How would I start? Well, the fact is that the influence of the Pet Shop
Boys to me has been enormous. If the PSB didn't exist, my life would have
most certainly been different. It's like the love of the life. Many people
will never find their love of the life. Many people like all kind of music
and they have many favourite groups, but none of those is truly over the
others. It's just nice music. So, I could say that in music I have found
the love of my life. It's MY MUSIC. Perfect music. Nothing too much,
nothing too little there.
I have always liked the PSB. In the 80's I used to hear 'It's A Sin' on
the radio and I thought it was a nice song. Later I heard more PSB songs.
'Always On My Mind', 'Left To My Own Devices', 'West End Girls'. I started
to pay attention to the PSB because it seemed to be the only group that
had only good songs. Many groups have good songs, but only the PSB songs
were 100% great. Except that I didn't like 'Heart' in the beginning. So, I
have always known about the PSB, but I didn't become a true fan until I
heard 'Go West' and other songs from Very. I liked all the Very singles,
'I Wouldn't Normally...', 'Liberation' and 'Can You Forgive Her'. So, I
borrowed a cassette of Very from the local library. I used to have a
walkman that was functioning very poorly, but I listened to Very again and
again. It was a summer and I spent all of the summer just walking and
cycling around the town listening to Very. I have fond memories of that
warm summer and that's why Very is the ultimate album for me. I didn't
understand much of the lyrics, but I liked the bits I did. I remember
walking warm nights along the coast line looking at the sea and listening
to 'Young Offender'. I recorded the Very tape and borrowed more PSB
albums. The next album I borrowed was Introspective. And from there I
found my ultimate PSB song: 'Left To My Own Devices'. The whole song just
blew my consciousness. And now I really started discovering the greatness
of PSB lyrics. And so, soon I had borrowed and recorded all the main
albums. The first album I bought was Disco 2. And now I have close to 40
PSB cds plus lot's of vinyl singles and even one cassette single.
So, one of the reasons I like the PSB music is because I have lot's of
memories saved into those songs. When I hear 'I'm Not Scared', I can
always see the dusty road in front of me, painted orange by the sunset and
the smell of the sea in my nose. When I hear 'A Different Point Of View' I
always go back to the rainy but sunny morning in Calais when I was
travelling alone around Europe. I can recall many things in my life just
by listening to a PSB song. I can remember things i wouldn't normally
remember.
The PSB music has always offered me a lot of comfort. When I have hard
times, I play PSB music when I go to sleep, because it can get me out of
my worries. The world behind the music is so true that it can suck me in.
I do like the music and the lyrics as much. The music flows so swiftly,
that I can see images just by listening to it. I like to dance to PSB
music. PSB music is the only music that can make me really wild, I can
dance to a PSB song so wildly that I forget everything around me.
About the lyrics... It seems that every possible situation you can
experience in life can be found from the lyrics of the songs. With this I
mean the kinds of situations you can experience with people. The lyrics
tell about love, death, falling in love, losing love, hate, jealousy,
revenge, powerty, youth, growing old, about everything. So, every time I
have an emotional crisis, I seek comfort from the songs. There is always a
song I can relate to. Especially when it comes to love. 'Liberation'
describes perfectly what it is like to fall in love and feel it; 'All the
way back home at midnight you were sleeping on my shoulder.' For example I
discovered how true the lyrics of 'I don't know what you want but I can't
give it anymore' were when I was in that kind of situation. The PSB songs
are a bit like a bible of life or ABC of feelings and emotions. So, the
songs have a huge meaning for me when I'm looking for my identity, when
I'm trying to figure out what's this new, strange feeling I'm right now
experiencing. I don't need to read philosophy or wise men of the east or
the Bible to find out the answers to human life. It's all in the PSB
songs.
Of course their music also represents me a kind of an identity. Neil and
Chris are a bit like icons to me. And I'm proud to be a PSB fan, even
though everyone don't always understand my devotion to the PSB. It's not
an easy thing to be a fan of an old 80's gay group. It'd be easier to be
an Oasis fan. Talking about the gay image, I never really thought of
anything about the gay subject before Neil came out 1994. First it was a
bit hard for me to accept that they were gay. (I was a teenager and all
teenagers have prejudices) But my devotion to the PSB was already so deep,
that I couldn't help but to accept the whole thing. After that I started
to think about the differencies between people more closely and I was keen
to learn all the thruths behind the myths. So, in a way the PSB have
broadened my mind and made me accept all kinds of people. The PSB has
helped me to seek out the thruths behind the myths, so that I wouldn't
judge anything before I've learned to know what really is under the
surface.
Now that I'm part of the Dotmusic Pet Shop Boys Discussion Group, I have
learned to know many other fans around the world. It has been great to
share my views with other people and see that there really are other
people who feel the same way about the PSB. After I joined the forum I
have bought many CD:s and LP:s that I would not have normally bought.
That's been rather expensive from time to time, but I have not wasted my
money anyhow. Because of the forum I know what items are worth buying. I
guess it's a bit like a community thing. I have to own all the items that
the other people have, so I'd know what they are discussing about. Of
course the CD:s I buy are great to listen to too. And now, because of the
PSB, I know many interesting people from around the world, and discussing
with them makes me learn to understand English better and better. And I
have learned many other things too about different cultures.
I'm not sure if I've said it all here. The influence of the PSB propably
goes much deeper on me than I can now understand. Some of my friends say
I'm nuts, when it comes to PSB. Maybe they are right. So, I've written
here only the things that have first come into my mind. In the end, all I
can say is that in Pet Shop Boys I have found my music. Without the PSB
my life would have certainly been different. Emptier.