"It's Alright" is the 13th single from Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

 and was released in the UK by Parlophone Records on 26 June 1989.

The lyrics list a wide variety of serious political issues in the headlines at the time ("Dictation enforced in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, revolution in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 taking a stand…"), and then offers the positive message of the title—that on its "timeless wavelength", "music is our life's foundation", it "shall last" and ultimately "succeed all the nations to come".

On the album (Introspective) version, the song concludes with a touch of doubt as Neil Tennant

Neil Tennant

Neil Francis Tennant is an English musician, singer and songwriter, who, with bandmate Chris Lowe, makes up the successful electronic dance music duo Pet Shop Boys.-Childhood:...

 repeats (apparently over the telephone

Telephone

The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...

): "I hope it's gonna be alright". On the 10" single there are additional lyrics with Neil Tennant speaking: "there's a boy standing by a river, there's a girl lying with her lover, there's a statesman standing at a crossroads, there's a soldier polishing his gun".

The song was originally written and performed by Sterling Void and came to the attention of Pet Shop Boys on a house compilation. In fact, Sterling Void remixed the track on the second 12", entitled the "DJ International Mixes". Void's original version has only two verses (the first and third in the PSB version). The second verse of the Pet Shop Boys version, which expands the song's concerns beyond the purely political into environmental issues (specifically desertification

Desertification

Desertification is the degradation of land in drylands. Caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities, desertification is one of the most significant global environmental problems.-Definitions:...

), was written by Neil Tennant.

The single was originally released on the Introspective

Introspective (album)

Introspective is the third studio album by the English electronic music group Pet Shop Boys. It was first released in 1988 and is the Pet Shop Boys' second-best-selling album, selling over 4.5 million copies worldwide...

album, where it clocked in at over nine minutes. The song reached number 5 in the UK. As of February 2009, it is the Pet Shop Boys 8th best-selling single.

A cover was done by Hercules and Love Affair

Hercules and Love Affair

Hercules and Love Affair is a musical project from New York based DJ Andy Butler. Members include Andrew Butler, Kim Ann Foxman, Mark Pistel,Aerea Negrot, and Shaun Wright...

 on their 2011 album Blue Songs

Blue Songs (Hercules & Love Affair album)

Blues Songs is the second studio album by American house music group Hercules and Love Affair. It was released January 31, 2011 in the UK. and was released August 16, 2011 in United States...

.

7": Parlophone / R 6220 (UK)

1. "It's Alright" – 4:18
2. "One of the Crowd" – 3:54
3. "Your Funny Uncle" – 2:16

10": Parlophone / 10 R 6220 (UK)

1. "It's Alright" (alternative mix) – 4:46
2. "It's Alright" (extended dance mix) – 10:34

12": Parlophone / 12 R 6220 (UK)

1. "It's Alright" (extended version) – 8:47
2. "One of the Crowd" – 3:54
3. "Your Funny Uncle" – 2:16

12": Parlophone / 12 RX 6220 (UK)

1. "It's Alright" (Tyree mix) – 8:55
2. "It's Alright" (Sterling Void mix) – 5:34

CD: Parlophone / CD R 6220 (UK)

1. "It's Alright" – 4:18
2. "One of the Crowd" – 3:54
3. "Your Funny Uncle" – 2:16
4. "It's Alright" (extended version) – 8:47

Remixes

• Julian Mendelsohn:

1. "It's Alright" (alternative mix) – 4:46
2. "It's Alright" (extended dance mix) – 10:34
   • Tyree Cooper
3. "It's Alright" (Tyree mix) – 8:55
   • Sterling Void
4. "It's Alright" (Sterling Void mix) – 5:34

Chart performance

Chart (1988)	Peak position
UK	5
Austria	27
Germany	3
Switzerland	27
US Hot 100 Singles	—