Buried within Drake‘s recent “All the Parties” single, the superstar musician recites “It’s 6, our town a dead-end world.” “East End boys and West End girls, yeah” and repeats the last line, just like the Pet Shop Boys did when they first recorded the song “West End Girls” almost 40 years ago.
Released in April of 1984 as part of their debut LP, Please, “West End Girls” was the Pet Shop Boys very first #1 UK and US single and the legendary synth pop duo are now claiming that Drake interpolated the classic tune without their permission or proper credit.
The British act wrote in a tweet. “Surprising to hear Drake singing the chorus of ‘West End Girls’ in the track ‘All the Parties’ on his new album,” “No credit given or permission requested.”
Pet Shop Boys members’ Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe originally recorded “West End Girls” with 1980s disco producer Bobby “O” Orlando after Tennant played Orlando some of the Boys’ demos in 1983; At the time Neil was working as a music journalist and met Bobby while on an interview with Sting.
As legend has it, PSB drew inspiration from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message,” T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, and James Cagney gangster films as a homage to London clubbing. The original version was a minor hit when first released but enjoyed a second wind after connecting with Stephen Hague, who produced Please, and re-re-recorded ‘West End Girls.’ The song ranked #65 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time and #433 on the magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Keep up with the latest trending music news by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Author: Saul Goode
Photo: livepict.com