Being Boring

As the second single release from the album, following "So Hard," "Being Boring" was not particularly successful upon release, only reaching number twenty in the UK Singles Chart and being the first single released by the group not to get into the Top 10 since "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" four years previously.

The song is concerned with the idea of growing up and how people's perceptions and values change as they grow older. The title apparently materialised after someone in Japan accused the duo of being boring. The title is also derived from a Zelda Fitzgerald quotation, "she refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn't boring".

Rated highly by Pet Shop Boy aficionados, in a 1993 interview Neil Tennant described "Being Boring" as "one of the best songs that we've written", and explained that "For me it is a personal song because it's about a friend of mine who died of AIDS, and so it's about our lives when we were teenagers and how we moved to London, and I suppose me becoming successful and him becoming ill."^[1]

The track was originally pieced together in a studio in West Glasgow, where the music for "My October Symphony", "The End of the World" and the unreleased "Love and War" were also done. The track was also played in 1990-1991 Brazilian soap opera Meu Bem, Meu Mal.^[2]

Live

In spite of the track's moderate commercial success, "Being Boring" has been played regularly at concerts and is widely considered amongst the greatest, most beautiful Pet Shop Boys songs by fans. Ironically, due to various factors (including it being hard to sing), it wasn't initially performed on 1991's Performance tour;^[3] leading to many fans, including Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses, complaining about its omission.^[4] As a result, it was added as an encore late in the tour with the band commenting that it "invariably got the best reception of the night."^[3] It has since become a mainstay of their live performances.

Video

The video, the first by fashion-photographer Bruce Weber, totally in black and white, shows a house party and begins with a nude swimmer and a message: "I came from Newcastle in the North of England. We used to have lots of parties where everyone got dressed up and on one party invitation was the quote 'she was never bored because she was never boring'. The song is about growing up - the ideals that you have when you're young and how they turn out".

B-side

The B-side, "We All Feel Better in the Dark" was written around a piece of music Chris Lowe had composed and features him as the lead-vocalist. As he explains, "The idea came from a tape I bought from a health food shop round the corner from the studio: The Secrets of Sexual Attraction. The words are terrible. Awful. Embarrassing."^[5]

The track proved to be a fan favourite and was performed live during their Performance Tour in 1991. The remix 12" includes two mixes of the track by Brothers in Rhythm.

Track listing

7": Parlophone / R 6275 (UK)

"Being Boring" – 4:50
"We All Feel Better in the Dark" – 4:00

12": Parlophone / 12 R 6275 (UK)

"Being Boring" (Extended Mix) – 10:40
"We All Feel Better in the Dark" (Extended Mix) – 6:45
"Being Boring" – 4:50

also available on CD (CDR 6275)

12": Parlophone / 12 RX 6275 (UK)

"Being Boring" (Marshall Jefferson Remix) – 9:05
"We All Feel Better in the Dark" (After Hours Climax) – 5:30
"We All Feel Better in the Dark" (Ambient) – 5:20

Tracks 2 and 3 remixed by Brothers in Rhythm

Chart performance

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart^[6]	82
Austrian Singles Chart^[7]	30
Belgian Singles Chart	20
Canadian Singles Chart^[8]	90
Dutch Singles Chart^[9]	66
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)^[10]	5
French Singles Chart	3
German Singles Chart^[11]	13
Italian Singles Chart^[12]	10
Japanese Singles Chart (Tokyo)	4
Polish Singles Chart	13
Spain (AFYVE)^[13]	13
Swedish Singles Chart^[14]	16
Swiss Singles Chart^[15]	16
UK Singles Chart^[16]	20
U.S. Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs^[17]	10

Cover versions

Australian singer Merril Bainbridge included a cover of the song on her 1995 debut album The Garden.
Norwegian power pop band Autopulver covered the song and included it as a bonus track in the Benelux special edition of his 1997 album F-Words.
Swedish Pet Shop Boys tribute synthpop duo West End Girls recorded a cover for their 2006 album Goes Petshopping.
Austrian Singer/Songwriter Bernhard Eder included a cover of the song on his 2007 album "the livingroom sessions" (TRONrecords).

External links

10 Years of Being Boring Fan website dedicated entirely to every aspect of the song
BBC - Sold on Song Highlight on "Being Boring"
Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

References

↑ O Zone. BBC 2, 1993. http://www.10yearsofbeingboring.com/materials/interviews/printed
↑ Remastered Behaviour liner note interview - Being boring Archived 28 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
1 2 sleevenotes Pet Shop Boys "Discography: the Complete Singles Collection"
↑ 10 Years of Being Boring Trivia
↑ Remastered Behaviour liner note interview - We all feel better in the dark Archived 28 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
↑ Steffen Hung. "Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
↑ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
↑ Steffen Hung. "Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
↑ "charts.de". charts.de. 2006-11-14. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
↑ "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: P". Hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
↑ Steffen Hung. "Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
↑ Steffen Hung. "Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
↑ "ChartArchive - Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring". Chartstats.com. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
↑ Pet Shop Boys (2009-12-21). "Pet Shop Boys - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-06-23.

Pet Shop Boys

Chris Lowe Neil Tennant

Studio albums	Please Actually Introspective Behaviour Very Bilingual Nightlife Release Fundamental Yes Elysium Electric Super

Compilation albums	Discography: The Complete Singles Collection Alternative Essential PopArt: The Hits Story: 25 Years of Hits Party Ultimate Format

Remix albums	Disco Disco 2 Disco 3 Disco 4

Live albums	Concrete Pandemonium

Extended plays	Christmas

Soundtracks and scores	It Couldn't Happen Here Closer to Heaven Battleship Potemkin The Most Incredible Thing

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" "Euroboy"

Film, stage and television	It Couldn't Happen Here Closer to Heaven Pet Shop Boys: A Life In Pop The Most Incredible Thing

Notable tours and concerts	MCMLXXXIX Performance Discovery Somewhere Nightlife Release Fundamental Pandemonium Progress (as special guests) Electric Inner Sanctum

Related articles	Discography x2 Reputation Results Electronic Back to Mine: Pet Shop Boys West End Girls

Book

Pet Shop Boys singles

Please (1984–1986)	"West End Girls" "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" "Love Comes Quickly" "Suburbia"

Disco (1986)	"Paninaro"

Actually (1987–1988)	"It's a Sin" "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" "Rent" "Heart"

Introspective (1988–1989)	"Always on My Mind" "Domino Dancing" "Left to My Own Devices" "It's Alright"

Behaviour (1990–1991)	"So Hard" "Being Boring" "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?"/"Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes off You)" "Jealousy"

Discography (1991)	"DJ Culture" "Was It Worth It?"

Very (1993–1994)	"Can You Forgive Her?" "Go West" "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" "Liberation" "Yesterday, When I Was Mad"

Alternative (1995)	"Paninaro '95"

Bilingual (1996–1997)	"Before" "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)"/"To Step Aside" "Single-Bilingual" "A Red Letter Day"

Nightlife (1999–2000)	"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"

Release (2002–2003)	"Home and Dry" "I Get Along" "London"

PopArt (2003–2004)	"Miracles" "Flamboyant"

Fundamental (2006)	"I'm with Stupid" "Minimal" "Numb"

Disco 4 (2007)	"Integral"

Yes (2009)	"Love etc." "Did You See Me Coming?" "Beautiful People"

Ultimate (2010)	"Together"

Elysium (2012)	"Winner" "Leaving" "Memory of the Future"

Electric (2013-14)	"Axis" "Vocal" "Love Is a Bourgeois Construct" "Thursday" "Fluorescent"

Super (2016)	"The Pop Kids" "Twenty-something" "Inner Sanctum" "Say it to me"

Non-album singles	"One More Chance" "Absolutely Fabulous" "Hallo Spaceboy" "Somewhere" "Break 4 Love" "She's Madonna" "Love Life"

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