Please (Pet Shop Boys album)

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Please is the first full album by the English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. It came out on 24 March 1986 in the UK (Parlophone) and in the US (EMI America). The album runs 42 minutes and 50 seconds.

Background and recording
Pet Shop Boys signed with Parlophone in March 1985. They had been making music together for a few years and were influenced by disco, early hip-hop, and electronic dance music. They originally worked with Bobby Orlando on some material, including West End Girls, but the main album was produced by Stephen Hague. The album was recorded in about ten weeks at Advision Studios in London. The tracks form a loose story about life in the city, love, money, clubbing, and other urban themes.

Key songs and singles
Please features the big hit West End Girls and other singles such as Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money), Love Comes Quickly, and Suburbia. Two Divided by Zero is an early track co-written with Bobby Orlando. The album also includes a version of Opportunities (reprise), which appeared after the song was reworked for single release.

Artwork
The cover was designed by Mark Farrow. It is a minimalist white image with a small photo of the duo in the center. The inner sleeve had many more small photos.

Reception and impact
Please debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart and became Pet Shop Boys’ highest-charting album in the US, reaching number seven and later earning platinum status there. Critics were mixed at first, but many later called it a strong start for the duo and an influential synth-pop release.

Reissues and legacy
The album was reissued in 2001 as Please: Further Listening 1984–1986, with a second disc of B-sides and unreleased material. A remastered single-disc edition followed in 2009, and another remastered edition of the Further Listening collection appeared in 2018. The album helped establish the Pet Shop Boys’ distinctive style and sound that they would carry forward in their later work.