Left to My Own Devices
Encyclopedia
"Left to My Own Devices" is a song recorded by Pet Shop Boys
, released as the second single from their third studio album, Introspective
. It was also the first track of the album. It is their 9th best selling-hit.
The single fared much better than the album's lead single, "Domino Dancing
", charting three positions higher in the UK Singles Chart
. It became the first track that Pet Shop Boys recorded with an orchestra
, arranged by Richard Niles
. Since its release, it has become a staple of Pet Shop Boys live performances and is often used to begin their concerts. "Left to My Own Devices" peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and Pet Shop Boys have failed to regain their popularity there since.
Neil Tennant
(who wrote the lyrics, as with most other Pet Shop Boys songs) explained the meaning of the track:
As with the other tracks on Introspective, it has a longer 12" version on the album and was edited down to become more radio-friendly when released as a single. This is mainly due to the Pet Shop Boys wanting to be different from every other artist at the time. This is confirmed in the 2001 re-release of Introspective, where both Tennant and Lowe state:-
The song contains the memorable lyrics: "I was faced with a choice at a difficult age / Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? / But in the back of my head I heard distant feet / Che Guevara
and Debussy
to a disco beat". Tennant has spoken of the early influence of Isao Tomita
's Snowflakes Are Dancing
on him; an album consisting of arrangements of Debussy on Moog synthesizer
.
, directed by long time Pet Shop Boys director, Eric Watson
, primarily consists of Tennant and Lowe dancing on an invisible glass floor, with the camera angle facing upwards. Tennant and Lowe are joined by several acrobats who are also seen from the same camera angle. At one point, balloons are also visible. MTV
declined to show the video due to its dimly-lit nature (the only light sources are dull red and blue ceilings).
electronica
group Motormark
recorded a cover which was included on the 2007 tribute compilation Very Introspective, Actually – A Pet Shop Boys Tribute.
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....
, released as the second single from their third studio album, 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...
. It was also the first track of the album. It is their 9th best selling-hit.
The single fared much better than the album's lead single, "Domino Dancing
Domino Dancing
"Domino Dancing" is a song recorded by the British synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys which reached #7 on the UK Singles Chart. It was released as the lead single from their 1988 album, Introspective.-Song:...
", charting three positions higher in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It became the first track that Pet Shop Boys recorded with an orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, arranged by Richard Niles
Richard Niles
Richard Niles is an American composer, arranger, producer, guitarist, broadcaster and journalist. He has lived in London since 1975. Because of his extensive work across many genres Sound on Sound magazine referred to him as "one of the most versatile men in modern music".-Early years:Niles was...
. Since its release, it has become a staple of Pet Shop Boys live performances and is often used to begin their concerts. "Left to My Own Devices" peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and Pet Shop Boys have failed to regain their popularity there since.
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:...
(who wrote the lyrics, as with most other Pet Shop Boys songs) explained the meaning of the track:
"This person goes through life always doing what he wanted to do. I liked the idea of writing a really up pop song about being left alone. This song is a day in the life of someone, so it starts off with getting out of bed and being on the phone and drinking tea and all the rest of it, and it ends up with coming home. By this time I was making the words very exaggerated and camp, though writing a book and going on stage were both things I had wanted to do when I was young."
As with the other tracks on Introspective, it has a longer 12" version on the album and was edited down to become more radio-friendly when released as a single. This is mainly due to the Pet Shop Boys wanting to be different from every other artist at the time. This is confirmed in the 2001 re-release of Introspective, where both Tennant and Lowe state:-
"We had been so disciplined at making four-minute pop singles, with the exception of "It's a SinIt's a Sin"It's a Sin" is a song recorded by Pet Shop Boys which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in 1987.-Background and writing:...
", which is five minutes. The idea was to have an album where every track was a single."
The song contains the memorable lyrics: "I was faced with a choice at a difficult age / Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? / But in the back of my head I heard distant feet / Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
and Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
to a disco beat". Tennant has spoken of the early influence of Isao Tomita
Isao Tomita
, often known simply as Tomita, is a Japanese music composer, regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music and space music, and as one of the most famous producers of analog synthesizer arrangements...
's Snowflakes Are Dancing
Snowflakes are Dancing
Snowflakes Are Dancing is an electronic music album by Isao Tomita, recorded in 1974 and first released as a Quadradisc in April. The album consists entirely of Tomita's arrangements of Claude Debussy's "tone paintings", performed by Tomita on a Moog synthesizer...
on him; an album consisting of arrangements of Debussy on Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, directed by long time Pet Shop Boys director, Eric Watson
Eric Watson (photographer)
Eric Watson is an English photographer.Watson moved to London in 1974 to study fine art at Hornsey Art College, where his contemporaries included Adam Ant and became an assistant to the photographer Red Saunders in 1980 and soon branched out as a photographer in his own right, primarily in the pop...
, primarily consists of Tennant and Lowe dancing on an invisible glass floor, with the camera angle facing upwards. Tennant and Lowe are joined by several acrobats who are also seen from the same camera angle. At one point, balloons are also visible. MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
declined to show the video due to its dimly-lit nature (the only light sources are dull red and blue ceilings).
7": Parlophone / R 6198 (UK)
- A. "Left to My Own Devices" – 4:43
- B. "The Sound of the Atom Splitting" (Extended version) – 5:13
12": Parlophone / 12R 6198 (UK)
- A. "Left to My Own Devices" (Disco Mix) – 11:28
- B1. "Left to My Own Devices" – 4:43
- B2. "The Sound of the Atom Splitting" – 3:37
CD: Parlophone / CDR 6198 (UK)
- "Left to My Own Devices" – 4:43
- "Left to My Own Devices" (Disco Mix) – 11:28
- "The Sound of the Atom Splitting" – 3:37
Chart performance
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK | 4 |
| Australia | 48 |
| Germany | 9 |
| Switzerland | 12 |
| US Hot 100 Singles | 84 |
Cover versions
ScottishScottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
group Motormark
Motormark
Motormark were a Scottish electronic punk band formed in 2001. In early 2007 Motormark split up and members Jane and Marko founded a new band with two new members called FANGS. The band consisted of Jane Fisher and Mark Law .-Biography:Jane was in folk singing group, The Singing Kettle, with her...
recorded a cover which was included on the 2007 tribute compilation Very Introspective, Actually – A Pet Shop Boys Tribute.