Heard the single.

 

An 80's electronic sound with elements of the Pet Shop Boys. Mature men singing Hey Boy on the dance floor etc. As I feared - generic, throw away over produced pop with few redeeming features. Whoever wrote this song should hang their head in shame...... pure, unadulterated tosh!!!!!! :(

 

It may be positively supported across the fan base, but this fan is extremely underwhelmed and frustrated with the direction they've taken.

Sounds very Pet Shop Boys / Little Mix - maybe it's a grower

Heard the single.

 

An 80's electronic sound with elements of the Pet Shop Boys. Mature men singing Hey Boy on the dance floor etc. As I feared - generic, throw away over produced pop with few redeeming features. Whoever wrote this song should hang their head in shame...... pure, unadulterated tosh!!!!!! :(

 

It may be positively supported across the fan base, but this fan is extremely underwhelmed and frustrated with the direction they've taken.

Agreed :(

When I think back at the snippet leaked at the beginning of the tour and how promising it was sounding, how TT it was sounding and now we get this....

I still don't understand what Howard was so excited about.

Luckily, from what I've seen, it's just a promo single.

 

I want them to stop with this electronical and dance tendencies. Gary has such a lovely voice and it's in a better shape than ever, why distort it and make it unrecognizable?

And lately, his lyrics have been so mature...what's with this teen non-sense?

I don't want them to sell out just for the sake of commercial success.

Of course, now that the song is childish enough, Capital seems to be on board with it <_<

I'm really split on it. Maybe it'll be better live.

 

Wish they'd gone for a ballad now. Admire their eagerness to keep the sound fresh though.

 

I've just downloaded it on iTunes - has anyone else?

Just heard a clip of the song on ITunes. It's not as good as "these days" or anything else on III.

I'm really split on it. Maybe it'll be better live.

 

Wish they'd gone for a ballad now. Admire their eagerness to keep the sound fresh though.

 

I've just downloaded it on iTunes - has anyone else?

No. I pre-ordered the 2015 edition of the album, but, for the 1st time, I didn't buy the physical single cd. Maybe I'll download it from HMV later in the week, if there's any sign that it could chart, but more out of loyalty than out of desire.

 

I don't really understand this release strategy. The single is available as an album track only, there's no iTunes banner like 1D have, the video hasn't been released...What are they waiting for? How are people outside their hardcore fanbase going to know there's a single out? As much as I hate the song, I don't wanna see it flop. Although...it may teach them a lesson: that this isn't what people wanna hear from them.

Edited October 16, 20159 yr by milly

I can do nothing but agree that there is Pet Shop Boys feel to the song (that is not a bad thing). I like the song, but it is not their best, it is in line with material on the original edit of the album but i would put it on a much lower level than These Days.

 

#27 on the most recent itunes update. It would be wonderful if it can keep climbing.

Has anyone got any idea why some songs appear to be by "Mark Owen Howard Donald and TT"?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B016QHO...=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp

I can do nothing but agree that there is Pet Shop Boys feel to the song (that is not a bad thing). I like the song, but it is not their best, it is in line with material on the original edit of the album but i would put it on a much lower level than These Days.

 

#27 on the most recent itunes update. It would be wonderful if it can keep climbing.

16 now :)

Capital have playlisted the single: http://www.capitalfm.com/on-air/playlist/

It's strange that Radio 2 aren't supporting TT this time.

Edited October 16, 20159 yr by milly

Would be thrilled if they could get a top 15 out of this! Top 10 would be a dream!

As a fan part of me can't believe I'm saying this, but I wouldn't be disappointed if it flops -because to be perfectly honest it doesn't deserve to be a hit. Can you imagine people aged 30 plus buying this, or thinking that sounds great I'll buy the album!

 

TT have seen the success of Adele, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith and they think this electronic 80's sound is what the public want?

 

Milly is right - Gary's voice has been wonderful in recent times and his musical output for FN has been mature and classically pop, in the vein of BW. This complete u turn in terms of their musical output is perplexing to say the least. This direction is completely and utterly wrong and it won't garner new support and could well lead to a further down turn in their popularity.

 

I won't be downloading the single but I will buy the package because I want the DVD and I hold out some hope that the other three tracks will be an improvement on Hey Boy. I wonder if Jay was their sound boarding and without his critical ear they've lost direction? For Howard to say he's so excited for this new single beggars belief. Oh, how I long for songs like Butterfly, Rule the World, Said It All and Patience.

As a fan part of me can't believe I'm saying this, but I wouldn't be disappointed if it flops -because to be perfectly honest it doesn't deserve to be a hit. Can you imagine people aged 30 plus buying this, or thinking that sounds great I'll buy the album!

 

TT have seen the success of Adele, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith and they think this electronic 80's sound is what the public want?

 

Milly is right - Gary's voice has been wonderful in recent times and his musical output for FN has been mature and classically pop, in the vein of BW. This complete u turn in terms of their musical output is perplexing to say the least. This direction is completely and utterly wrong and it won't garner new support and could well lead to a further down turn in their popularity.

 

I won't be downloading the single but I will buy the package because I want the DVD and I hold out some hope that the other three tracks will be an improvement on Hey Boy. I wonder if Jay was their sound boarding and without his critical ear they've lost direction? For Howard to say he's so excited for this new single beggars belief. Oh, how I long for songs like Butterfly, Rule the World, Said It All and Patience.

I'm not holding out much hope for the other 3 tracks. 3 out of the 4 new tracks are credited to Mark and Howard. Bird in Your Hand is "co-written" by Michael Corson - a fan's dead husband. he suffered from alcoholism and depression. After his death, his wife sent to TT some lyrics her husband had written. Mark was touched by her story and decided to incorporate some of the lyrics in the song that appears on this new edition of III - apparently, he's the one singing the song.

The only track I'm holding a bit of a hope for is the one credited to actual TT.

I don't know why Mark and Howard are leading the influence of their new music, but what I've heard so far is not to my taste. If this continues to be the case with the new album next year, I might cease to be a TT fan.

I agree with dylandog: the rationale part of me wants Hey Boy to flop so that things have a chance of returning to normal. Of course, there's that nagging hearty part of me that doesn't want that to happen, because a flop now could mean a series of flops in the future and I don't want a potentially good album to flop because of one crappy song.

Oh, the new tracks don't appear too promising from what you've said, but I'll try and remain optimistic. I now find myself preferring Gary's solo stuff much more than TT's output - didn't think that would happen!

Sorry to say this, but, if it weren't for Gary's vocal control, that performance would have gone downhill.

It sounds far, far better live . Their voices are much clearer. One dodgy part but a vast improvement on the recorded version. That said, it's still a weak song.

 

Gary's vocal range is still impressive.

I quite enjoyed the live version! Hope it breaks top 10

I don't think Hey Boy is that bad. I quite like it and I enjoyed the live version. It's very catchy and I like that 80' s and Pet Shop Boys sound the song has, and becasue of that upbeat retro sound I don't think it's impossible that people also over the age 30 could like it or buy the song. I know I do anyway! I do think These Days is better though.

 

Even if you don't like a song of the band you are a fan of, which of course is perfectly fine, I think that hoping for that song to flop is maybe taking things a bit too far, but that's just my opinion.

 

Cat, I know what you're saying but I don't think it deserves to be a hit because in my view it has little musical merit. I know artists achieve popularity off the back of poor material and music itself is subjective, but I really do think this is a poor effort from TT. It's so over produced it's difficult to hear their voices. The fact the live version sounds significantly better is testament to this.

 

As a fan I try to adopt a critical approach and I don't necessary love or even like what they produce simply because of who they are. They're starting to go in a musical direction which I can't reconcile with and hence there's a part of me which would accept this single flopping if it leads to a re -evaluation of their musical direction and a return to a classical pop sound.

 

 

Looks like the single is struggling.

The Graham Norton radio show didn't help the single at all. It climbed 2 places last night, after TFI, but it fell down to 17 this morning.

However, it did help the album, as III is currently the no 1 bestseller on Amazon.

 

I'd like to see III reach double platinum this year, cause, regardless of my feelings towards Hey Boy, I'm still loving most of the album.