Actually | ||||
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Studio album by Pet Shop Boys | ||||
Released | 7 September 1987 | |||
Recorded | 1986–1987 at Sarm West Studios, Advision Studios, London | |||
Genre | Synthpop, dance-pop, disco | |||
Length | 47:52 | |||
Label | Parlophone (UK), EMI Manhattan (US and Canada) | |||
Producer | Pet Shop Boys, Stephen Hague, Julian Mendelesohn, Andy Richards, Shep Pettibone, David Jacob | |||
Pet Shop Boys chronology | ||||
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Singles from Actually | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
Los Angeles Times | |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10 |
The Village Voice | A− |
Actually (stylised as Pet Shop Boys, actually.) is the second studio album by English pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released in 1987 by record labels Parlophone (UK) and EMI Manhattan (US and Canada).
Actually was released on 7 September 1987 by record label Parlophone in the UK and EMI Manhattan in the United States and Canada. In TV commercials (in the UK, at least) for the release, Lowe and Tennant were shown in black tie, blank-faced against a white background. The former seems unimpressed by a radio DJ-style Alan 'Fluff' Freeman voiceover listing their previous hits and the new LP's singles, while the latter eventually 'gets bored' and yawns, with the image then freezing to create, roughly, the album's cover shot.
Actually spawned four UK Top 10 singles: the No. 1 lead-off single "It's a Sin", "Rent", "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" – a duet with fellow Parlophone artist Dusty Springfield which peaked at No. 2 in both the UK and US and led to a major resurgence of interest in Springfield's earlier work – and another UK No. 1 in April 1988 with a remixed version of the song "Heart".
During this period the Pet Shop Boys also completed a full-length motion picture called It Couldn't Happen Here. Featuring songs by the duo, it was most famous for containing the video for "Always on My Mind" (starring Joss Ackland as a blind priest), which—while not on Actually—was released as a single during this period.
Actually was re-released in 2001 (as were most of the group's albums up to that point) as Actually/Further Listening 1987–1988. The re-released version was not only digitally remastered but came with a second disc of B-sides, remixes done by the Pet Shop Boys and previously unreleased material from around the time of the album's original release. Yet another re-release followed on 9 February 2009 under the title of Actually: Remastered. This version contains only the 10 tracks of the original release. With the 2009 re-release, the 2001 2CD re-release was discontinued. Actually has sold over 4 million copies to date.