Pet Shop Boys respect the B-side with new single The Pop Kids

While contemporaries like Duran Duran and a-ha have long since abandoned the idea of the B-side (arguably even the single), the Pet Shop Boys continue to offer fans non-album tracks with their single releases, with three new songs being issued with The Pop Kids, the first 45 from their new album SUPER.

Update 6 Feb: PSBs have denied this report. More here.

The single will initially be offered in three digital bundles although a physical CD single (a format they’ve remained loyal to since 1987’s It’s A Sin) and twelve inch will follow. Each bundle offers a brand new non-album track (Lead A Normal Life, Secret Alphabet and It’s Up To You Now respectively) along with two remixes of The Pop Kids. Details below:

DIGITAL BUNDLE #1
1. The Pop Kids (Radio Mix)
2. Lead A Normal Life
3. The Pop Kids (Joakim Remix)

DIGITAL BUNDLE #2
1. The Pop Kids (Stuart Price Extended Mix)
2. Secret Alphabet
3. The Pop Kids (Anton Floria Blunt Mix)

DIGITAL BUNDLE #3
1. The Pop Kids (PSB Synth Trip Mix)
2. It’s Up To You Now
3. The Pop Kids (Agoria Remix)

That’s a lot of content, so it will be interesting to see what the band decide to include on the physical releases. Two of the CD singles from the last album (Vocal and Love is a Bourgeois Construct) were nine-track. The downside of such long CD singles is that they rule themselves out of eligibility for the UK singles chart. Although when Neil and Chris constrained the running time of 2013’s Thursday for that very reason, it still only peaked at number 61 so that may not be a concern at all.

The Pop Kids will be released on 26 February 2016. The album SUPER will follow on 1 April 2016.

CD Edition

• • UK Pre-order: SUPER
• • USA Pre-order: SUPER
• • CANADA Pre-order: SUPER
• • GERMANY Pre-order: SUPER
• • SPAIN: Pre-order: SUPER
• • FRANCE Pre-order: SUPER
• • ITALY Pre-order: SUPER

Vinyl LP

• • UK Pre-order SUPER
• • USA Pre-order SUPER
• • CANADA Pre-order SUPER
• • GERMANY Pre-order SUPER
• • SPAIN Pre-order SUPER
• • FRANCE Pre-order SUPER
• • ITALY Pre-order: SUPER

1. Happiness
2. The Pop Kids
3. Twenty-something
4. Groovy
5. The Dictator Decides
6. Pazzo!
7. Inner Sanctum
8. Undertow
9. Sad Robot World
10. Say It To Me
11. Burn
12. Into Thin Air