Jump to content

I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing"
Single by Pet Shop Boys
from the album Very
B-side
  • "Too Many People"
  • "Violence" (Haçienda version)
Released29 November 1993 (1993-11-29)
Genre
Length
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"Go West"
(1993) 		"I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing"
(1993) 		"Liberation"
(1994)
Music video
"I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" on YouTube

"I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their fifth studio album, Very (1993). The song, both written and produced by the duo, describes a person normally hesitant to unwind and show his feelings, who—because of some event in his life—suddenly becomes willing to loosen up. It was released in the United Kingdom on 29 November 1993 by Parlophone as the album's third single, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, where it was released in January 1994, it reached number two on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Howard Greenhalgh.

Background and composition

[edit]

In a 1993 interview with NME, Neil Tennant described "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" as having "no dark underbelly whatsoever". He commented, "It's just a happy song, it's just meant to be a love song. Actually, it is from an unusual point of view. We always get this thing where people go on about how English and reserved we are, so it's meant to be a reserved person falling in love. There's something rather middle-aged about it, like some kind of librarian falling in love and going mad."[4]

The title phrase, "I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing", occurred to Tennant when he flew round-trip from London to Edinburgh in one day to view a James Pryde painting at the National Gallery of Scotland.[5] The imagery of someone spontaneously dancing to The Rite of Spring was inspired by the cartoons of Jules Feiffer.[6] Tennant and Chris Lowe wrote a demo of the song the day after his trip. Stephen Hague did additional production on the track and added a guitar riff to the piano intro for the album version.[5]

Release

[edit]

The song was extensively remixed by the Beatmasters for release as a single.[7] They added brass and string parts[8] and expanded the guitar riff in the intro, giving the song a more Sixties sound. Tennant stated that at the time, he preferred the Beatmasters version but has since come to appreciate the album version.[5] The duo played the song with the new intro on their 2013–2015 Electric Tour[9] and included a version of the song with it on their 2003 PopArt: The Hits compilation.

The single release was bolstered by a large amount of bonus material available across a wide range of formats. Multiple remixes of the song were commissioned, including a set by DJ Pierre.[8] The main B-side is "Too Many People", but the single also featured new versions of two tracks from the 1986 album Please: "West End Girls" remixed by Sasha[8] and "Violence" reworked by the duo for a performance at The Haçienda in Manchester in 1992.[10]

Artwork and packaging

[edit]

As with the previous singles from Very, the duo donned new outfits for the promotional campaign. Lowe wore a blonde wig with a pink and white costume, while Tennant was dressed in pink and black clothing with a brunette wig.[7] The CD2 single (pictured) featured Tennant with repeated images of Lowe dancing around him, and CD1 had the reverse with Lowe in the center surrounded by dancing Tennants. In the UK, CD2 came in a rubber sleeve that could hold both CD singles. This was similar to the packaging for Very Relentless.[11]

Critical reception

[edit]

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "PSB's lauded Very project spawns another club winner as they combine their patented pop/disco electro-grooves with sharp, clever lyrics. The hook is quite memorable, while a plethora of trance-ish remixes is right in the pocket of current dance trends. Lively album version also is a total joy, and deserves more than a just cursory push from EMI's pop promotion department."[2] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report said, "It's impossible to hear Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant's trademark sound and not believe this pair has great fun making their music." He added that the music video "recalls the days when Twiggy set fashion trends."[12]

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton praised the track, stating that the duo "have picked the other standout track" from the album after "Go West", adding that it "is far and away the happiest, most barking mad pop single they have released in their seven year career and is all the better for it." He concluded, "Alright, so I like it, but it deserves to be big."[13] Alan Jones from Music Week gave it four out of five, naming it one of the "standout tracks" of the album. He felt that it "is tweaked into even better shape by the Beatmasters and DJ Pierre, and judging from the artwork, the video should be a hoot." He also complimented it as "one of the hottest records of the winter."[14] James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update described it as "swirling pure disco".[1]

Jim Arundel of Melody Maker considered the song to be another of the duo's "cinemascopic frug anthems". He considered it to be "as cheesy and boisterous as a good night out in Staines" and added that the Beatmasters' 7-inch mix was "bouncier than the LP version".[15] Barbara Ellen of NME picked it as a "single of the week" and called it "another triumph".[16] Jonathan Bernstein from Spin commented, "I feel like taking all my clothes off dancing to the rite of spring, exults Neil Tennant on "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing", and you know he ain't giving a shout-out to the Dischord noisemakers."[17]

Music video

[edit]

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by British director Howard Greenhalgh. It featured Tennant and Lowe, dressed in the same Sixties-style wigs and costumes as on the cover art. The computer-generated background of black-and-white tunnels and vortexes was inspired by the op art of Bridget Riley and Sega computer games. The duo use joysticks to control avatars of themselves dancing and kickboxing. Another dancer takes his clothes off, in accordance with the lyrics.[11]

The video was A-listed on Germany's VIVA in March 1994.[18]

Live performances

[edit]

Pet Shop Boys performed "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" on the Discovery Tour in 1994, wearing the wigs from the music video.[19] On the Electric Tour (2013–15), the song was preceded by an excerpt from The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky, referenced in the lyrics.[20]

Track listings

[edit]

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Very: Further Listening 1992–1994 and "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing".[5][21]

Pet Shop Boys

Technical personnel

  • Pet Shop Boys – production
  • Stephen Hague – additional production, mixing (album version)
  • Mike "Spike" Drake – mixing (album version), mix engineering (single version)
  • Bob Kraushaar – engineering (album version)
  • Pete Gleadall – engineering (album version)
  • Beatmasters – remix, additional production (single version)

Artwork

  • Farrow/PSB – design
  • Andy Earle – photography
  • David Fielding – costume design

Charts

[edit]

Release history

[edit]
Release dates and formats for "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 29 November 1993
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD1
  • cassette
 Parlophone [56]
6 December 1993 CD2 [57]
29 December 1993 12-inch vinyl [58]
Japan 9 February 1994 Mini-CD EMI [59]
[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Hamilton, James (11 December 1993). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 7. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b Flick, Larry (22 January 1994). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 61. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  3. ^ Edwards, Luke; Elliott, Mark (16 June 2023). "Best Pet Shop Boys Songs: 30 Synth-Pop Hits Always On Our Mind". Dig!. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  4. ^ Staunton, Terry (29 May 1993). "'The Smiths You Can Dunce To'". New Musical Express. pp. 28–30.
  5. ^ a b c d Heath, Chris (2018). Very: Further Listening 1992–1994 (booklet). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone Records. p. 5. 0190295809164.
  6. ^ Tennant, Neil (2018). One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem: 1979–2016. London: Faber & Faber. p. 99–100. ISBN 9780571348916.
  7. ^ a b "Single: I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing". petshopboys.co.uk. London. 15 November 1993. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  8. ^ a b c Jeffery, Tim (4 December 1993). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week. Insert, p. 6. Retrieved 4 July 2025 – via World Radio History.
  9. ^ "Live performance 2013". YouTube. 14 May 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  10. ^ Heath 2018, p. 25.
  11. ^ a b Hoare, Philip; Heath, Chris (2006). Pet Shop Boys Catalogue. New York: Thames & Hudson. pp. 184–87. ISBN 9780500513071.
  12. ^ Sholin, Dave (18 February 1994). "Gavin Picks — Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  13. ^ Masterton, James (5 December 1993). "Week Ending December 11th 1993". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  14. ^ Jones, Alan (4 December 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 12. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  15. ^ Arundel, Jim (4 December 1993). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 33.
  16. ^ Ellen, Barbara (4 December 1993). "Singles". New Musical Express. p. 15.
  17. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (November 1993). "Spins". Spin. p. 130. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  18. ^ "Station Reports > VIVA TV/Cologne" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 10. 5 March 1994. p. 18. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  19. ^ Draper, Jason (28 April 2021). "Pet Shop Boys' Discovery Tour: A Revelation on the Road". Dig!. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  20. ^ "Pet Shop Boys interview". Time Out. Paris. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  21. ^ a b Pet Shop Boys (1993). I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Parlophone. R 6370, 7243 8 81121 7 8.
  22. ^ Pet Shop Boys (1993). I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing (UK cassette single sleeve). Parlophone. TCR 6370, 7243 8 81121 4 7.
  23. ^ Pet Shop Boys (1993). I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing (Australasian cassette single sleeve). Parlophone. TCR 6370, 8811214.
  24. ^ Pet Shop Boys (1993). I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Parlophone. 12R 6370, 7243 8 81121 6 1.
  25. ^ Pet Shop Boys (1993). I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing (UK remix 12-inch single sleeve). Parlophone. 12RX 6370, 7243 8 81122 6 0.
  26. ^ Pet Shop Boys (1993). I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing (UK CD1 liner notes). Parlophone. CDR 6370.
  27. ^ Pet Shop Boys (1993). I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing (UK CD2 liner notes). Parlophone. CDRS 6370.
  28. ^ Pet Shop Boys (1993). I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing (Australasian CD single liner notes). Parlophone. 8811202.
  29. ^ Pet Shop Boys (1993). I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing (European CD single liner notes). Parlophone. 7243 8 81112 2 5.
  30. ^ Pet Shop Boys (1994). I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing (US maxi-CD single liner notes). EMI Records USA. E2-58122.
  31. ^ Pet Shop Boys (1994). I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). EMI Records USA. Y-58122.
  32. ^ Pet Shop Boys (1994). I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing (US cassette single sleeve). EMI Records USA. 4KM-58122.
  33. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  34. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  35. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  36. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2389." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  37. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 2. 8 January 1994. p. 11. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  38. ^ "Adult Contemporary Europe Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 9. 26 February 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  39. ^ "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 4. 22 January 1994. p. 21. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  40. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 233. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  41. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  42. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 – Vikan 20._26.01.'94". DV (in Icelandic). 20 January 1994. p. 20. ISSN 1021-8254 – via Timarit.is.
  43. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  44. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  45. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  46. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  47. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  48. ^ "Pet Shop Boys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  49. ^ "The Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. 18 December 1993. p. 26. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  50. ^ "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 18 December 1993. p. 22. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  51. ^ "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 8 January 1994. p. 12. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  52. ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 18 December 1993. p. 4. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  53. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  54. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  55. ^ "The Year in Music – Hot Dance Music Club Play Singles". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 52. 24 December 1994. p. YE-74. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books.
  56. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Music Week. 27 November 1993. p. 27. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  57. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 4 December 1993. p. 21.
  58. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 25 December 1993. p. 23.
  59. ^ "いつもはこんな僕じゃない | ペット・ショップ・ボーイズ" [I'm Not Usually Like This | Pet Shop Boys] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I_Wouldn%27t_Normally_Do_This_Kind_of_Thing&oldid=1299370256"