Single-Bilingual

"Single-Bilingual"
Single by Pet Shop Boys
from the album Bilingual
B-side
  • "Discoteca"
  • "The Calm Before the Storm"
  • "Confidential"
Released11 November 1996 (1996-11-11)[1]
Length
  • 3:30
  • 3:48 (8:24 with "Discoteca" album version)
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)"
(1996) 		"Single-Bilingual"
(1996) 		"A Red Letter Day"
(1997)
Music video
"Single-Bilingual" on YouTube

"Single-Bilingual" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 11 November 1996 as the third single from their sixth studio album, Bilingual (1996). The track peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is named "Single" on the album version but was retitled "Single-Bilingual" because Everything but the Girl also had a song named "Single", which had been released the previous May. The album version cross-fades with the previous track, "Discoteca", of which both the album and single versions feature an interpolation at the end.

Critical reception

A reviewer from Music Week rated the song three out of five, adding, "The album has fallen from the Top 75, but this class single — devastatingly detailing the life of an upwardly-mobile Euro-executive — should return it to the forefront."[2] Simon Price of Melody Maker was critical of the song, commenting that the use of "hundreds of real drums all over a Pet Shop Boys record" is "like ants on a chocolate bar and just as unwelcome". He continued, "I try hard to think Fleetwood Mac's 'Tusk' and not think Paul Simon's Graceland, but there's no avoiding it: this sucks."[3]

Music video

The accompanying music video features Neil Tennant as a glib businessman travelling across Europe and trying to pick up a woman in a bar. Towards the end, the visuals feature military aircraft suggesting that he is in fact an arms trader.

Track listings

  1. "Single-Bilingual"
  2. "Discoteca" (new version)
  3. "The Calm Before the Storm"
  4. "Discoteca" (Trouser Enthusiast's Adventures Beyond the Stellar Empire mix)
  1. "Discoteca" (PSB extended mix)
  2. "Confidential" (1992 demo for Tina Turner)
  3. "Single-Bilingual" (Baby Doc mix)
  4. "Discoteca" (Baby Doc mix)
  • UK cassette single and European CD single[6][7]
  1. "Single-Bilingual"
  2. "Discoteca" (new version)

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Single-Bilingual"
Chart (1996–1997) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[8] 13
Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[9] 22
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[10] 84
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 17
Germany (GfK)[12] 77
Scotland (OCC)[13] 19
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 39
UK Singles (OCC)[15] 14

References

  1. ^ "Single-Bilingual". petshopboys.co.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 2 November 1996. p. 35. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  3. ^ Price, Simon (16 November 1996). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 46. ISSN 0025-9012.
  4. ^ Single-Bilingual (UK CD1 liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1996. CDRS 6452, 7243 8 83452 2 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ Single-Bilingual (UK CD2 liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1996. CDR 6452, 7243 8 83468 2 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ Single-Bilingual (UK cassette single sleeve). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1996. TCR6452, 7243 883452 4 8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Single-Bilingual (European CD single liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1996. 7243 883451 2 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Single-Bilingual" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 7765." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  10. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 49. 7 December 1996. p. 12. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  11. ^ "Pet Shop Boys: Single Bilinguali" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Single-Bilingual" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  13. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Single-Bilingual". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Pet Shop Boys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2016.