subject matter for pop music such as romance, escapism and aspiration. According to music writer Simon Reynolds , the hallmark of 1980s synth-pop was its "emotional, at times operatic singers" such as Marc Almond , Alison Moyet and Annie Lennox . Because synthesizers removed the need for large groups of musicians, these singers were often part of

1725-456: A popular Allstate Super Bowl ad featuring the song " Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) ". Consequently, several singles have re-entered the charts, with "Opportunities" having reached number one in February 2021 on Billboard 's Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart and spending three consecutive weeks atop the chart. "West End Girls" re-charted with the latter song, re-entering

1840-436: A red garage door; Tennant is in front dressed with a long coat, white shirt and dark necktie, directly addressing the camera, with Lowe standing behind him with a blank expression. Lowe is filmed in double-exposure and appears almost ghostlike. In other shots, Tennant power-walks imperiously while Lowe casually follows behind. While Tennant delivers the lyrics and chorus directly at the viewer, Lowe appears at times uninterested in

1955-428: A series of hit singles, beginning with their debut single " Planet Earth " and the UK top five hit " Girls on Film " in 1981. They would soon be followed into the British charts by a large number of bands utilising synthesizers to create catchy three-minute pop songs. In summer 1981 Depeche Mode had their first chart success with " New Life ", followed by the UK top ten hit " Just Can't Get Enough ". A new line-up for

2070-629: A shift to a style more influenced by other genres, such as soul music . Electronic musical synthesizers that could be used practically in a recording studio became available in the mid-1960s, around the same time as rock music began to emerge as a distinct musical genre. The Mellotron , an electro-mechanical , polyphonic sample-playback keyboard was overtaken by the Moog synthesizer , created by Robert Moog in 1964, which produced completely electronically generated sounds. The portable Minimoog , which allowed much easier use, particularly in live performance

2185-488: A style of electronic dance music influenced by synth-pop and funk that led to the emergence of Detroit techno in the mid-1980s. The continued influence of 1980s synth-pop could be seen in various incarnations of 1990s dance music, including trance . Hip hop artists such as Mobb Deep have sampled 1980s synth-pop songs. Popular artists such as Rihanna , UK stars Jay Sean and Taio Cruz , as well as British pop star Lily Allen on her second album, have also embraced

2300-618: A style that was highly successful on the US dance charts, but by the end of the decade, the synth-pop of bands such as A-ha and Alphaville was giving way to house music and techno . Interest in synth-pop began to revive in the indietronica and electroclash movements in the late 1990s, and in the 2000s synth-pop enjoyed a widespread revival and commercial success. The genre has received criticism for alleged lack of emotion and musicianship; prominent artists have spoken out against detractors who believed that synthesizers themselves composed and played

2415-1281: A surface which can be decorated or left plain. The ornaments on the cow bell and the collar are usually decorative although some cultures believe that certain ornaments provide or enhance magical protections such as the power to prevent or cure fever and other illnesses. Different bells can have specific sounds to identify important characteristics of the animals, such as age, sex, and species. Some cultures have even developed names to differentiate between bells and their tones; for example, in Spanish , "truco" refers to stud males, "esquila" to female goats or ewes, and "esquileta" for pregnant females and immature animals. Each of these bells possess unique sounds, shapes, and sizes. Bells are used to keep track of grazing animal herds such as goats , reindeer , sheep and cows . They are mainly used in Europe , Mediterranean areas and Latin America , but are also used worldwide by those who practice transhumance , including nomadic pastoral tribes in Africa and Asia . Some people put bells on their livestock because they believe

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2530-589: A synthesizer, I’m going to have you. Video Killed the Radio Star is putting musicians out of business." 1980 also saw the release of where "Video Killed the Radio Star" came from, the Buggles' debut album The Age of Plastic , which some writers have labeled as the first landmark of another electropop era, as well as what for many is the defining album of Devo's career, the overtly synth-pop Freedom of Choice . The emergence of synth-pop has been described as "perhaps

2645-604: A synthwave song by the Weeknd, peaked at number one in 29 countries, including the United States, in early 2020; and later became the Billboard number-one greatest song of all time in November 2021. This wave of revival not only popularized established acts but also enabled new artists like Dua Lipa , whose retro-influenced album Future Nostalgia won multiple awards and was hailed for its energetic embrace of vintage pop sounds. Meanwhile, indie artists such as M83 continued to explore

2760-518: Is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock , electronic , art rock , disco , and particularly the Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk . It arose as a distinct genre in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of

2875-433: Is a composite of different sounds from an Emulator II, a Yamaha DX7 and a Roland Jupiter-6 , all of which were connected by MIDI . It had been played by hand to "lend more fluidity to the track", although initially there was a bit of difficulty in keeping the part in time with the drum machine. The song features a cowbell -like sound, which is in fact a combination of a cowbell and an Emulator II choir sound recorded into

2990-581: The Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks in 2010. She also used the genre on her comeback single " Die Young ". Mainstream female recording artists who have dabbled in the genre in the 2010s include Madonna , Taylor Swift , Katy Perry , Jessie J , Christina Aguilera , and Beyoncé . In Japan, girl group Perfume , along with producer Yasutaka Nakata of Capsule , produced technopop music combining 1980s synth-pop with chiptunes and electro house from 2003. Their breakthrough came in 2008 with

3105-462: The Japanese Albums chart. Much like Japan, Korean pop music has also become dominated by synth-pop, particularly with girl groups such as f(x) , Girls' Generation and Wonder Girls . In 2020, the genre experienced a resurgence in popularity as 1980s-style synth-pop and synthwave songs from singers such as the Weeknd who gained success on international music charts. " Blinding Lights ",

3220-525: The New Romantic movement. Despite synth-pop's origins in the late 1970s among new wave bands like Tubeway Army and Devo, British journalists and music critics largely abandoned the term "new wave" in the early 1980s. This was in part due to the rise of new artists unaffiliated with the preceding punk/new wave era, as well as aesthetic changes associated with synth-pop's movement into the pop mainstream. According to authors Stuart Borthwick and Ron Moy, "After

3335-448: The OED lists 1440 as the earliest attestation of a 'bell-wether' . The OED also attributes the phrase "to bear the bell" in the sense "to take the first place" as originally referring to the leading cow or sheep of a drove or flock to Chaucer 's Troilus and Criseyde , 1374. In 15th-century Germany, a cow bell was worn only by the best and leading piece of livestock. The wider distribution of

3450-516: The TR-808 rhythm machine to popular music, and the band would be a major influence on early British synth-pop acts. The development of inexpensive polyphonic synthesizers, the definition of MIDI and the use of dance beats, led to a more commercial and accessible sound for synth-pop. This, its adoption by the style-conscious acts from the New Romantic movement, together with the rise of MTV , led to success for large numbers of British synth-pop acts in

3565-738: The Tower Bridge , Westminster and the Westminster Palace Clock Tower from the sky. The duo poses on the South Bank of the River Thames in a pastiche of a postcard image, with the Houses of Parliament as a background. The camera shows shots of young women, and passes through arcades and cinemas in Leicester Square . The camera now passes South Africa House showing protestors in

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3680-690: The UK Singles Chart at number 80, and within eight weeks of its release it had reached the top of the chart. It maintained the number one position for two weeks and received a platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in May 2023. Across Europe, "West End Girls" also topped the singles chart in Norway, as well as peaking in the top ten in Australia, Belgium, West Germany, Ireland,

3795-539: The Yorkshire Dales . An early depiction of a bellwether , the leading sheep of a flock, on whose neck a bell is hung, is in the Carolingian Stuttgart Psalter of the ninth century. In Europe, the earliest written evidence of bells used for livestock dates to the late 14th to early 15th century. Grimm's Deutsches Wörterbuch s.v. "Kuhschelle" points to a 1410 mention in a Frankfurt archive;

3910-472: The fertile crescent to Celtic, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman cultures. The earliest depictions of bells used for livestock in Britain appear on Pictish carved stones of the 7th to 9th centuries AD at Eassie, Angus and Fowlis Wester, Perthshire. Small iron bells of 8th or 9th century date, argued to be for cow or sheep, have been excavated from upland farm settlements at Crummack Dale and Gauber High Pasture in

4025-443: The new wave movement of the late 1970s. Electronic musical synthesizers that could be used practically in a recording studio became available in the mid-1960s, and the mid-1970s saw the rise of electronic art musicians. After the breakthrough of Gary Numan in the UK Singles Chart in 1979, large numbers of artists began to enjoy success with a synthesizer-based sound in the early 1980s. In Japan, Yellow Magic Orchestra introduced

4140-409: The 1980s, the introduction of dance beats and more conventional rock instrumentation made the music warmer and catchier and contained within the conventions of three-minute pop. Synthesizers were increasingly used to imitate the conventional and clichéd sound of orchestras and horns. Thin, treble-dominant, synthesized melodies and simple drum programmes gave way to thick, and compressed production, and

4255-463: The 1984 version. In the liner notes to the 2001 reissue of Please , Tennant noted that this was born out a desire for "filmic" music. In 2022, Tennant changed the line "From Lake Geneva to the Finland Station" in the last verse to "From Mariupol to Kyiv Station" during their co-headline Unity Tour with New Order and at their Glastonbury Festival 2022 Sunday night headline appearance. The change

4370-560: The 1990s were Savage Garden , the Rentals and the Moog Cookbook . Electronic music was also explored from the early 1990s by indietronica bands like Stereolab , EMF , the Utah Saints , and Disco Inferno , who mixed a variety of indie and synthesizer sounds. Indietronica began to take off in the new millennium as the new digital technology developed, with acts such as Broadcast from

4485-595: The 3rd millennium BC in Neolithic China . During this era, there is evidence of early forms of pottery cowbells, which were likely used to track goats, sheep, and cattle. The pottery bells were later replaced by metal bells. In West Asia, the first bells appeared in 1000 BC. The earliest metal bells, one found in the Taosi site, and four in the Erlitou site, are dated to about 2000 BC. Bells for shepherding were expanded from

4600-538: The Bevin Brothers Manufacturing Company continues to make cow bell bells in East Hampton, CT, as it has since its founding in 1832; it is the only remaining U.S. company making just bells. In Western Europe, when the snow has melted in the spring, villages send the cows to the high alpine meadows to graze. This event, called Alpaufzug , is celebrated in each village with a procession through

4715-585: The Bravery and the Stills all left their synth-pop sound behind after their debut albums and began to explore classic 1970s rock, but the style was picked up by a large number of performers, particularly female solo artists. Following the breakthrough success of Lady Gaga with her single " Just Dance " (2008), the British and other media proclaimed a new era of female synth-pop stars, citing artists such as Little Boots , La Roux , and Ladyhawke . Male acts that emerged in

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4830-517: The British music press of the late 1970s and early 1980s for their German influences and characterised by journalist Mick Farren as the " Adolf Hitler Memorial Space Patrol". In 1983, Morrissey of the Smiths stated that "there was nothing more repellent than the synthesizer". During the decade, objections were raised to the quality of compositions and what was called the limited musicianship of artists. Gary Numan observed "hostility" and what he felt

4945-549: The Communards . The Communards' major hits were covers of disco classics " Don't Leave Me This Way " (1986) and " Never Can Say Goodbye " (1987). After adding other elements to their sound, and with the help of a gay audience, several synth-pop acts had success on the US dance charts. Among these were American acts Information Society (who had two top 10 singles in 1988), Anything Box , and Red Flag . British band When in Rome scored

5060-710: The Dark (OMD) – to 'throw away their guitars' and become a synth act. Kraftwerk had its first hit UK record later in the year with " Autobahn ", which reached number 11 in the British Singles Chart and number 12 in Canada. The group was described by the BBC Four program Synth Britannia as the key to synth-pop's future rise there. In 1977, Giorgio Moroder released the electronic Eurodisco song " I Feel Love " that he had produced for Donna Summer , and its programmed beats would be

5175-546: The Human League along with a new producer and a more commercial sound led to the album Dare (1981), which produced a series of hit singles. These included " Don't You Want Me ", which reached number one in the UK at the end of 1981. Synth-pop reached its commercial peak in the UK in the winter of 1981–2, with bands such as OMD , Japan , Ultravox , Soft Cell , Depeche Mode, Yazoo and even Kraftwerk , enjoying top ten hits. The Human League's and Soft Cell's UK number one singles "Don't You Want Me" and " Tainted Love " became

5290-598: The Ivor Novello Award for Song of The Decade between the years 1985 and 1994. In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 12th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV . In 2020, The Guardian selected "West End Girls" as number one in a critics' poll of the 100 greatest UK number-one singles. It was ranked No. 433 on Rolling Stone' s "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2021 and No. 65 on their "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" in 2022. The accompanying music video for "West End Girls"

5405-509: The Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. In Canada, where the original recording of "West End Girls" had already been a minor hit in 1985, the re-recorded version was issued as a single in early 1986. The re-recorded song entered the chart in March 1986, peaking at number one for one week on 17 May 1986. In the United States, West End Girls debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 71, reaching

5520-504: The Non-Stop Picket, an anti- apartheid vigil. The video cuts to a closeup of Tennant singing the chorus, with a purple neon sign eerily passing across his face. At the end the camera passes again through Leicester Square, where people queue to see Fletch and Desperately Seeking Susan . The video was nominated for Best New Artist in a Video at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards , but lost to A-ha 's " Take On Me ". "West End Girls"

5635-502: The Trychel. As opposed to regular cast-metal bells, 'trychlen' are made of hammered sheet metal. This results in a clanking, less crisp sound, but at the same time results in a bell that is lighter and thus easier to carry. Modern-day manufacturing of cow bells continues today in Korea, Indonesia, and India, many created as village handicrafts. Despite a May 2012 fire that destroyed its factory,

5750-586: The UK and top 40 in the US. and Thompson Twins , whose popularity peaked in 1984 with the album Into the Gap , which reached No.1 in the UK and the US top ten and spawned several top ten singles. In 1984, Frankie Goes to Hollywood released their debut album Welcome to the Pleasuredome (produced by Trevor Horn of the Buggles), with their first three singles, " Relax ", " Two Tribes " and " The Power of Love ", topping

5865-404: The UK chart. The music journalist Paul Lester reflected, "no band has dominated a 12-month period like Frankie ruled 1984". In January 1985, Tears for Fears' single " Shout ", written by Roland Orzabal in his "front room on just a small synthesizer and a drum machine", became their fourth top 5 UK hit; it would later top the charts in multiple countries including the US. Initially dismissed in

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5980-690: The UK, Justice from France, Lali Puna from Germany, and Ratatat and the Postal Service from the US, mixing a variety of indie sounds with electronic music, largely produced on small independent labels. Similarly, the electroclash subgenre began in New York at the end of the 1990s, combining synth-pop, techno, punk and performance art. It was pioneered by I-F with their track "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass" (1998), and pursued by artists including Felix da Housecat , Peaches , Chicks on Speed , and Fischerspooner . It gained international attention at

6095-452: The UK. Note: The titles Nouvelle version and original 7″ version do not appear on any releases. They are names created by fans in order to distinguish the different versions. with: with: Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. In 1993, English boy band East 17 covered "West End Girls" for their debut album, Walthamstow (1993). The single

6210-501: The US (unlike the UK), where synth-pop is sometimes considered a "subgenre" of "new wave" and was described as "technopop" or "electropop" by the press at the time, the genre became popular due to the cable music channel MTV , which reached the media capitals of New York City and Los Angeles in 1982. It made heavy use of style-conscious New Romantic synth-pop acts, with " I Ran (So Far Away) " (1982) by A Flock of Seagulls generally considered

6325-555: The US during the Second British Invasion . The term "techno-pop" was coined by Yuzuru Agi in his critique of Kraftwerk's The Man-Machine in 1978 and is considered a case of multiple discovery of naming. Hence, the term can be used interchangeably with "synth-pop", but is more frequently used to describe the scene of Japan. The term "techno-pop" became also popular in Europe, where it started: German band Kraftwerk's 1986 album

6440-408: The US the following year. The success of synth-pop and other British acts would be seen as a Second British Invasion . In his early 1980s columns for The Village Voice , music critic Robert Christgau frequently referred to British synth-pop as "Anglodisco", suggesting a parallel to the contemporary genres of Eurodisco and Italo disco , both highly popular outside the US. Indeed, synth-pop

6555-459: The album Game , which led to a renewed interest in technopop within mainstream Japanese pop music. Other Japanese female technopop artists soon followed, including Aira Mitsuki , immi , Mizca , SAWA , Saori Rinne and Sweet Vacation . Model-singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu also shared the same success as Perfume's under Nakata 's production with the album Pamyu Pamyu Revolution in 2012, which topped electronic charts on iTunes as well as

6670-421: The arrival of indie rock bands, particularly the Smiths , has been seen as marking the end of synth-driven pop and the beginning of the guitar-based music that would dominate rock into the 1990s. By 1991, in the United States synth-pop was losing its commercial viability as alternative radio stations were responding to the popularity of grunge . Exceptions that continued to pursue forms of synth-pop or rock in

6785-463: The beginning of the new millennium and spread to scenes in London and Berlin, but rapidly faded as a recognizable genre as acts began to experiment with a variety of forms of music. In the new millennium, renewed interest in electronic music and nostalgia for the 1980s led to the beginnings of a synth-pop revival, with acts including Adult and Fischerspooner . Between 2003 and 2004, it began to move into

6900-488: The bell worn by livestock was a gradual process of the Early Modern period . In France in the mid-16th century, Francois Rabelais makes this practice explicit in his Gargantua and Pantagruel , stating that such was the custom, to appear on the field wearing jingling garment, as the high priest wears when entering the sacristy; since the tournaments, that is, the contest of nobility, have been abolished, carters have taken

7015-518: The bells and hung them on their hacks. The importance of the cow bell is highlighted in Swiss folklore , which reflects a period when a great Trychel, or large cow bell, was a rare and much-coveted item. The legend of the Simmental tells how a young cowherd strays inside a mountain, and is offered by a beautiful woman the choice between a treasure of gold coins, a golden Trychel, or the fairy herself. He chooses

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7130-610: The best selling singles in the UK in 1981. In early 1982 synthesizers were so dominant that the Musicians' Union attempted to limit their use. By the end of 1982, these acts had been joined in the charts by synth-based singles from Thomas Dolby , Blancmange , and Tears for Fears . Bands such as Simple Minds also adopted synth-pop into their music on their 1982 album New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) . ABC and Heaven 17 had commercial success mixing synth-pop with influences from funk and soul music . Dutch entertainer Taco , who has

7245-528: The boundaries of the genre, blending it with shoegaze and ambient music to create a complex, layered sound in their album Digital Shades Vol. 2 . The genre's adaptability and nostalgic appeal have contributed to its enduring presence and continued evolution in the music industry. Synth-pop has received considerable criticism and even prompted hostility among musicians and in the press. It has been described as "anaemic" and "soulless". Synth-pop's early steps, and Gary Numan in particular, were also disparaged in

7360-502: The charts for the week of 27 February 2021 at number nine on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart, nearly having switched places in chart rankings with "Opportunities" from their 1986 entries. The song rose to number six on the chart for the week of 12 March 2021. In May 2024 it was reported to have 70 million streams on music streaming services in the UK, making it the most streamed Pet Shop Boys song in

7475-440: The commercial charts. "This is a finger, this is another... now write a song" British punk-influenced band Tubeway Army , intended their debut album to be guitar driven. In late 1978, Gary Numan , a member of the group, found a minimoog left behind in the studio by another band, and started experimenting with it. This led to a change in the album's sound to electronic new wave. Numan later described his work on this album as

7590-560: The early " dominatrix " image of the Eurythmics' Annie Lennox . In the U.S. this led to British synth-pop artists being characterised as "English haircut bands" or "art fag " music, though many British synth-pop artists were highly popular on both American radio and MTV . Although some audiences were overtly hostile to synth-pop, it achieved an appeal among those alienated from the dominant heterosexuality of mainstream rock culture, particularly among gay, female and introverted audiences. By

7705-545: The first band of the movement to have a hit single as the synth-driven " To Cut a Long Story Short " reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1980. Visage's " Fade to Grey ", characteristic of synth-pop and a major influence on the genre, reached the top ten a few weeks later. Duran Duran have been credited with incorporating dance beats into synth-pop to produce a catchier and warmer sound, which provided them with

7820-641: The first hit by a British act to enter the Billboard top ten as a result of exposure through video. The switch to a " new music " format in US radio stations was also significant in the success of British bands. Reaching No. 2 in the UK in March 1983 and No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 six months later, Rolling Stone called Eurythmics' single " Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) " "a synth-pop masterpiece". Bananarama 's 1983 synth-pop song " Cruel Summer " became an instant UK hit before having similar success in

7935-439: The foreign sound of the bell scares off predators, however, some studies have shown that the sound of the bell has the opposite effect and leads predators to livestock because predators develop a learned association between the sound of the bell and the presence of a prey animal. Cowbells are often rung by human spectators at Alpine skiing events, and also, particularly in the US, at cyclo-cross races. They are usually held in

8050-431: The genre as diverse but "characterised by a broad set of values that eschewed rock playing styles, rhythms and structures", which were replaced by "synthetic textures" and "robotic rigidity", often defined by the limitations of the new technology, including monophonic synthesizers (only able to play one note at a time). Many synth-pop musicians had limited musical skills, relying on the technology to produce or reproduce

8165-403: The genre. Cowbell The bell and clapper are commonly crafted from iron , bronze , brass , copper , or wood . The collar used to hold the bell is traditionally made with leather and wood fibers. The craftsmanship of cow bells varies by geographic location and culture. Most cow bells are made of thin, flat pieces of plated sheet metal . Plating causes the sheet metal to have

8280-578: The greatest UK number-one single. The song was performed by the Pet Shop Boys at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony . In 1983, Neil Tennant met producer Bobby Orlando , while on an assignment in New York interviewing Sting for Smash Hits . After listening to some demos , Orlando offered to produce for the duo. In 1983 and 1984, the duo recorded twelve songs with Orlando at Unique Studios in New York, "West End Girls", " Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) ", " One More Chance ", "I Want

8395-487: The group released their first major label single " Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) " in mid-1985, but it failed to attract attention. The Pet Shop Boys then decided to re-record "West End Girls", and issue this new version as a single. Producer Stephen Hague helmed the new, re-recorded version of "West End Girls". The re-recorded version of "West End Girls" was released in the United Kingdom in October 1985, debuting on

8510-451: The group's second studio album Actually , Rob Hoerburger from Rolling Stone magazine commented that "West End Girls" was "as catchy as anything on the radio in 1986", praising "its enticing bass line and foreboding synth riffs", but felt that it was almost "nullified by peevish spoken asides and the cryptic posturing of the duo's lyrics". In a review of the live album Concrete , Michael Hubbard from musicOMH said that "West End Girls"

8625-434: The hand rather than worn around the neck. In the 1960s, Earl W. Terrell and Ralph L. Reeves welded handles onto cowbells at Mississippi State University for students. Today that has led to 60,000 cowbells ringing around Mississippi State Bulldog Athletics. Mississippi State now holds the world record for most cowbells ringing simultaneously. Archaeological evidence of bells dates back to more than 5000 years ago, from

8740-588: The high meadow. The best cows (each referred to as a 'Kranzkuh' , "crown[ed] cow", after the ornamental headwear with which it is adorned) from each herd again lead the procession. The traditional festival is called Viehscheid in Southern Germany, and has other names in the Alpine regions. Cow bells can be as loud as 113 decibels, and it has been suggested that this may cause pain or deafness in animals wearing them. A study published in 2015 found that wearing

8855-414: The lines: "Sometimes you're better off dead, there's a gun in your hand and it's pointing at your head". The lyrics were inspired by T.S. Eliot 's poem The Waste Land , particularly in the use of different narrative voices and arcane references. The song's lyrics are largely concerned with class, inner-city pressure. Tennant later said that some listeners had assumed the song referred to prostitutes, but

8970-406: The lyrics of " What Is Love? " – "Does anybody love anybody anyway?") and Nik Kershaw , whose "well-crafted synth-pop" incorporated guitars and other more traditional pop influences that particularly appealed to a teen audience. Pursuing a more dance-orientated sound were Bronski Beat whose album The Age of Consent (1984), dealing with issues of homophobia and alienation, reached the top 20 in

9085-526: The mainstream with Ladytron , the Postal Service , Cut Copy , the Bravery and the Killers all producing records that incorporated vintage synthesizer sounds and styles that contrasted with the dominant genres of post-grunge and nu metal . In particular, the Killers enjoyed considerable airplay and exposure and their debut album Hot Fuss (2004) reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 . The Killers,

9200-781: The mainstream, with jazz musician Stan Free , under the pseudonym Hot Butter , having a top 10 hit in the United States and United Kingdom in 1972, with a cover of the 1969 Gershon Kingsley song " Popcorn " using a Moog synthesizer, which is recognised as a forerunner to synth-pop and disco . The mid-1970s saw the rise of electronic art musicians such as Jean Michel Jarre , Vangelis , and Tomita . Tomita's album Electric Samurai: Switched on Rock (1972) featured electronic renditions of contemporary rock and pop songs, while utilizing speech synthesis and analog music sequencers . In 1975, Kraftwerk played their first British show and inspired concert attendees Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys – who would later found Orchestral Manoeuvres in

9315-551: The media as "the Lennon–McCartney of synth-pop". Giorgio Moroder collaborated with the band Sparks on their album No. 1 In Heaven (1979). That same year in Japan, the synth-pop band P-Model made its debut with the album In a Model Room . Other Japanese synth-pop groups emerging around the same time included the Plastics and Hikashu . This zeitgeist of revolution in electronic music performance and recording/production

9430-609: The mid-1980s, synth-pop had helped establish the synthesizer as a primary instrument in mainstream pop music. It also influenced the sound of many mainstream rock acts, such as Bruce Springsteen , ZZ Top and Van Halen . It was a major influence on house music , which grew out of the post-disco dance club culture of the early 1980s as some DJs attempted to make the less pop-oriented music that also incorporated influences from Latin soul , dub , rap music , and jazz . American musicians such as Juan Atkins , using names including Model 500, Infinity and as part of Cybotron , developed

9545-529: The monochrome blacks and greys of punk/new wave, synthpop was promoted by a youth media interested in people who wanted to be pop stars, such as Boy George and Adam Ant ". The New Romantic scene had developed in the London nightclubs Billy's and the Blitz and was associated with bands such as Duran Duran, Visage , and Spandau Ballet . They adopted an elaborate visual style that combined elements of glam rock , science fiction and romanticism . Spandau Ballet were

9660-450: The music press as a "teeny bop sensation" were Norwegian band a-ha , whose use of guitars and real drums produced an accessible form of synth-pop, which, along with an MTV friendly video, took their 1985 single " Take On Me " to number two in the UK and number one in the US. Synth-pop continued into the late 1980s, with a format that moved closer to dance music, including the work of acts such as British duos Pet Shop Boys , Erasure and

9775-461: The music. The result was often minimalist, with grooves that were "typically woven together from simple repeated riffs often with no harmonic 'progression' to speak of". Early synth-pop has been described as "eerie, sterile, and vaguely menacing", using droning electronics with little change in inflection. Common lyrical themes of synth-pop songs were isolation, urban anomie , and feelings of being emotionally cold and hollow. In its second phase in

9890-451: The number one position on 10 May 1986, and remained on the chart for 20 weeks. The song also peaked at number one on Billboard' s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart for two weeks. "West End Girls" re-entered the charts in February 2021 as Pet Shop Boys received some exposure in early 2021 thanks to the premiere of the Channel 4 series It's a Sin , named after the song of the same name , and

10005-513: The period 1976–77 was initially hostile to the "inauthentic" sound of the synthesizer, but many new wave and post-punk bands that emerged from the movement began to adopt it as a major part of their sound. British punk and new wave clubs were open to what was then considered an "alternative" sound. The do it yourself attitude of punk broke down the progressive rock era's norm of needing years of experience before getting up on stage to play synthesizers. The American duo Suicide , who arose from

10120-417: The post-punk scene in New York, utilised drum machines and synthesizers in a hybrid between electronics and post-punk on their eponymous 1977 album . Around this time, Ultravox member Warren Cann purchased a Roland TR-77 drum machine , which was first featured in their October 1977 single release " Hiroshima Mon Amour ". Be-Bop Deluxe released Drastic Plastic in February 1978, leading off with

10235-474: The proceedings or preoccupied with other goings-on around them. Then the video shows various shots at Waterloo Station , as the chorus starts. In slow motion, the camera pans across the WHSmith shop on the station concourse as the duo walk past. It cuts to a brief shot of a No. 42 red double-decker bus , showing the destination as Aldgate , also advertising the stage-show Evita , then black and white shots of

10350-467: The propulsive bass line, derives from Grandmaster Flash 's protest rap song " The Message ". Lowe and Hague created a "snaky, obsessive rhythm punch" for the music, replacing the song's previously sparse beats and minimal keyboard lines. Tennant started to write the song when he was staying at his cousin's house in Nottingham while watching a gangster film . Just when he was going to sleep he came up with

10465-547: The rap verses and choruses sung by Tennant (each using different microphones—one for verse and another for choruses), singer Helena Springs was brought in to sing background vocals—parts of these were sampled into the Emulator to be used wherever wanted in the track. They re-released the song in late 1985, topping the charts in both the UK and the US. "West End Girls" is a synth-pop song influenced by hip hop music . It has also been described as dance-pop , disco , and new wave . The song's socially conscious streak, as well as

10580-472: The release of UK band the Human League 's debut single " Being Boiled " and The Normal 's " Warm Leatherette ", which both are regarded as seminal works in early synth-pop. Sheffield band Cabaret Voltaire are also regarded as pioneers of the late 1970s that influenced the emerging synth-pop in Britain. In America, post-punk band Devo began moving towards a more electronic sound. At this point synth-pop gained some critical attention, but made little impact on

10695-580: The rise of synth-pop. This was followed by a series of landmark releases within the genre, including the 1980 hit singles " Messages " and " Enola Gay ". OMD became one of the most influential acts of the period, introducing the "synth duo" format to British music. Vince Clarke , who co-founded the popular synth-pop groups Depeche Mode , Erasure , Yazoo and the Assembly , has cited OMD as his inspiration to become an electronic musician. Bandleaders Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys have been described in

10810-714: The same period include Calvin Harris , Empire of the Sun , Frankmusik , Hurts , Ou Est Le Swimming Pool , Kaskade , LMFAO , and Owl City , whose single " Fireflies " (2009) topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2009, an underground subgenre with direct stylistic origins to synth-pop became popular, chillwave . Other 2010s synth-pop acts include the Naked and Famous , Chvrches , M83 , and Shiny Toy Guns . American singer Kesha has also been described as an electropop artist, with her electropop debut single " Tik Tok " topping

10925-464: The single "Electrical Language" with Bill Nelson on guitar synthesizer and Andy Clark on synthesizers. Japanese band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) with their self-titled album (1978) and Solid State Survivor (1979), developed a "fun-loving and breezy" sound, with a strong emphasis on melody . They introduced the TR-808 rhythm machine to popular music , and the band would be a major influence on early British synth-pop acts. 1978 also saw

11040-421: The single most significant event in melodic music since Mersey-beat ". By the 1980s synthesizers had become much cheaper and easier to use. After the definition of MIDI in 1982 and the development of digital audio , the creation of purely electronic sounds and their manipulation became much simpler. Synthesizers came to dominate the pop music of the early 1980s, particularly through their adoption by bands of

11155-592: The song "we meet Tennant not as a singer, but as a speaker", adding that "he mumbles the verses to us not like a star, but like a stranger in a raincoat, slinking alongside you and pointing out the sights". In 1987, "West End Girls" won for Best Single at the Brit Awards , and for Best International Hit at the Ivor Novello Awards . In 2005, the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters gave to West End Girls

11270-466: The songs. Synth-pop music has established a place for the synthesizer as a major element of pop and rock music , directly influencing subsequent genres (including house music and Detroit techno ) and has indirectly influenced many other genres, as well as individual recordings. Synth-pop is defined by its primary use of synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers , sometimes using them to replace all other instruments. Borthwick and Moy have described

11385-404: The village to the high pastures. The cows are decorated with floral wreaths woven through the horns. The best milk-producing cow in the village leads the procession and wears the largest bell. The bells are made in various sizes, and are awarded to the cows according to their milk production that year. In the fall, the event is repeated, but is called an "Alpabzug" , as the animals return from

11500-402: Was "ignorance" regarding synth-pop, such as his belief that people "thought machines did it". OMD frontman Andy McCluskey recalled a great many people "who thought that the equipment wrote the song for you", and asserted: "Believe me, if there was a button on a synth or a drum machine that said 'hit single', I would have pressed it as often as anybody else would have – but there isn't . It

11615-452: Was actually, "about rough boys getting a bit of posh." Sound-wise, the 1985 version also features a considerably smoother arrangement than the 1984 version, trading out the collage of disjointed samples (such as glass breaking and Tennant shouting the word "I") in favour of soft synth pads and Hague's Emulator trumpet solo. At the same time, however, the 1985 version “starts off like a film noir", opening with ambient traffic sounds not heard in

11730-554: Was all written by real human beings". According to Simon Reynolds, in some quarters synthesizers were seen as instruments for "effete poseurs", in contrast to the phallic guitar. The association of synth-pop with an alternative sexuality was reinforced by the images projected by synth-pop stars, who were seen as gender bending , including Phil Oakey 's asymmetric hair and use of eyeliner, Marc Almond 's "pervy" leather jacket, skirt wearing by figures including Martin Gore of Depeche Mode and

11845-537: Was directed by Andy Morahan and Eric Watson , and consists of shots of the duo around London. At the beginning of the video, noises from the city can be heard, a camera passes Lowe on the street, and focuses on mannequins in a shop window. Then appears a sequence of quick cuts with shots of the city's different sub-cultures; the video freezes and cuts to Tennant and Lowe, who walk through an empty Wentworth Street in Petticoat Lane Market . They stand in front of

11960-451: Was done in solidarity for Ukraine in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine (also because Finland Station is located in Russia). "West End Girls" has been generally well received by music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic in a review of the album Please called the song "hypnotic", adding that "it's not only a classic dance single, it's a classic pop single". In a review for

12075-567: Was encapsulated by then would-be record producer Trevor Horn of the Buggles in the single " Video Killed the Radio Star "; the song topped the UK charts in October 1979 and it also became an international hit; two years later it was the first song aired on MTV. Geoff Downes , keyboardist for the Buggles, states, "When we did a rerecorded version for Top of the Pops , the Musicians’ Union bloke said, "If I think you’re making strings sounds out of

12190-581: Was first released in April 1984 through writer and producer Bobby Orlando 's label. The song was a club hit in the United States, and in some European countries, such as Belgium, where it debuted at number 24 on the VRT Top 30 chart on 28 July 1984, peaking at 17 four weeks later. In Canada, "West End Girls" first entered the RPM singles chart in April 1985, reaching a peak position of 81 in June 1985. Having signed with EMI ,

12305-462: Was highly praised by some critics and musicians (including Patti Smith and Lester Bangs ), the album met with poor commercial reception. The album has been considered revolutionary in its use of synthesizers, while others described Wilson's extensive use of the Moog synthesizer as a "loopy funhouse ambience" and an early example of synth-pop. Early guitar-based punk rock that came to prominence in

12420-407: Was musically "constructed with only four basic rhythmical patterns throughout", with no 'real' instruments production-wise except for one cymbal. The rhythmic foundations were laid down with an Oberheim DMX drum machine. In addition to that, the synthesizer strings that run throughout the song were created using a blend of string sounds from an E-mu Emulator I and an Emulator II . The bass part

12535-514: Was one of the songs that "round out a collection that never feels too long or superfluous", adding that it "goes some way to installing Tennant and Lowe as national treasures". Cash Box called it "a sensational pop single." Billboard called it a "cannily haunting song" in which "disco meets sociology, rap and the Al Stewart catalogue." Nitsuh Abebe from Pitchfork , in a review of their compilation album PopArt: The Hits commented that in

12650-486: Was released in June 1993 by London Records and was a top-10 hit in Australia, Finland, Israel and Portugal. On the UK Singles Chart , it peaked at number 11. The music video for the song was directed by L. Watson & C. Clunn. Siân Pattenden from Smash Hits gave East 17's version of "West End Girls" three out of five. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop ; also called techno-pop )

12765-436: Was released, reaching number one in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1986. In 1987, the song won Best Single at the Brit Awards , and Best International Hit at the Ivor Novello Awards . In 2005, 20 years after its release, the song was awarded Song of The Decade between the years 1985 and 1994 by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. A critic's poll in 2020 by The Guardian selected "West End Girls" as

12880-457: Was taken up across the world alongside the continuing presence of disco , with international hits for German synth-pop as well as Eurodisco acts including Peter Schilling , Sandra , Modern Talking , Propaganda , and Alphaville . Other non-British groups scoring synth-pop hits were Men Without Hats and Trans-X from Canada, Telex from Belgium, Yello from Switzerland, and Azul y Negro from Spain. The synth-pop scene of Yugoslavia spawned

12995-828: Was thrilled by the song's production; his idea was to make a rap record in a British accent. In April 1984, "West End Girls" was released, becoming a club hit in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and a minor dance hit in Belgium and France, but was only available in the United Kingdom as a 12-inch import. In March 1985, after long negotiations, Pet Shop Boys cut their contractual ties with Orlando, and hired manager Tom Watkins , who signed them with EMI . An entire week had been spent re-recording and rearranging "West End Girls" with producer Stephen Hague at Advision Studios , using Studio Two housed with an Otari 24-track tape machine and an SSL console. The song, according to engineer David Jacob,

13110-413: Was titled Techno Pop ; English band the Buggles has a song named "Technopop" and Spanish band Mecano described their style as tecno-pop. "Synth-pop" is sometimes used interchangeably with " electropop ", but "electropop" may also denote a variant of synth-pop that places more emphasis on a harder, more electronic sound. In the mid to late 1980s, duos such as Erasure and Pet Shop Boys adopted

13225-438: Was widely adopted by progressive rock musicians such as Richard Wright of Pink Floyd and Rick Wakeman of Yes . Instrumental prog rock was particularly significant in continental Europe, allowing bands like Kraftwerk , Tangerine Dream , Can and Faust to circumvent the language barrier. Their synthesizer-heavy " Kraut rock ", along with the work of Brian Eno (for a time the keyboard player with Roxy Music ), would be

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