BBC Radio 2 late summer programme highlights - Pet Shop Boys' most popular songs

Radio 2 listeners have voted West End Girls – which reached No. 1 in the UK charts in 1985 following its original release in 1984 – their favourite Pet Shop Boys song of all-time

Augsut 19, 2024 — Radio 2 listeners have voted West End Girls – which reached No. 1 in the UK charts in 1985 following its original release in 1984 – their favourite Pet Shop Boys song of all-time, with just a few weeks to go until their headline set at Radio 2 in the Park at Moor Park, Preston on Sunday 8 September. It’s A Sin was in second place, and Always On My Mind (1987) in third place.

The full Top 30 countdown will be featured in Your Ultimate Pet Shop Boys Song hosted by Mark Goodier, which is available on BBC Sounds here (from Monday 19 August) and will be broadcast on Radio 2 on Saturday 24 August (1-3pm).

In July Radio 2 listeners were asked to vote for their favourite Pet Shop Boys song of all-time. They could select up to five of their tracks from a list of their songs that have charted in the Top 100, including songs where they were a featured artist, plus album tracks chosen by a panel of experts, including Radio 2’s Gary Davies.

Also available on BBC Sounds here (from 19 August) is Your Ultimate Pet Shop Boys Song – The Extras where Mark Goodier gives listeners the chance to hear the Pet Shop Boys songs that didn’t make the Top 30 chart. A BBC Audio production.

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe says: “When this vote was launched we said we’d be very interested to hear what Radio 2 listeners chose as their favourite Pet Shop Boys song and the full Top 30 list of songs is fascinating. We are very pleased and not totally surprised that West End Girls has topped the chart! It’s a song we still love performing in concerts, 40 years since its first release. Thanks to everyone for voting and we look forward to seeing you at Radio 2 in the Park in Preston on September 8th.”

Jeff Smith, Head of Music, Radio 2 says: “West End Girls is a timeless classic pop song, which sounds as fresh today as it did nearly 40 years when it was first recorded. I’m looking forward to hearing it performed live at Radio 2 in the Park in Preston!”

Mark Goodier says: “I remember playing West End Girls on its original release on their original record label. I loved it, but it wasn’t a success in the UK. It took about a year and a half, a new record label and a new producer and then we got the hit that has been part of our lives for almost 40 years. It is a remarkable song and it set the tone for what has turned out to be a magnificent career for one of Britain’s most innovative groups.”