Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)

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"Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)"
Single by Pet Shop Boys
A-side"How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?"
B-side"Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend"
Released11 March 1991 (1991-03-11)
Genre
Length
  • 4:31
  • 6:44 (extended mix)
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"Being Boring"
(1990) 		"Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" / "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?"
(1991) 		"Jealousy"
(1991)

"Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. The song is a medley of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", a 1967 song by Frankie Valli, though in an arrangement informed by the 1982 disco version of the song by the Boys Town Gang rather than the original.[4] The song accompanied "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?", the third single from their fourth studio album, Behaviour (1990), as a double A-side in the United Kingdom (both singles were released separately in the United States). Released in March 1991 by Parlophone, the song became the duo's 15th consecutive top-20 entry in the UK, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart.

Background and content[edit]

Chris Lowe had the idea for the unusual mashup, realising that "you could sing the one going into the other", while recording "I'm Not Scared" with Patsy Kensit for her band, Eighth Wonder. Lowe and Neil Tennant then noticed that "the guitar on U2's record sounded like a sequencer". The duo intended to record it with Eighth Wonder as a follow-up to "I'm Not Scared"; instead, they recorded it themselves several years later, as they "needed a big hit. It was absolutely shameless."[4] Having "turn[ed] a mythic rock song into a stomping disco record",[5] the duo considered recording a full EP of hi-NRG covers of rock songs, including "Stairway to Heaven".[4]

The Pet Shop Boys version differs significantly from that of U2 in its musical arrangement. In contrast to the U2 version's instrumental build-up, the Pet Shop Boys version opens abruptly with synthesized and sampled noises and a drum machine. The musical climax of the song is also changed in other elements; a background vocal sample of "burning down love" is played right at the start, and synthesised horns erupt with even higher notes immediately following each chorus. Tennant performs the lyrics with no vocal exertion or stresses, in contrast to Bono's performance. In addition, at the transition between "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", Tennant sings the two lines one after the other, with no change in pitch, demonstrating the similarities in the two songs.[6]

The single's other A-side, "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?", criticises the insincere humanitarian messages of a number of pop stars during the 1980s and the institutionalization of rock and roll.[6][7] The band noted that "one song is about rock stars so to have a U2 song with it serves as a further comment."[8]

Reception and legacy[edit]

Following the release of the single, U2 joked, "What have we done to deserve this?"[8] Tennant mentioned to The People in 2002 that he had "managed at long last to patch things up with Bono" after meeting him at one of Elton John's homes in the south of France.[9]

James Brown from NME said, "Here they shake out the old U2 blanket and give it a good beating, splashing in some music hall camp, and a finale of fuzzy hard rock guitar. This is cool, happy music, no-one else take the piss quite so shockingly."[10] Nick Duerden from Record Mirror wrote, "A bizarre mixture of two completely different songs, on paper it reads like a painful nightmare. But on record, it gels rather well. Neil and Chris' Hi-NRG treatment of both tracks run ridiculously smoothly with added eloquence, forcing even the Boys' detractors to give credit where it's due. Carry on camping."[3]

Live performances and recordings[edit]

To date, the Pet Shop Boys have performed the song live on six of their tours. The song was included in the main set list for 1991's Performance Tour; a recording from the Birmingham NEC in June 1991 was released on the video Performance. The VHS edition of the concert omitted the "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" section due to a publishing issue, but the complete soundtrack was later restored to the DVD version in 2004.

The song was performed at some shows of the 1994 Discovery tour, though not the show in Rio de Janeiro released on Discovery: Live in Rio 1994. It also appeared on the 2002 Release Tour, the 2004 summer/fall shows and the 2006 Fundamental Tour, of which a performance filmed in Mexico City on 14 November was included on the 2007 DVD Cubism. Most recently, it is performed on the 2022–23 Dreamworld Tour.

Track listings[edit]

Charts[edit]

Release history[edit]

Release dates and formats for "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United Kingdom 24 September 1990
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 Parlophone [47][48]
Japan 17 May 1991 Mini-CD EMI [49]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Price, Simon (2 July 2006). "Pet Shop Boys, Tower of London, London / Pharrell Williams, Hyde Park, London". The Independent. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  2. ^ Robbins, Ira. "Pet Shop Boys". Trouser Press. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b Duerden, Nick (16 March 1991). "Singles". Record Mirror. p. 14. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Tennant, Neil; Lowe, Chris; Heath, Chris. Smash: The Singles 1985–2020 (Liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 5054197296215.
  5. ^ Tennant, Neil; Lowe, Chris. Discography: The Complete Singles Collection (Liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. EMI Records USA. CDP-7-97097-2.
  6. ^ Chris Heath (2001). "How can you expect to be taken seriously?". In Behaviour / Further Listening 1990–1991 (CD liner notes). London: Pet Shop Boys Partnership.
  7. ^ a b "Product — Where the streets have no name (I can't take my eyes off you). How can you expect to be taken seriously?". PetShopBoys.co.uk.
  8. ^ O'Hanlon, Eamonn (21 April 2002). "Bono and Neil's row ends with a splash". The People. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  9. ^ Brown, James (23 March 1991). "Singles". NME. p. 16. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  10. ^ Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) / How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously? (UK 7-inch single vinyl disc). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1991. R 6285, 2042547.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) / How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously? (UK cassette single sleeve). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1991. TCR6285, 2042544.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) / How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously? (Australian 7-inch single vinyl disc). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1991. 2586-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) / How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously? (Australian cassette single sleeve). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1991. 2586-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) / How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously? (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1991. 12R6285, 2042546.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) / How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously? (UK 12-inch remix single sleeve). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1991. 12RX6285, 2042666.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) / How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously? (UK CD single liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1991. CDR6285, 2042542.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Pet Shop Boys. EMI USA. 1991. V-56217.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) (US CD single liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. EMI USA. 1991. E2-56217.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) (Canadian CD single liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. Capitol Records. 1991. C2 75260.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) (US cassette single sleeve). Pet Shop Boys. EMI USA. 1991. 4KM-50351.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) (Canadian cassette single sleeve). Pet Shop Boys. Capitol Records. 1991. 4JM 73152.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  23. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  24. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  25. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 15. 13 April 1991. p. 31. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  26. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  27. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  28. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Where the Streets Have No Name". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  29. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 2 June 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Pet Shop Boys" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  30. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 17, 1991" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  31. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  32. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)". Top 40 Singles.
  33. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  34. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)". Singles Top 100.
  35. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)". Swiss Singles Chart.
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  40. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles – Week ending June 15, 1991". Cash Box. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  41. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1991 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  42. ^ "EHR Year-End Top 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 51–52. 21 December 1991. p. 20. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
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  44. ^ "1991 Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 11 January 1992. p. 20. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  45. ^ a b "The Year in Music 1991 – Top Dance Club Play Singles / Top Dance Sales 12-Inch Singles" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. 21 December 1991. p. YE-32. ISSN 0006-2510 – via World Radio History.
  46. ^ Dee, Johnny (2 March 1991). "Index - Pet Shop Boys". Record Mirror. p. 9.
  47. ^ "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You). How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?". petshopboys.co.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  48. ^ "君の瞳に恋してる | ペット・ショップ・ボーイズ" [I'm in Love with Your Eyes | Pet Shop Boys] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
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