PET SHOP BOYS FASHION A GAY ANTHEM, A-HA FALL OUT WITH JOHN BARRY AND THE UK FINALLY SUCCUMBS TO THE CHARMS OF AUSSIE LEDGE JOHN FARNHAM
STEVE O’BRIEN
CLASSIC POP
01 (1) IT’S A SIN PET SHOP BOYS (PARLOPHONE)
IT’S A SIN PET SHOP BOYS (PARLOPHONE) Neil Tennant may not have conceived Pet Shop Boys’ first single off second LP Actually to be as issue-defining as it became (“the song was written in about 15 minutes, and was intended as a camp joke. It wasn’t something I consciously took very seriously,” he told Out in 2009), but since its release in June ’87, It’s A Sin has become something of a gay anthem, so much so that Russell T Davies picked it as the title of his 2021 drama chronicling the 80s AIDS crisis. Neil and Chris Lowe actually won a lawsuit against singer-songwriter, TV presenter (and future felon) Jonathan King, who in his Sun column accused the pair of pilfering It’s A Sin ’s melody from Cat Stevens’ 1970 song Wild World . The duo sued King, who settled out of court, after which Tennant and Lowe donated the money to charity. The video would be the Pets’ first collaboration with arthouse titan Derek Jarman, and features Tennant under arrest by an inquisition with Lowe as his jailer. Look out for Academy Award-nominated actor Ron ( Oliver! ) Moody in the role of the judge.
02 (3) BRUCE WILLIS UNDER THE BOARDWALK (MOTOWN)
UNDER THE BOARDWALK BRUCE WILLIS (MOTOWN) Certainly, the Bruce Willis of 1987 was not someone lacking in chutzpah. Who else, on the back of their starring role in one of TV’s most popular detective shows (that would be Moonlighting ), would have the balls to release an album – on the Motown label for God’s sake – chockful of soul classics? No one would claim, however, that Willis’ takes on The Staple Singers’ Respect Yourself or The Coasters’ Young Blood were better than the originals, and that includes this misconceived cover of The Drifters’ 1964 favourite. Despite flopping in the US (it made No.59) it was a surprise hit in the UK, peaking at No.2, outperforming The Drifters’ version by an incredible 43 chart positions. People, eh?
03 (2) STAR TREKKIN’ THE FIRM (BARK)
STAR TREKKIN’ THE FIRM (BARK) There are few No.1s from the past more likely to elicit a bewildered “ This was a No.1?!” response from Gen Z than this batty novelty single from The Firm. Now more likely to be heard pumping out of the speakers at a Star Trek convention disco, Star Trekkin’ seemed to be everywhere in the summer of 1987, and spent two weeks at the summit of the UK Singles Chart. It was the secon
