Welcome to the MedLibrary.org Wikipedia Supplement on Actually (album) -- Please Click to Return to Front Page

Actually
Studio album by Pet Shop Boys
Released	September 7, 1987
Recorded	1987
Genre	Synthpop
Length	48:14
Label	EMI Manhattan (US/Canada) Parlophone
Producer	Pet Shop Boys, Stephen Hague, Julian Mendelesohn, Andy Richards, Shep Pettibone, David Jacob
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Rolling Stone (unfavorable) link Robert Christgau (A-) link
Pet Shop Boys chronology
Disco (1986) Actually (1987) Introspective (1988)

Actually is the third album, the second of entirely new music, by the UK electronic music group Pet Shop Boys. It was first released in 1987. This album is also the group's second-highest selling album of all time with over 4 million copies sold.

History

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

Actually is not much different from Pet Shop Boys' first album, Please in terms of musical style, although production values are noticeably higher.

Actually spawned four UK Top 10 singles: the number one lead-off single "It's a Sin," "Rent," "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," a duet with fellow Parlophone artist Dusty Springfield which peaked at #2 in both the UK and US and led to a major resurgence of interest in Springfield's earlier work; and the duo scored another UK number one in April 1988 with a remixed version of the album's fourth and last single, "Heart."

During this period, the Pet Shop Boys also completed a full-length motion picture called It Couldn't Happen Here. Featuring songs by the duo, it was most famous for containing the video for "Always on My Mind" (starring Joss Ackland as a blind priest), which - while not on Actually - was released as a single during this period.

The period from Actually to Introspective is considered the bands imperial phase, a term now in common usage, by both fans and the Pet Shop Boys themselves.^{citation needed}

Actually was re-released in 2001 (as were most of the group's albums up to that point) as Actually/Further Listening 1987-1988. The re-released version was not only digitally remastered but came with a second disc of B-sides, remixes done by the Pet Shop Boys and previously unreleased material from around the time of the album's original release.

Track listing

1. "One More Chance" - 5:30
2. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" (with Dusty Springfield) - 4:18
3. "Shopping" - 3:37
4. "Rent" - 5:08
5. "Hit Music" - 4:44
6. "It Couldn't Happen Here" - 5:20
7. "It's a Sin" - 4:59
8. "I Want to Wake Up - 5:08
9. "Heart" - 3:58
10. "King's Cross" - 5:10

Further Listening 1987-1988

1. "I want to wake up (Breakdown mix)"
2. "Heart (Shep Pettibone version)"
3. "You know where you went wrong"
4. "One more chance (seven-inch mix)"
5. "It's a sin (Disco mix)"
6. "What have I done to deserve this? (Extended mix)"
7. "Heart (Disco mix)"
8. "A new life"
9. "Always on my mind (Demo version)"
10. "Rent (Seven-inch mix)"
11. "I want a dog"
12. "Always on my mind (Extended dance mix)"
13. "Do I have to?"
14. "Always on my mind (Dub mix)"

Personnel

• Neil Tennant
• Chris Lowe

Guest musicians

• Andy Richards - Fairlight and keyboard programming on tracks 1, 4, 5, 7 & 9
• Dusty Springfield - Guest vocals on track 2
• J.J. Jeczalik - Fairlight programming on track 3
• Gary Maughan - Additional programming on track 3
• Angelo Badalamenti - Orchestra arrangement on track 6
• Blue Weaver - Fairlight programming on track 6
• Adrian Cook - Programming on track 8

Chart performance

External links

• Music-Nerd track by track review

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 19 October 2008, at 00:46.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Actually (album)".

The URL for this specific entry is:

• http://medlibrary.org/medwiki/Actually_(album)

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.