You can be forgiven for not not being familiar with the Pet Shop Boys track "One More Chance". Although it was originally released as the duo's second single in 1984, it failed to chart in any country. It was re-recorded for the second album Actually in 1987 by Julian Mendelsohn, with Chris Lowe adding additional music, although sadly it was never re-released as a single.
The album version is actually a 12 inch remix of a 7-inch re-recording by Mendelsohn, which Lowe and Tennant discarded. The unreleased 7" track was eventually included on the 2001 release Actually/Further Listening 1987-1988.
"One More Chance" started life as a backing track created by Bobby Orlando, which had created for the singer Divine, but was never used.
Several mixes were released with on the 7 inch and 12 inch vinyl releases, including the Kordak Mix, Hurricane Mix and Bobby O Remix. The album version is completely different to all of these.
The Actually album was released in September 1987 and peaked at #2 in the UK album charts and achieved 3x platinum status. In the U.S. it peaked at #25.
I decided to listen to this album again recently (after not hearing it for about ten years) and it made me realise that this is the perfect 80s pop album. These boys really know how to create infectious tunes, and I really enjoyed every track. There are no fillers here, and any one of the tracks could have been released as a single. Indeed, had this been recorded by Michael Jackson, then every track would have been tuned into a single!
Now, if only I could go back to the 80s, that would be the icing on the cake, as the old saying goes.
Rare Swedish vinyl sleeve featuring a dice
"The city is quiet, too cold to walk alone, strangers in overcoats hurry on home" - such observational lyrics, which is what you come to expect from Tennant and Lowe. The song also refers to masochism.
Simplyeighties.com
