Beautiful People (Pet Shop Boys song)

{{Infobox song

| name = Beautiful People

| cover = Pet Shop Boys Beautiful People Cover.jpg

| alt =

| border = yes

| type = single

| artist = Pet Shop Boys

| album = Yes

| B-side = "Fugitive" (seven-inch mix)

| released = 2 October 2009

| format =

| recorded = 2008

| studio =

Xenomania (Westerham, Kent)
Abbey Road (London)

| venue =

| genre = {{flatlist|

}}

| length = 3:42

| label = Parlophone

| writer =

| producer =

| prev_title = Did You See Me Coming?

| prev_year = 2009

| next_title = Love Life

| next_year = 2010

}}

"Beautiful People" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 2 October 2009 as the third and final single from their tenth studio album, Yes (2009).{{cite web |author= |date=15 September 2009|title=Beautiful people|url=https://www.petshopboys.co.uk/news/2009-09-15/beautiful-people-2 |website=petshopboys.co.uk|location=London|access-date=25 February 2025}} Initially, the single was released in Germany only, at the request of EMI.{{cite news |last=Kalitschke|first=Martin|date=18 November 2009|title=Gespräch mit den Pet Shop Boys vor ihrem Konzert in Münster|url=https://www.wn.de/freizeit/ausgehen/musik/gesprach-mit-den-pet-shop-boys-vor-ihrem-konzert-in-munster-2264391 |newspaper=Westfälische Nachrichten |language=German|location=Münster |publisher=Zeitungsgruppe Münster|access-date=25 February 2025}} On 10 November, it was released digitally in the United States.{{cite web |author= |date=10 November 2009|title=Release: Beautiful People - Pet Shop Boys|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/beautiful-people-mr0003546809 |website=AllMusic|access-date=25 February 2025}}

Background and recording

Pet Shop Boys originally wrote the track as a theme song for the television programme Beautiful People (2008) at the request of series writer Jonathan Harvey, with whom the duo had collaborated on the musical Closer to Heaven (2001). The song was rejected because the producers wanted something more uptempo.{{Cite AV media notes |title=Yes: Further Listening 2008–2010|title-link=Yes (Pet Shop Boys album)|last=Heath|first=Chris|author-link=Chris Heath|others=Pet Shop Boys|year=2017|page=9|type=booklet|publisher=Parlophone Records|id=0190295852818}}{{cite magazine|last=Marszalek|first=Julian|date=19 March 2009|title=Pet Shop Boys: Our Back Catalogue Is 25 Years of Social Commentary|url=https://thequietus.com/interviews/pet-shop-boys-interviewed-neil-and-chris-2/ |magazine=The Quietus|location=London|access-date=25 February 2025}}

Neil Tennant wrote the lyrics from the point of view of a woman waiting for a bus in the rain, looking at celebrity magazines at a newsstand and aspiring to that lifestyle. He described it as a different perspective on the same theme as their earlier single, "Love Etc.", which also deals with celebrity and materialism.

During the recording sessions for Yes, the Xenomania production team helped give the song a 1960s sound, adding drums and guitars. The backing vocals were intended to be reminiscent of The Mamas & the Papas.{{cite web |last=Ferber|first=Lawrence|date=3 June 2009|title=MUSIC: Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys: World Needs Pop |url=https://windycitytimes.com/2009/06/03/music-neil-tennant-of-the-pet-shop-boys-world-needs-pop/ |website=Windy City Times|location=Chicago|access-date=15 February 2025}} Guest musicians on the track included former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who also played harmonica, and singers Carla Marie Williams, Jessie Malakouti, and Alex Gardner. Owen Pallett wrote an orchestral arrangement for the song, performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra and recorded at Abbey Road Studios.

Release

The single package of "Beautiful People" included three bonus tracks that had been previously released in some form. The seven-inch mix of "Fugitive", produced by Richard X, had been published in an extended version on the limited edition of their 2006 album Fundamental.{{Cite AV media notes |title=Fundamental: Further Listening 2005–2007 |title-link=Fundamental (Pet Shop Boys album) |last=Heath |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Heath |others=Pet Shop Boys |date=2017 |page=23|type=booklet |publisher=Parlophone Records |id=0190295921170}} The demo version of "Beautiful People" had been made available to stream from the official Pet Shop Boys website in July 2009.{{cite web |author= |date=10 July 2009|title=Exclusive tracks|url=https://www.petshopboys.co.uk/pet-texts/2009-07-10/exclusive-tracks |website=petshopboys.co.uk|location=London|access-date=25 February 2025}} The remix of "Up and Down" by Tom Stephan was also available as a free download during the release campaign of "Did You See Me Coming?"; the original version was a B-side of that single.{{cite web |author= |date=29 May 2009|title=Exclusive mix for free|url=https://www.petshopboys.co.uk/news/2009-05-29/exclusive-mix-for-free |website=petshopboys.co.uk|location=London|access-date=25 February 2025}}

Remixes by Vinny Vero were commissioned but not used due to delays in their completion. They were later released unofficially as a free download on Vero's website.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Pet Shop Boys' original demo of "Beautiful People" was also included on the 2017 expanded reissue Yes: Further Listening 2008–2010.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe.

German CD maxi single / German & US digital EP

"Beautiful People" – 3:44
"Fugitive" (seven-inch mix) – 3:31
"Beautiful People" (demo) – 3:22
"Up and Down" (Tom Stephan remix) – 7:57

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Yes: Further Listening 2008–2010{{cite AV media notes |title=Yes: Further Listening 2008–2010|type=liner notes|author=Pet Shop Boys|publisher=Parlophone Records|year=2017|id=0190295852818}} and "Beautiful People"{{cite AV media notes |title=Beautiful People|type=liner notes|author=Pet Shop Boys|publisher=Parlophone Records|year=2009|id=50999 308220 2 3}}

Pet Shop Boys