Suburbia (song)

For the song by the Matthew Good Band, see Beautiful Midnight.

"Suburbia"
Single by Pet Shop Boys
from the album Please
B-side	"Paninaro", "Jack the Lad"
Released	September 22, 1986
Format	7", 12", cassette
Genre	Synthpop
Length	5:05 (album version) 4:03 (7" mix) 5:11 (video mix) 8:55 (the full horror)
Label	Parlophone / EMI
Writer(s)	Neil Tennant, Chris Lowe
Producer	Julian Mendelsohn
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (second release) (1986) "Suburbia" (1986) "It's a Sin" (1987)

"Suburbia" is a song by UK synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was remixed and released as the fourth single from the album Please in 1986 and became the band's second UK Top 10 hit, peaking at #8.

Overview

The song's primary inspiration is the 1984 Penelope Spheeris film Suburbia, and its depiction of violence and squalor in the suburbs of Los Angeles; in addition, the tension of the Brixton riots of 1981 and of 1985 hanging in recent memory led Neil Tennant of the duo to thinking about the boredom of suburbia and the underlying tension among disaffected youth that sparked off the riots at the least provocation.

The various versions of the song are punctuated by sounds of suburban violence: rioting noises and smashing glass, as well as snarling dogs on the re-recorded single version (extended even further on the music video), which were derived from typical scenes in suburbia. The Please version of the song sounds very sparse in comparison. Oddly, the version used for the video was the song that appeared on the PopArt compilation in 2003.

The video was directed by Eric Watson, and features footage of the Pet Shop Boys in a Los Angeles suburb, as they happened to be there for that year's MTV Music Awards.

The B-sides to the single were "Jack the Lad" and "Paninaro". The Full Horror mix of "Suburbia" and the Italian Mix of "Paninaro" both appeared on the Pet Shop Boys' album Disco as well as the "Suburbia" 12", and would later be collected on the 2001 2-disc re-release of Please.

Track listing

7": Parlophone / R 6140 (UK)

1. "Suburbia" (New version) – 3:59
2. "Paninaro" – 4:37

2x7": Parlophone / RD 6140 (UK)

1. "Suburbia" (New version) – 3:59
2. "Paninaro" – 4:37
3. "Love comes quickly" (Shep Pettibone mastermix – early fade) – 6:20
4. "Jack the lad" – 4:30
5. "Suburbia Pt. Two" – 2:20

MC: Parlophone / TC R 6140 (UK)

1. "Suburbia" (New version) – 3:59
2. "Paninaro" – 4:37
3. "Jack the Lad" – 4:30
4. "Love Comes Quickly" (Shep Pettibone Remix) – 7:34

12": Parlophone / 12 R 6140 (UK)

1. "Suburbia" (The Full Horror) – 8:55
2. "Paninaro" – 4:37
3. "Jack the Lad" – 4:30

12": EMI Manhattan / V-19226 (US)

1. "Suburbia" (The Full Horror) – 8:55
2. "Suburbia" (New version) – 3:59
3. "Jack the Lad" – 4:30

12": EMI Manhattan / SPRO-9925/9926 (US)

1. "Suburbia" (Club Vocal) – 7:10
2. "Suburbia" (Arthur Baker Dub) – 7:58

• Promo only Arthur Baker remixes

• Suburbia "New version", "The Full Horror" and "Part Two" remixed by Julian Mendelsohn

Chart performance

Chart (1986)	Peak position
UK	8
Germany	2
Switzerland	3
Netherlands	2
Sweden	6
Austria	9
French	74

References

• Heath, Chris (2001). "Suburbia". In Please / Further Listening 1984-1986 [CD liner notes]. London: Pet Shop Boys Partnership.
• "Interviews: Pet Shop Boys". Remember the Eighties. March 2004. http://www.remembertheeighties.com/index2.html. Retrieved 2006-06-29.