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Pet Shop Boys - It Couldn't Happen Here

Started by 23 Daves, February 08, 2006, 09:48:40 PM

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danielreal2k

Quote from: "Steve Thompson Dance Mix"Did anyone see that South Bank Show special on the Pet Shop Boys in 1992?

Yes I've got it on dvd ahem.  They also did a cracking radio1 early morning show in 91/92 where they played a lot of rave/techno/drum&bass style music, which was quite ground breaking compared to the Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams chart stuff Radio1 played at the time,

TOCMFIC

Well I just got done watching "It Couldn't Happen Here".

Quite possibly the oddest movie I've ever seen. (And I've seen "Lost Highway".) Gareth Hunt and Joss Ackland are fantastic. Very strange if you view it as purely a movie. If you view it as one long music video, though, it works exceptionally well.

Been a long time since I listened to anything prior to Introspective. I'd forgotten what a truly epic song "It's A Sin" is. Pretty much the perfect pop record. Awesome.

I remember when this came out, despite being filmed before it, due to it's release date being right after the Kings Cross fire, PSB got a bunch of shit because during the song of that title, it shows a man in flames. (And a car for that matter.)

Very interesting film. It was funny to here Ackland spouting a bunch of plagiarised Stephen Wright material.

Glad I've seen it after all these years. Was definitely worth seeing.

danielreal2k

Quote from: "TOCMFIC"
I remember when this came out, despite being filmed before it, due to it's release date being right after the Kings Cross fire, .

They wrote that before the Kings Cross fire though didnt they? which is creepy, they also  wrote 'Dreaming of the Queen' in 1993, in which Neil sang about Diana not having anymore lovers left alive.  

Ahead of their time in many ways

TOCMFIC

http://www.firetactics.com/KINGSCROSS.htm

That says the fire was on November 18th 1987. I know the album and song were done before that, because I bought the album while I was still at school, and I'd left in June that year.

The song isn't so much the issue, but the geezer on fire. People said it was tasteless etc... But the fact is, if you watch the movie, it's chock full of bizarre imagery.

And I loved this little exchange between Ackland and Tennant.

Neil Tennant: You don't have any weapons in there, do you?
Priest: Why? What do you need?

I think this is one of those movies that I'm going to grow more and more fond of the more time passes.

Of course I think a non PSB fan would think it was shite.

Jemble Fred

Quote from: "Jemble Fred"Apparently Neil and Madonna did an impromptu acapella version of the PSB remix of Madge's latest single on the R2 Brits show last night. I'd better alert my brother immediately – if he misses any PSB footage, he weeps.

Thought this was worth repeating, since it happened just last night as opposed to nearly 20 years ago. And it's quite exciting.

Panbaams

Quote from: "TOCMFIC"And I loved this little exchange between Ackland and Tennant.

Neil Tennant: You don't have any weapons in there, do you?
Priest: Why? What do you need?

Chris's comedy timing in the greasy spoon is great too.

Waitress: Ready to order?

[Long pause. Pet Shop Boys consult their menus.]

Waitress: Ready to order?

[Another long pause. Waitress starts to walk off.]

Chris Lowe: Right.

The bizarre sequence at the end when the world's supposesdly ending and they are accompanied by a Dickson dressed as Mozart who comes out with this weird speech.

They eventually end up in a desserted nightclub with Cabaret esque ballroom dancers, dancing to One More Chance. The end sequence where the boys turn around and have '0' score cards on their backs and it freezes is pretty grim.

I actually people who are non fans of Pet Shop Boys would appreicate its surreality. This film could have easily starred Gilbert and George instead.

And there's a classic scene where the try to buy a car, and Chris just poses, again, in a weird way with a mannequin in a bridal gown by the revolving car.

TOCMFIC

I also liked Neil in the revolving phonebox.

I was stunned when Chris actually spoke!

What's very strange is the song when they're being chased by the plane ("Divided by... Divided by..."), is not on any album they've released I think. The strange thing is it was REALLY familiar. I've heard it before. I'm guessing I was maybe drunker than I thought when I first saw bits of it and actually saw that bit. Huge deja vu when I saw it.

Paaaaul

Quote from: "TOCMFIC"
What's very strange is the song when they're being chased by the plane ("Divided by... Divided by..."), is not on any album they've released I think. The strange thing is it was REALLY familiar. I've heard it before. I'm guessing I was maybe drunker than I thought when I first saw bits of it and actually saw that bit. Huge deja vu when I saw it.

1st song
1st album

"Two Divided By Zero" on Please

benthalo

I smell youth... vintage youth!

I have developed deep, lasting bonds with people through an intimate knowledge of this film.

Oddly, The Two Ronnies' first ever show (ITV3, tonight, but from 1971) appears to share the posh-menu-in-a-greasy-spoon idea.

danielreal2k

Went fishing with Dali, used a dotted line, caught every other fish.

Chris. Where are you from?
Neil. Yes, where are you from?
Joss Ackland. I'm glad you asked me twice because I'm bilingual, you see... a billingual illiterate...


The Mumbler

Quote from: "TOCMFIC"http://www.firetactics.com/KINGSCROSS.htm

That says the fire was on November 18th 1987. I know the album and song were done before that, because I bought the album while I was still at school, and I'd left in June that year.

The Actually album was released on 7th September 1987.  Two singles appeared before that - It's A Sin on June 15th, and What Have I Done To Deserve This? on August 10th.

TOCMFIC

Hmm... Let's see. I was doing a dumbass YTS scheme when the album came out then... Mate who was into music with me was at college...

FUCK! Yes. I bought that and George Harrison's "Cloud Nine" on the same day I think. Got my years confused.

Paaaul: Thanks. Despite being a big PSB fan, I never picked up their first album at the time. (Probably because "West End Girls" got played to death.)

Would explain why I never heard it. Was listening to PSB today, but skipped that album.

Jemble Fred

Anyone heard Chris & Neil's commentary on their videos DVD? Only listened once when I borrowed it off the obsessive brother, but it was huge fun.

Ergo, ICHH needs to be given the full DVD treatment tout suite.

Panbaams

Quote from: "Jemble Fred"Anyone heard Chris & Neil's commentary on their videos DVD? Only listened once when I borrowed it off the obsessive brother, but it was huge fun.

Agree completely, they come across very well on it – very down to earth and self-deprecating, the bits where they're slagging off videos they don't like (like version 2 of "Opportunities" and "A red letter day") are great.

Quote from: "Jemble Fred"Ergo, ICHH needs to be given the full DVD treatment tout suite.

They're considering reissuing another old video – the 1989 tour, Highlights, although they're keen to "soften" it (filmise it, presumably) in some way because they've never been happy with how it looked. I agree, It Couldn't Happen Here should come out on DVD but it might not be for a while even if they wanted to do it – they'd wanted to reissue special editions of Nightlife and Release, but had been advised by the record company to hold off because Disco 3, PopArt, Back to Mine and Battleship Potemkin have come out in quick succession.

alan strang

Quote from: "Panbaams"Agree completely, they come across very well on it – very down to earth and self-deprecating, the bits where they're slagging off videos they don't like (like version 2 of "Opportunities"

What, the Zbigniew Rybczyński one? Cor, what do they say? I've always adored that video. The bit where Tennant raises his top hat to camera was a real goose-bump moment during my teens.

Panbaams

Quote from: "alan strang"
Quote from: "Panbaams"Agree completely, they come across very well on it – very down to earth and self-deprecating, the bits where they're slagging off videos they don't like (like version 2 of "Opportunities"

What, the Zbigniew Rybczyński one? Cor, what do they say? I've always adored that video. The bit where Tennant raises his top hat to camera was a real goose-bump moment during my teens.

They look really awkward – Neil looks a bit wooden and his lip-synching goes slightly astray a couple of times, and Chris is obviously looking off to the left of the screen at a monitor or something to check where he should put down and pick up a hammer (makes sense if you've seen the video). It's also the fact (as Chris Heath notes on the commentary) that although it looked cutting-edge at the time, it looks a bit crap now – the video effects look really cheap and nasty. The bit where they're passing things along to each other in a line (it crops up again in the "Suburbia" video) still looks good, though.

Ray Le Otter

Quote from: "Panbaams"
They're considering reissuing another old video – the 1989 tour, Highlights, although they're keen to "soften" it (filmise it, presumably) in some way because they've never been happy with how it looked. I agree, It Couldn't Happen Here should come out on DVD but it might not be for a while even if they wanted to do it – they'd wanted to reissue special editions of Nightlife and Release, but had been advised by the record company to hold off because Disco 3, PopArt, Back to Mine and Battleship Potemkin have come out in quick succession.

I though the original "Highlights" vide0 looked a bit washed out anyway - never could work out whether it was filmed and then badly transferred via videotape or filmised or what.  Obviously they were disappointed by the outcome of it - that's why we only got half the show.  It'd be good if they could put the individual Derek Jarman films used as backdrops on the DVD as extras - my "Projections" video is a bit knackered now.

Another extra - a PDF of "Annually" would be nice as well!

Panbaams

Quote from: "Ray Le Otter"I though the original "Highlights" vide0 looked a bit washed out anyway - never could work out whether it was filmed and then badly transferred via videotape or filmised or what.  Obviously they were disappointed by the outcome of it - that's why we only got half the show.

I think it was because they tried to filmise but maybe the technology at the time couldn't get quite the right effect – this is from memory, by the way, it's all in an answer to a reader's letter in the most recent issue of Literally. I think the concert was shot on high-definition video, which PMI said would be OK but Neil and Chris weren't happy about doing it, and then they didn't like the finished product – not only because it didn't look good but also because it didn't capture the atmosphere of the night (some of it was filmed in the afternoon, before the live concert).

Quote from: "Ray Le Otter"It'd be good if they could put the individual Derek Jarman films used as backdrops on the DVD as extras - my "Projections" video is a bit knackered now.

Agreed, I never bought Projections at the time so they'd be great to see.

Ray Le Otter

Quote from: "Panbaams"

I think it was because they tried to filmise but maybe the technology at the time couldn't get quite the right effect – this is from memory, by the way, it's all in an answer to a reader's letter in the most recent issue of Literally. I think the concert was shot on high-definition video, which PMI said would be OK but Neil and Chris weren't happy about doing it, and then they didn't like the finished product – not only because it didn't look good but also because it didn't capture the atmosphere of the night (some of it was filmed in the afternoon, before the live concert).

Agreed, I never bought Projections at the time so they'd be great to see.

Ah, that would be right. High-def cameras in 1989 were a bit cumbersome and not very dynamic, and the attempt at filmising was awful. The picture always looked a bit washed out when down-converted to normal PAL. However, no worse than "The Brits" last night which looked piss-poor.

I'm sure that whatever footage they can put together will be better than the disaster that was"Montage".

Phillippe Lambert

[irony]So, i'm like, tooootally fascinated by the idea of this shit.[/irony]  Any chance any one could torrent it up, can't find it anywhere else in the world.  I love the PSB, i adore their stuff, but not such a big fan of the go west period onwards.  they went a little west after that, but yeah, avoiding this gay hornet's nest, no offence intended, i'd love to see this film, it sounds truly interesting.

Jokes aside, i do think PSB are severly maligned nowadays, i agree with [insert posters name] who said that they do tend to get lumped in with somerville etc, when in reality they were a lot more than that.  they don't get the respect they deserve anymore, they wrote some truly great pop songs, that have stod the test of time, and that's more than can be said for a lot of bands of their type and era. that deserves some respect. i think they were/are truly great creative talents, and i am interested as to how they turn their musicla representation to film. shame i can't find it....

Ciarán2

Quote from: "Jemble Fred"Anyone heard Chris & Neil's commentary on their videos DVD? Only listened once when I borrowed it off the obsessive brother, but it was huge fun.

They're good on "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing". I think it's fair to say they don't see it as a successful vid. Their embarrassment is evident. "Beyond tragic." That's Chris' take on it.

I was surprised that they're so embarrassed also by the vid to "Home and Dry" which I think is great and doesn't go far enough! They shouldn't have bothered with the onstage shots at all.

Panbaams

Quote from: "Ciarán"They're good on "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing". I think it's fair to say they don't see it as a successful vid. Their embarrassment is evident. "Beyond tragic." That's Chris' take on it.

"Beyond tragic" is what Neil says, though, isn't it? When he's watching himself do the running-on-the-spot dancing near the end of the video. I like "A red letter day": "That's a good idea for a video – queueing." Chris's deadpan comments are great.

benthalo

QuoteWhat, the Zbigniew Rybczyński one? Cor, what do they say? I've always adored that video. The bit where Tennant raises his top hat to camera was a real goose-bump moment during my teens.

*on screen Chris is handed a pile of books at the end of the parade, and then throws them at the camera*

Chris on commentary track with astonishing comic timing: Ha, that's what I think of books!

The Performance DVD commentary is rather good too, with Chris unable to watch We All Feel Better In The Dark. Understandable, I guess. Also, they fade the track out for passages where they haven't much to say so that they don't feel compelled to just jabber along. I sensed they had this problem over the course of PopArt's long duration.

Wasn't Jarman unhappy with Highlights too? I'm sure there was a fair chunk on it in either his diaries or the Tony Peake biog, where he relates the nightmares of editing and post-productions. Grouping it with the quite rare Projections video would be a coup though.

alan strang



Tom Hibbert's review of It Couldn't Happen Here, from Smash Hits, 29 June, 1988 (great big scan in a yousendit link).

Jemble Fred

Even though I brought it up, this thread has now convinced me to go out and buy the videos DVD for myself. I only watched it the once, years ago, but my appetite has been re-whetted.

Panbaams

On the subject of Pet Shop Boys DVDs ...

Quote from: "The official PSB website"Documentary – 22 February '06
An hour-long documentary about Pet Shop Boys is currently being filmed and will be shown on Channel 4 (in the UK) in May. A longer version will subsequently be released on DVD.

... to be aired around the time the new LP comes out, presumably.

Quote from: "alan strang"Tom Hibbert's review of It Couldn't Happen Here, from Smash Hits, 29 June, 1988 (great big scan in a yousendit link).

Great stuff, thanks for that. The soundtrack cassette is probably worth a fortune now!

mothman

There was a soundtrack? I don't remember a soundtrack. I wonder if my copy of "Annually" is worth anything. . ?