actually

For their second album, Pet Shop Boys still had material from their early songwriting days, including "It's a Sin" (1982), "Rent" (1984), and "One More Chance" which they had recorded with Bobby Orlando and released as an unsuccessful single outside the UK in 1984.{{Cite AV media notes |title=Actually: Further Listening 1987–1988|title-link=Actually|last=Heath|first=Chris|author-link=Chris Heath|others=Pet Shop Boys|year=2018|pages=4|type=booklet|publisher=Parlophone Records|id=0190295826222}} "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" was a collaboration with songwriter Allee Willis, suggested by their manager Tom Watkins; they had hoped to include it on Please (1986) but had to wait for a response from Dusty Springfield.{{sfn|Heath|2018|p=5–7}}

The duo also wrote new material. "Hit Music" was inspired by the Henry Mancini theme song "Peter Gunn" covered by Art of Noise.{{sfn|Heath|2018|p=11}} The music for "I Want to Wake Up" was written by Chris Lowe;{{sfn|Heath|2018|p=16}} the lyrics added by Neil Tennant compare unrequited love to a bad dream, mentioning the songs "Tainted Love" and "Love Is Strange". The chart-topper "Heart" was a song they considered giving to Hazell Dean but decided to keep for themselves.{{cite magazine|last=Hibbert|first=Tom|date=9–22 September 1987|title=And a Rather Good LP It Is, Too!|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Smash-Hits/1987/Smash-Hits-1987-09-09.pdf|magazine=Smash Hits|volume=9|issue=17|page=46–47|access-date=5 January 2025}}

"Shopping" began as a joke about spelling out the word as they were shopping, but the lyrics took a serious turn about the privatisation of national industries under Margaret Thatcher. The "Tell Sid" advertisements for British Gas, encouraging people to buy shares in the company, were a particular source of inspiration.

Composer Ennio Morricone shares a songwriting credit on "It Couldn't Happen Here". Pet Shop Boys had contacted Morricone about writing a string arrangement for their song "Jealousy", but instead he sent them an Italian song to work with. Pet Shop Boys used the music from the chorus of Morricone's song and wrote a new verse,{{sfn|Heath|2018|p=11–12}} with Lowe adding chord changes. Angelo Badalamenti contributed an arrangement which was programmed into a Fairlight by Blue Weaver in lieu of an orchestra.{{sfn|Heath|2018|p=12}} The title "It Couldn't Happen Here" refers to an early belief, discussed by Tennant and his friend Christopher Dowell, that AIDS would not greatly impact the UK. By the time Tennant wrote the lyrics, Dowell had been diagnosed with the disease; he died two years later.{{cite book |last=Tennant|first=Neil|date=2018|title=One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem: 1979–2016|location=London|publisher=Faber & Faber|page=94–95|isbn=9780571348916}}{{cite podcast |url=https://open.spotify.com/episode/2y1Pi2Nzjd1aVseeo87pV4|title=How Pet Shop Boys wrote 'It's A Sin' - Neil Tennant|work=Queer the Music|publisher=Mercury|last=Shears|first=Jake|date=3 December 2024|time=26:00–28:30|access-date=5 January 2025}}

The last track on the album, "King's Cross", depicts the area around King's Cross station in London, which at the time was a destination for drug addicts, prostitutes, and the homeless, as well as people coming by train from northern England and Scotland seeking opportunities.{{sfn|Tennant|2018|p=106}} According to Tennant, "It's an angry song about Thatcherism. Mrs Thatcher came in on the promise of firm government and I'm interpreting 'the smack of firm government' literally as hitting someone. That's what firm government tends to mean—you hit the weakest person, the man at the back of the queue".{{sfn|Heath|2018|p=21}} With this and songs like "Shopping" and "It Couldn't Happen Here", Tennant noted that Actually can be taken loosely as a critique of Thatcherism.{{sfn|Heath|2018|p=8}}

Actually was recorded at Sarm Studios and Advision Studios. On the album Pet Shop Boys worked with several producers, including Julian Mendelsohn and Stephen Hague. Mendelsohn produced and engineered half of the album's ten tracks, including the lead single and UK number one "It's a Sin", while Hague, who had produced the duo's previous album Please, this time only produced a few tracks, including "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", and mixed "It's a Sin". "Heart", which went on to became a UK number one single, was produced by Andy Richards and mixed by Mendelsohn. Wanting to keep everything fresh and not lose perspective, the production method was usually to work only a few hours at the time on each track and then switch to another.{{cite web |last=Buskin |first=Richard |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/pet-shop-boys-its-sin |title=Pet Shop Boys 'It's A Sin' |work=Sound on Sound |date=December 2010 |access-date=4 June 2020 |archive-date=4 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604192502/https://www.soundonsound.com/people/pet-shop-boys-its-sin |url-status=dead }}

The album cover was originally going to feature a painting by Scottish artist Alison Watt, who had just won the National Portrait Gallery-supported John Player Portrait Award.{{cite book |date=1988|title=Annually|publisher=World Distributors|pages=14-15|isbn=978-0723568421}} The group traveled to Glasgow, along with photographer Eric Watson and designer Mark Farrow, to meet her. Sittings for the painting would have taken three weeks, so instead photos were taken of the duo in different poses. After a few weeks, Watt submitted the painting, but Lowe was unhappy with how he looked in it. The painting was reworked and although Tennant was pleased with it, Lowe still had reservations. It was decided that the painting wasn't right for the album and it was shelved. The painting was bought by Tennant.

While shooting the video for "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", photographer Cindy Palmano was commissioned to take photographs of them for a Smash Hits cover. She placed them in front of a waist-high piece of reflective metal, with a similar sheet behind them. The photo where Tennant is yawning and Lowe is scowling was the favourite and Smash Hits were keen to use it as a front cover. Eric Watson then took some photos, but it was thought these weren't strong enough for the album cover, so they were used for the inner sleeve. The group then decided that Palmano's photo was the best choice. The issue of Smash Hits was due to go to press the following day. They persuaded the magazine to release Palmano's photograph and agreed to do a hastily arranged photo session for them.

Inspired by Jean-Paul Goude's design for Grace Jones album Slave to the Rhythm, Mark Farrow tightly cropped the photo to remove the reflective background and just have the duo on a plain white background.{{cite book|date=2006|title=Catalogue|publisher=Thames & Hudson|pages=74-75|isbn=978-0500513071}} Chris Lowe was, and remains, unhappy with the cover. However it has come to be seen as the defining image of them.

Actually was released on 7 September 1987, debuting at number two on the UK Albums Chart behind Michael Jackson's Bad. It was in the top 40 for 42 consecutive weeks, with 15 weeks in the top 10.{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/pet-shop-boys-actually/|title=Actually by Pet Shop Boys|website=Official Charts|access-date=4 January 2025}} It is the only Pet Shop Boys album to be certified triple platinum by BPI.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/305-2148-2 |title=Brit Certified: Pet Shop Boys - Actually|author= |date=29 April 1988|website=BPI|access-date=4 January 2025}}

Actually was also certified platinum in seven other countries, including Germany where sales exceeded 500,000 (see Certifications and sales). In the United States, Actually peaked at number 25 and spent 45 weeks on the Billboard 200,{{cite web |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/pet-shop-boys/chart-history/tlp/|title=Pet Shop Boys: Chart History: Billboard 200|website=Billboard|access-date=4 January 2025}} selling over 750,000 copies with a gold certification.{{cite web |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=pet+shop+boys#search_section|title=Gold & Platinum: Pet Shop Boys|website=RIAA|access-date=4 January 2025}}

Actually produced four UK top 10 singles: the number-one single "It's a Sin", "Rent", "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"—which peaked at number two in both the UK and US and led to a resurgence of interest in Dusty Springfield's earlier work—and another UK number one in April 1988 with a remixed version of the song "Heart".{{cite news |last1=Levine |first1=Nick |title=25 Reasons To Love Pet Shop Boys' Actually' |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/25-reasons-to-love-pet-shop-boys-actually-763693 |access-date=12 August 2018 |work=nme.com |date=2 February 2012}}

In television commercials 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 new singles from Actually, while the latter eventually "gets bored" and yawns, with the image then freezing to create, roughly, the album's cover shot.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}

During this period Pet Shop Boys also completed a full-length motion picture called It Couldn't Happen Here.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/saucy-seaside-postcard-gone-mad-pet-shop-boys-it-couldnt-happen-here|title=A saucy seaside postcard gone mad: the Pet Shop Boys and It Couldn't Happen Here |last=Dalton|first=Stephen|date=24 June 2020|website=BFI|access-date=1 January 2025}} 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.{{Cite web |url=https://superdeluxeedition.com/reviews/pet-shop-boys-it-couldnt-happen-here/ |title=Pet Shop Boys / It Couldn't Happen Here|last=Wade|first=Ian|date=15 June 2020|website=Super Deluxe Edition|access-date=4 January 2025}}

Actually was re-released in 2001 as Actually: Further Listening 1987–1988. The new version was digitally remastered and came with a second disc of B-sides and previously unreleased material from around the time of the album's original release.{{cite web |url=https://media.rhino.com/press-release/pet-shop-boys-catalogue-1985-2012-series-continues-third-batch-releases-available|title=Pet Shop Boys Catalogue 1985-2012 Series Continues With Third Batch Of Releases Available March 2|date=2 March 2018|website=Rhino|access-date=1 January 2025|quote=}} A remastered single-disc edition of Actually, containing only the 10 original tracks, was released in 2009.{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/1655528-Pet-Shop-Boys-Actually|title=Pet Shop Boys - Actually (5099926829029) |website=Discogs |access-date=1 January 2025}} In 2018, a newly remastered edition of Actually: Further Listening 1987–1988 was released, with the same contents as the 2001 edition.

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/actually-mw0000197381 |title=Actually – Pet Shop Boys |website=AllMusic |access-date=6 January 2015 |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}}

| rev2 = Los Angeles Times

| rev2score = {{Rating|2.5|4}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-20-ca-9321-story.html |title=Pet Shop Pop |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |issn=0458-3035 |date=20 September 1987 |access-date=9 November 2015 |last=Johnson |first=Connie}}

| rev3 = Mojo

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |title=Pop Art Revolutions |magazine=Mojo |issn=1351-0193 |issue=237 |date=August 2013 |last=Harrison |first=Ian |page=43}}

| rev4 = Q

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.qonline.co.uk/reviews/server.asp?id=2415&ss=pet+shop+boys&cs=artist&st=cn&stars=NaN&cp=1 |title=Pet Shop Boys: Pet Shop Boys, Actually |magazine=Q |issn=0955-4955 |issue=13 |date=October 1987 |access-date=14 January 2023 |last=Snow |first=Mat |author-link=Mat Snow |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001206011500/http://www.qonline.co.uk/reviews/server.asp?id=2415&ss=pet+shop+boys&cs=artist&st=cn&stars=NaN&cp=1 |archive-date=6 December 2000 |url-status=dead}}

| rev5 = Record Mirror

| rev5score = 3/5{{cite magazine |title=Pet Shop Boys: Actually |magazine=Record Mirror |issn=0144-5804 |date=12 September 1987 |last=Morton |first=Roger |page=12}}

| rev6 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book |chapter=Pet Shop Boys |last=Hull |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Hull (critic) |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |editor2-link=Christian Hoard |publisher=Simon & Schuster |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/630 630–631]}}

| rev7 = Sounds

| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |title=Face the Muzak |magazine=Sounds |issn=0144-5774 |date=12 September 1987 |last=Snow |first=Mat |author-link=Mat Snow |page=35}}

| rev8 = Spin Alternative Record Guide

| rev8score = 9/10{{cite book |chapter=Pet Shop Boys |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Sheffield |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide |editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor1-link=Eric Weisbard |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |publisher=Vintage Books |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-75574-8 |pages=294–295}}

| rev9 = Uncut

| rev9score = 8/10{{cite magazine |title=Pet Shop Boys: Please / Actually / Introspective |magazine=Uncut |issn=1368-0722 |issue=250 |date=March 2018 |last=Dalton |first=Stephen |page=43}}

| rev10 = The Village Voice

| rev10score = A−{{cite news |url=https://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv12b-87.php |title=Christgau's Consumer Guide |newspaper=The Village Voice |issn=0042-6180 |date=29 December 1987 |access-date=6 January 2015 |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau}}

}}

Actually was generally well received by critics. At the time of its release, Chris White of Music Week said Actually was "well worth the wait with the duo coming up with another highly original and distinctive-sounding album" and called it a "great pop album which will deservedly be one of the year's biggest sellers".{{cite magazine|last=White|first=Chris|date=12 September 1987|title=LP Reviews|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1987/Music-Week-1987-09-12.pdf |magazine=Music Week|page=19|access-date=1 January 2025|via=World Radio History}} In December 1987, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice praised it as "actual pop music with something actual to say—pure commodity, and proud of it." In his retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said that Actually is the album where "the Pet Shop Boys perfected their melodic, detached dance-pop."

Actually is featured in the 2005 musical reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die,{{cite book |chapter=Pet Shop Boys: Actually |last=Harris |first=Sophie |title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die |title-link=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die |editor-last=Dimery |editor-first=Robert |publisher=Universe Publishing |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7893-1371-3 |page=581}} and has been recognised in various other "must-listen" lists. In 2006, Q magazine included Actually in its list of the "40 Best Albums of the '80s" at number 22.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage3.htm#Best%20Of%20The%2080s |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060224054627/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage3.htm#Best%20Of%20The%2080s |url-status=usurped |archive-date=24 February 2006 |title=40 Best Albums of the '80s |magazine=Q |issn=0955-4955 |issue=241 |date=August 2006 |access-date=29 September 2011 |pages=84–89}} In 2012, Slant Magazine ranked the record at number 88 on its list of the "100 Best Albums of the 1980s".{{cite web |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/best-albums-of-the-1980s/ |title=The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s |website=Slant Magazine |date=5 March 2012 |access-date=2 January 2021}} In 2020, Rolling Stone placed Actually at number 435 on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/pet-shop-boys-actually-1062798/ |title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=22 September 2020 |access-date=22 September 2020}}

Although not released as a single, the track "Shopping" is frequently featured as background music in British television news and current affairs programmes dealing with retail business issues and as bumper music on home shopping shows.{{sfn|Heath|2018|p=8}} This is despite the fact that the song is actually a critique of privatisation in 1980s Britain, and has little to do with actual shopping.{{cite web |last=Marszalek |first=Julian |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/01331-pet-shop-boys-interviewed-neil-and-chris-2 |title=Pet Shop Boys: Our Back Catalogue is 25 Years of Social Commentary |website=The Quietus |date=19 March 2009}} "Shopping" was also used in a series 1 episode of the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire.{{cite book |last=Hurst|first=Heidi|year=2004|title=Lizzie McGuire: Official Episode Guide|location=New York|publisher=Disney Press|page=53|isbn=0786846631}} A more appropriate use of "Shopping" is in the fourth episode of Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain, dealing with privatisation and deregulation.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007nn9k |title=Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain: Revolution, Episode 4 of 5|author=|website=BBC Two|publisher=BB |access-date=4 January 2025}}

"King's Cross" served in the Japanese media as a commercial song for the Aurex's (owned by Toshiba) cassette tape recorder model XDR.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} The album is featured in the preview of Naughty Dog's game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.{{Cite web |url=https://gamerant.com/intergalactic-heretic-prophet-real-world-references-logos-ads/ |title=Every Real World Reference in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet|last=Karoglou|first=Matt|date=13 December 2024|website=GameRant|access-date=3 January 2025}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| all_writing = Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, except where noted

| title1 = One More Chance

| writer1 = {{hlist|Tennant|Lowe|Bobby Orlando}}

| length1 = 5:30

| title2 = What Have I Done to Deserve This?

| note2 = with Dusty Springfield

| writer2 = {{hlist|Tennant|Lowe|Allee Willis}}

| length2 = 4:18

| title3 = Shopping

| length3 = 3:37

| title4 = Rent

| length4 = 5:08

| title5 = Hit Music

| length5 = 4:44

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| title6 = It Couldn't Happen Here

| writer6 = {{hlist|Tennant|Lowe|Ennio Morricone}}

| length6 = 5:20

| title7 = It's a Sin

| length7 = 4:59

| title8 = I Want to Wake Up

| length8 = 5:08

| title9 = Heart

| length9 = 3:58

| title10 = King's Cross

| length10 = 5:10

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Further Listening 1987–1988 (bonus disc)

| title1 = I Want to Wake Up

| note1 = breakdown mix) (previously unreleased

| length1 = 6:00

| title2 = Heart

| note2 = Shep Pettibone version) (previously unreleased

| length2 = 4:12

| title3 = You Know Where You Went Wrong

| length3 = 5:50

| title4 = One More Chance

| note4 = seven-inch mix) (previously unreleased

| length4 = 3:50

| title5 = It's a Sin

| note5 = disco mix

| length5 = 7:41

| title6 = What Have I Done to Deserve This?

| note6 = extended mix

| writer6 = {{hlist|Tennant|Lowe|Willis}}

| length6 = 6:47

| title7 = Heart

| note7 = disco mix

| length7 = 8:40

| title8 = A New Life

| writer8 = {{hlist|Lowe|Tennant|Helena Springs}}

| length8 = 4:55

| title9 = Always on My Mind

| note9 = demo version) (previously unreleased on CD

| writer9 = {{hlist|Wayne Carson Thompson|Mark James|Johnny Christopher}}

| length9 = 4:03

| title10 = Rent

| note10 = seven-inch mix

| length10 = 3:33

| title11 = I Want a Dog

| length11 = 4:58

| title12 = Always on My Mind

| note12 = extended dance mix

| length12 = 8:15

| writer12 = {{hlist|Thompson|James|Christopher}}

| title13 = Do I Have To?

| length13 = 5:15

| title14 = Always on My Mind

| note14 = dub mix) (previously unreleased on CD

| writer14 = {{hlist|Thompson|James|Christopher}}

| length14 = 2:15

}}

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Actually: Further Listening 1987–1988.{{Cite AV media notes |title=Actually: Further Listening 1987–1988|author=Pet Shop Boys|date=2018|type=liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=0190295826222}}

• Neil Tennant
• Chris Lowe

• Dusty Springfield – guest vocals {{small|(track 2)}}
• Andy Richards – Fairlight and keyboard programming {{small|(tracks 1, 4, 5, 7, 9)}}
• J. J. Jeczalik – Fairlight programming {{small|(track 3)}}
• Gary Maughan – additional programming {{small|(track 3)}}
• Angelo Badalamenti – orchestra arrangement {{small|(track 6)}}
• Blue Weaver – Fairlight programming {{small|(track 6)}}
• Adrien Cook – programming {{small|(track 8)}}

• Julian Mendelsohn – production, engineering {{small|(tracks 1, 3–5, 7)}}; mixing {{small|(tracks 2, 9)}}
• Stephen Hague – production {{small|(tracks 2, 10)}}; mixing, additional production {{small|(track 7)}}
• David Jacob – engineering {{small|(tracks 2, 6, 10)}}; production {{small|(track 6)}}; mix engineering {{small|(track 7)}}
• Pet Shop Boys – production {{small|(tracks 6, 8, 9)}}
• Shep Pettibone – production {{small|(track 8)}}
• Dave Meegan – engineering {{small|(track 8)}}
• Andy Richards – production {{small|(track 9)}}
• Tony Phillips – engineering {{small|(track 9)}}

• Mark Farrow – design
• Pet Shop Boys – design
• Cindy Palmano – cover photograph
• Eric Watson – inner sleeve photograph

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for Actually}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Austria|artist=Pet Shop Boys|title=Actually|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=1987|certyear=1994|date=10 January 1994}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|nocert=yes|salesamount=160,000|salesref={{cite news |last=Fucuta |first=Brenda |url=http://memoria.bn.br/docreader/DocReader.aspx?bib=030015_11&pagfis=155930 |title=Discografia marcada pela 'dance music' |newspaper=Jornal do Brasil |language=pt |issue=245 |date=9 December 1994 |page=38 |via=National Library of Brazil}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Pet Shop Boys|title=Actually|award=Platinum|type=album|relyear=1987|certyear=1988|date=12 January 1988}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Finland|artist=Pet Shop Boys|title=Actually|award=Platinum|type=album|relyear=1987|certyear=1987|salesamount=68,416}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|artist=Pet Shop Boys|title=Actually|award=Platinum|type=album|relyear=1987|certyear=1988}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Hong Kong|artist=Pet Shop Boys|title=Actually|award=Platinum|type=album|relyear=1987|certyear=1988}}

{{Certification Table Entry |region=Malaysia|nocert=yes|salesamount=15,000|salesref={{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A65UAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA20&dq=Malaysia&article_id=2817,3292089&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi14NKV7Z-MAxV_SDABHbJaPGM4HhDoAXoECAwQAw#v=onepage&q=Malaysia&f=false|title=Sale of international music releases up|newspaper=New Straits Times|access-date=23 March 2025|date=29 November 1988|page=20|first=R.S.|last=Murthi}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Pet Shop Boys|title=Actually|award=Platinum|type=album|relyear=1987|certyear=1988|id=1988-09-16|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|date=18 September 1988}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|artist=Pet Shop Boys|title=Actually|award=Platinum|type=album|relyear=1987|certyear=1987|certref={{cite book |last=Salaverrie |first=Fernando |url=http://www.mediafire.com/file/x263f6daopkswo8/Spanish+certifications+for+1979-1990.pdf |title=Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 |language=es |edition=1st |location=Madrid |publisher=Fundación Autor/SGAE |date=September 2005 |page=922 |isbn=84-8048-639-2 |access-date=3 August 2018}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Sweden|artist=Pet Shop Boys|title=Actually|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=1987|certyear=1987|date=10 November 1987}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Switzerland|artist=Pet Shop Boys|title=Actually|award=Platinum|type=album|relyear=1987|certyear=1989}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Pet Shop Boys|title=Actually|award=Platinum|number=3|type=album|relyear=1987|certyear=1988|date=29 April 1988|id=305-2148-2|salesamount=1,000,000|salesref={{cite magazine |last=Bakker |first=Machgiel |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/80s/88/M&M-1988-09-17-OCR-Page-0018.pdf |title=EMI Music – The Freedom To Fail |magazine=Music & Media |volume=5 |issue=38 |date=17 September 1988 |page=34 |oclc=29800226 |via=World Radio History}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Pet Shop Boys|title=Actually|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=1987|certyear=1987|date=23 November 1987|salesamount=750,000|salesref={{cite news |last=Hunt|first=Dennis|date=29 May 1988|title=Pet Shop Boys Try to Keep a Low Profile|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-05-29-ca-5681-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=7 January 2025}}}}

{{Certification Table Summary}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Worldwide|nocert=true|salesamount=4,000,000|salesref={{cite web |last=Levine |first=Nick |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/25-reasons-to-love-pet-shop-boys-actually-763693 |title=25 Reasons To Love Pet Shop Boys' 'Actually' |work=NME |date=2 February 2012 |access-date=6 April 2018}}}}

{{Certification Table Bottom}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Pet Shop Boys}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1987 albums

Category:Albums produced by Julian Mendelsohn

Category:Albums produced by Shep Pettibone

Category:Albums produced by Stephen Hague

Category:Electropop albums

Category:Parlophone albums

Category:Pet Shop Boys albums