Songs from St Lucia: how a boring holiday led to one of Pet Shop Boys’ biggest hits
Inspiration within music comes from a wide variety of different places. A lot of these areas can be earnest, as musicians look deep inside themselves to vocalise feelings that would otherwise be suppressed. On the other hand, a lot of inspiration can come from mundane things, and others come from the most unlikely of places. Who is to say which is correct? One act that have never been afraid to tackle a wide range of issues is the Pet Shop Boys.
Ever since they released their debut single some 40 years ago, ‘West End Girls’, they have been able to incorporate dance-y synth-pop into some of the greatest emotional depths that music has ever burrowed. Their sound mixes vulnerabality with fun, and a number of unbelievable records have been left in their creative wake.
Of course, the duo are only human, meaning not all of their tracks have a visceral emotional inspiration behind them. Some songs come with a slight double meaning, one half being an honest and emotional telling of something real, the other being a mundane affair that led to catchy lyrics and a good song title. One of the band’s best examples of these tracks is ‘Domino Dancing’.
‘Domino Dancing’ is a perfect song that articulates the difficulties within a collapsing relationship. Demonstrating what the Pet Shop Boys were so famous for, the song is sad at its heart but is also an upbeat and fun number. It can fill a dance floor while simultaneously breaking your heart, as the band describes what it’s like to be jealous in a relationship and see your connection crumble as a result.
Neil Tennant said he had “created a scenario of, you know, a guy going out with a beautiful girl and all the guys are looking at her on the beach in her bikini or whatever and they’re all dropping dead before her because she’s so gorgeous and so consequently he gets jealous, and the relationship collapses…”
The image of the bikini and the beach are very relevant here, as the other piece of inspiration for the song came from a holiday that both band members went on that saw them twiddling their thumbs and playing one particular game. On the Caribbean Island of St Lucia, there wasn’t much to do in the resort where they were staying, and as such, the two found themselves neck deep in dots and plastic tiles every night.
“In the evening, there was nothing to do except play dominoes,” Tennant once reflected, “This friend of ours [their personal assistant and Chris’s roommate, the late Pete Andreas] always used to beat us, and he used to do this celebratory dance.” Spurred on by this curious sight in a paradise that was quickly collapsing into banality prompted the duo’s muse to bolt.
Who is to say where inspiration for art should come from? Some pieces come from the most profound and honest articulations of the human psyche around. Others amounted from next to nothing. The art world is best left in the grey area between those two things.
