Always On My Mind

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Pet Shop Boys

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Description: In 1987, the Pet Shop Boys performed a synth-pop version of "Always on My Mind" on Love Me Tender, a television special on the ITV network in the United Kingdom. Commemorating the tenth anniversary of Presley's death, the programme featured various popular acts of the time performing cover versions of his songs. The Pet Shop Boys' performance was so well-received that the duo decided to record the song and release it as a single. This version became the UK's Christmas number-one single that year – edging out "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues – spending four weeks atop the chart. It also reached num In 1987, the Pet Shop Boys performed a synth-pop version of "Always on My Mind" on Love Me Tender, a television special on the ITV network in the United Kingdom. Commemorating the tenth anniversary of Presley's death, the programme featured various popular acts of the time performing cover versions of his songs. The Pet Shop Boys' performance was so well-received that the duo decided to record the song and release it as a single.

This version became the UK's Christmas number-one single that year – edging out "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues – spending four weeks atop the chart. It also reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The Pet Shop Boys version introduces a harmonic variation not present in the original version. In the original, the ending phrase "always on my mind" is sung to a IV-V7-I cadence (C-D7-G). The Pet Shop Boys extend this cadence by adding two further chords: C-D7-Gm7/B♭-C-G (i.e. a progression of IV-V7-IIIb-IV-I).

In November 2004, The Daily Telegraph placed the version at number two in a list of the 50 best cover versions of all time. In October 2014, a public poll compiled by the BBC saw the song voted the all-time best cover version.

In the video for Pet Shop Boys' version of "Always on My Mind" (an excerpt from their surreal music film It Couldn't Happen Here), Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe are seated in the front of a taxi cab, when an eccentric passenger gets in, played by British actor Joss Ackland. At the end of the song, he gets out of the car, which drives away. Standing alone, he mutters: "You went away. It should make me feel better. But I don't know how I'm going to get through", which is part of the lyrics for another Pet Shop Boys song, "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", released earlier in the year.

In 1988, the duo remixed the song for their third studio album, Introspective, combining it with the track "In My House". Two further remixes by longtime Pet Shop Boys remixer, Shep Pettibone, were released on the US promotional triple vinyl version of the album—Shep's Holiday Mix and Shep's House Mix. Neither have appeared on any other format since.

In 2008, the song was used in the video game Dance Dance Revolution X, which was released for both arcades and the PlayStation 2 console. In 2010, the song was re-used for Dance Dance Revolution X2 which was released for arcades.

In 2017, Burberry released its holiday campaign, as directed by Alasdair McLellan, which features Cara Delevingne and actor Matt Smith. It opens with Delevingne singing "Always on My Mind" before segueing into the Pet Shop Boys cover of the song. ... (more)

Manufacturer: Parlophone
Release date: 30 November 1987

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boogiepop1989 posted 2 images 2 years, 12 months ago

Onion Jack added this to a list 3 years, 5 months ago

Now This Is What We Call Great '80s Music (100 music items)

"► ► ► ALWAYS ON MY MIND ◄ ◄ ◄PET SHOP BOYS Entered UK Top 40: 12 December 1987 (4) Peaked: 19 December 1987 Peak Position: 1 Weeks at Peak: 4 Weeks in Top 10: 6 Certified: GOLDFirst recorded by: GWEN McCRAE"