The Pet Shop Boys are a pioneering British electronic pop duo consisting of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. They have experienced major success in the UK selling over 50 million albums worldwide, but their primary success in the U.S. happened during the 80s.

Ged Doherty, Chairman of The BRITs Committee said, "Since their first BRIT Award over 20 years ago, Neil and Chris have produced a fantastic body of work with songs that truly were the soundtrack to a whole generation's lives. The Pet Shop Boys have since become one of the most influential groups of the modern era and are deserving recipients of the award."

Some of their songs are among my very favorite synth-pop from the 80s (and I will share those with you in a little bit). The Pet Shop Boys performed live at the BRITs after receiving the esteemed award. Here is a video of this performance which takes place about 25 years after their first hit song:

Here are the songs that are included in this medley: "Suburbia" / "Love etc." (new song) / "Left To My Own Devices" / "Always On My Mind" / "Go West" ("Paninaro" intro) / "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" / "Domino Dancing" (intro) & "I'm With Stupid" (intro) / "Being Boring" ("Opportunities" intro) / "It's A Sin" / "All Over the World" / "West End Girls". Not all 80s songs obviously, but a nice medley nonetheless. I was not a fan of Lady GaGa trying to fill the shoes of Dusty Springfield in "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" but I did like the contributions of Brandon Flowers (of The Killers) very much.

If you read Kickin' it often enough, you know I am not going to let this opportunity pass to publish my top 10 list for the Pet Shop Boys. I went through and came up with 10 songs from the 80s that I liked, but when I really thought about it, there were only 5 that I really loved. Those 5 are fantastic in my opinion, so I am simply going to do a top 5 this time. I could have listed 5 more songs to fill a top 10, but in this case I just did not feel it was worth it.

So without further ado, here is OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 5 PET SHOP BOYS SONGS FROM THE 80s:

5. "Suburbia" (1986) from Please [link to video]

4. "It's A Sin" (1987) from Actually [link to video] - Hit #1 on the UK Singles Chart, but not in the U.S., and was supposedly the best-selling European single of 1987.

3. "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (1984) from Please [link to video]

2. "West End Girls" (1984) from Please [link to video] - This is the group's first hit and the song reached #1 on the charts in both the U.S. and UK.

1. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" (1987) with Dusty Springfield from Actually [link to video] - This song made it all the way to #2 on both the U.S and UK charts, but could not get to the top spot. It revived the career of Dusty Springfield and is highly ranked on my popular Top Duets of the 80s list.

There's my list. Relatively obvious choices, but songs I truly love. The most popular song not included was the cover of Elvis Presley's "Always On My Mind" from 1988's Introspective. The duo has continued to release albums since then and has a new album titled Yes scheduled to release on March 23^rd (2009).

Kickin' it Old School congratulates Tennant and Lowe as they are in impressive company after receiving this Award. Previous recipients of the Outstanding Contribution To Music Award include Paul McCartney, Oasis, U2, Paul Weller, Tom Jones, Sting, David Bowie, Eurythmics, The Beatles and The Who. The Pet Shop Boys are an important part of 80s music to me, but obviously are much more than that to many others especially in the UK.

That does it for another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks much for reading. If you are interested in reading more of my 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you are interested in reading more of my Top 10 lists, please click there for a summary. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Like". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: Here is a very funny sketch from a recent Saturday Night Live hosted by Alec Baldwin. I admit it is a little crude and immature, but so am I sometimes. Enjoy!

Quote of the day: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -Aristotle