Vocal (song) - Misplaced Pages

"Vocal" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their twelfth studio album, Electric (2013). It was released as a single on 3 June 2013.

Background and recording

"Vocal" was originally intended for Elysium (2012), and it was composed early in the writing sessions for that album in Berlin in 2011. Pet Shop Boys worked on the track with Andrew Dawson, but they ran out of time and ultimately decided it did not fit the reflective mood of Elysium. The demo version of "Vocal" is included on the 2017 reissue Elysium: Further Listening 2011–2012.

Pet Shop Boys' next album, Electric, was a dance record, and "Vocal" fit the theme musically and lyrically. Neil Tennant said the song is about "the sense of community on the dancefloor", recalling in particular being at a nightclub in Brazil with Chris Lowe and other members of the Discovery Tour in 1994. The line "every track has a vocal, and that makes a change" is a reference to the prevalence of instrumental dance tracks.

Producer Stuart Price changed the song significantly from the demo, removing the brass line and making it "probably the most euphoric thing we've ever put out", according to Lowe. The track was finished in April 2013, on the day the album was scheduled to be completed. It is the last track on Electric and ends the album on an optimistic note.

Release

"Vocal" premiered on 1 June 2013 on DJ Dave Pearce's BBC Radio 2 show Dance Years. The song was released as a digital download on 3 June. On 29 July, "Vocal" was released as a CD single and a digital bundle, both containing the album version and eight original remixes. The 12-inch vinyl single was released on 9 December 2013. It was the first physical single release by Pet Shop Boys that did not contain any new B-side songs.

The single reached number three on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and number nine on the Music Week Upfront Club Chart in the UK. "Vocal" did not place on the UK Singles Chart. The CD single and digital bundle were not eligible according to the chart rules because they had more than four tracks and were longer than 25 minutes.

Music video

The music video for "Vocal" was directed by Joost Vandebrug. It is a tribute to rave culture and electronic music, consisting of a compilation of various amateur videos recorded circa the Summer of Rave in 1989.

Live performances

The song was performed as the final encore on the Electric Tour. The decision was made to replace "Go West" with "Vocal" at the dress rehearsal before the first show in Santiago, Chile, and the new song was enthusiastically received. "Vocal" was also performed on the Super Tour and the Dreamworld Tour.

Other performances

"Vocal" replaced the original closing number "Positive Role Model" in the 2015 revival of Pet Shop Boys' stage musical Closer to Heaven at London's Union Theatre and the 2019 off West End production at Above the Stag Theatre.

Track listings

CD single / digital download (remixes)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Vocal" (album version)	6:35
2.	"Vocal" (Rektchordz dub)	6:37
3.	"Vocal" (Armageddon Turk Teargas mix)	6:44
4.	"Vocal" (The Cucarachas mix)	8:06
5.	"Vocal" (JRMX Club mix)	7:59
6.	"Vocal" (Ivan Gomez & Nacho Chapado mix)	7:49
7.	"Vocal" (Rektchordz mix)	6:40
8.	"Vocal" (WAWA extended mix)	6:57
9.	"Vocal" (The Cucarachas dub)	7:53

12-inch single
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Vocal" (album version)	6:35
2.	"Vocal" (Rektchordz dub)	6:37
3.	"Vocal" (Armageddon Turk Teargas mix)	6:44
4.	"Vocal" (The Cucarachas mix)	8:06
5.	"Vocal" (JRMX Club mix)	7:59
6.	"Vocal" (Nacho Chapado & Ivan Gomez mix)	7:49
7.	"Vocal" (Rektchordz mix)	6:40
8.	"Vocal" (WAWA extended mix)	6:57

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Vocal"
Chart (2013)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)	58
France (SNEP)	196
Japan (Japan Hot 100)	63
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)	3
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)	36
US Hot Singles Sales (Billboard)	20

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Vocal"
Chart (2013)	Position
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)	96

References

^ Heath, Chris (2017). Elysium: Further Listening 2011–2012 (booklet). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone Records. 0190295852788.
^ Robinson, Peter (25 June 2013). "A lengthy Neil Tennant interview". Popjustice. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
^ Pet Shop Boys and Stuart Price (3 January 2024). Album Track by Track (Band and Producer Commentary) (audio commentary). x2.
"Vocal on Radio 2". petshopboys.co.uk. 1 June 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
"Vocal download". PetShopBoys.co.uk. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
^ "Vocal out on CD single and download". PetShopBoys.co.uk. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
^ "Vinyl". PetShopBoys.co.uk. 11 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
"Pet Shop Boys: Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
"UK club chart". petshopboys.co.uk. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
Austin, Chris; Blyth, Lucy (April 2013). "Rules for Chart Eligibility: Singles". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
Brown, Jimmy (20 June 2013). "Pet Shop Boys 'Vocal' by Joost Vandebrug". Promonews. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
"EB Video Premiere: Pet Shop Boys - 'Vocal'". Electronic Beats. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
"Electric tour begins". petshopboys.co.uk. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
"Songs played by tour: The Super Tour". setlist.fm. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
"Pet Shop Boys The Super Tour: Entering the Orbit of Pet Shop Boys". The Star Performing Arts Center. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
"Songs played by tour: Dreamworld - The Greatest Hits Live". setlist.fm. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
Doyle, Wesley (31 July 2024). "Opera House Music: Pet Shop Boys' Dreamworld Reviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
Emms, Stephen (13 November 2015). "Review: Closer to Heaven, Union Theatre". Below the River. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
"Theatre Review: Closer to Heaven starring Adele Anderson, Blake Patrick Anderson, Maddy Banks & Ian Hallard at Above The Stag". Monstagigz. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
"Pet Shop Boys – Vocal" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
"Pet Shop Boys – Vocal" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
"Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
"Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
"Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
"Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Hot Singles Sales)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
"Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.

External links

v t e Pet Shop Boys
Chris Lowe Neil Tennant
Studio albums	Please Actually Introspective Behaviour Very Bilingual Nightlife Release Fundamental Yes Elysium Electric Super Hotspot Nonetheless
Compilation albums	Discography: The Complete Singles Collection Alternative Essential PopArt: The Hits Story: 25 Years of Hits Party Ultimate Format Smash: The Singles 1985–2020
Remix albums	Disco Disco 2 Disco 3 Disco 4
Live albums	Concrete Pandemonium Inner Sanctum Discovery: Live in Rio 1994
Extended plays	Christmas Agenda Lost
Singles	"West End Girls" "One More Chance" "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" "Love Comes Quickly" "Suburbia" "Paninaro" "It's a Sin" "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" "Rent" "Heart" "Always on My Mind" "Domino Dancing" "Left to My Own Devices" "It's Alright" "So Hard" "Being Boring" "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" / "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?" "Jealousy" "DJ Culture" "Was It Worth It?" "Can You Forgive Her?" "Go West" "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" "Liberation" "Absolutely Fabulous" "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" "Paninaro '95" "Before" "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" / "To Step Aside" "Single-Bilingual" "A Red Letter Day" "Somewhere" "I Don't Know What You Want but I Can't Give It Any More" "New York City Boy" "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk" "Home and Dry" "I Get Along" "London" "Miracles" "Flamboyant" "I'm with Stupid" "Minimal" "Numb" "Integral" "Love Etc." "Did You See Me Coming?" "Beautiful People" "Love Life" "Together" "Winner" "Leaving" "Memory of the Future" "Axis" "Vocal" "Love Is a Bourgeois Construct" "Thursday" "The Pop Kids" "Say It to Me" "Dreamland"
Featured singles	"Hallo Spaceboy" "Break 4 Love" "She's Madonna"
Other songs	"King's Cross" "The Loving Kind" "The Night I Fell in Love" "I'm Not Scared" "In Private" "Nothing Has Been Proved" "So Sorry, I Said" "Don't Drop Bombs" "Losing My Mind"
Video albums	Cubism
Soundtracks and scores	The Crying Game Closer to Heaven Battleship Potemkin The Most Incredible Thing
Film, stage and television	It Couldn't Happen Here Closer to Heaven Pet Shop Boys: A Life in Pop
Tours and concerts	Fundamental Tour Pandemonium Tour Electric Tour Super Tour Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live
Related articles	CyberWorld Discography Songs x2 Reputation Results Electronic Back to Mine: Pet Shop Boys West End Girls

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