#52

SO SORRY I SAID

 

YEAR: 1989

PEAK POSITION: 62

 

I bought my freedom

after all that we have shared

I couldn’t leave you

Think of the skins I’d have to shed

 

Third release from the “Results” album was another Lowe/Tennant composition which the boys had performed on the 1991 tour, it was handed to Minelli for her album and the single got lost somewhat in the pre-Christmas rush and because the single contains nothing new for fans to buy.

 

It was originally envisaged as a duet between Minelli and Frank Sinatra (whom Minelli had recently been on tour with) however Minelli wanted Tenant as a duo partner, in the end the compromise was that it was a solo Minelli track.

 

AI: “So Sorry I Said” is the quietest, saddest, and most emotionally precise moment on Results — a miniature Sondheim‑esque drama where Liza Minnelli turns apology into self‑imprisonment.

 

At its heart, the song is about staying in a damaged relationship because leaving feels harder than enduring it. The narrator apologises not out of guilt, but out of exhaustion — a pattern of capitulation that keeps the relationship intact but corrodes her sense of self. This reading is strongly supported by commentary noting that the song depicts someone who finds it “easier simply to apologise and continue on as before,” even when the relationship feels like a ghetto or a prison.

 

The final line — “think of the skins I’d have to shed” — is devastating. It suggests that leaving would require a total reinvention, a painful peeling away of identity. Critics have rightly called this metaphor “brilliant” for how it captures emotional entanglement.  Minnelli’s performance is unusually controlled, almost conversational. Where other Results tracks let her unleash theatrical fire, here she leans into fragility. That restraint becomes its own form of drama — a woman holding herself together through politeness.

Highest scorer: 10- @Gezza

Lowest scorer: 2 @Pting Rollo

Leaving is another classy low-key PSB single, top 10 for me for not a big chart-topper, but that isnt to say it's not very good, it is - just an unusual choice for a single - but that's SO PSB.....!

So Sorry I Said was another odd choice, more of a showtune from a musical that should have been, and my least-fave of all to date bar Ab Fab. Very tasteful and all that but the follow-up cover of Love Pains was way better and the highlight Pet Shop Boys song on Results was If There Was Love - that should have been the 3rd single. Just a few name-drops for those on the album - Angelo Badamenti (Twin Peaks composer), Anne Dudley (Art Of Noise, Lexicon Of Love), Carol Kenyon (Temptation, Heaven 17 show-stopping vocal), Katie Kissoon (70's hit-maker), Courtney Pine (jazz star).

No way! 'So Sorry I Said' is gorgeous, #52 is far too low for it one of my favourites on Results, but I also like the PSB solo version.

13 minutes ago, MangoOoOoOo said:

No way! 'So Sorry I Said' is gorgeous, #52 is far too low for it one of my favourites on Results, but I also like the PSB solo version.

Hurrah for @MangoOoOoOo . You all did this song the dirty. I must admit I wasn't much fussed on it when i bought "results" but over the years I've grown to love it, and it's certainly better than DDB even if it seems most don't agree with me 😁

I have to say I love all four singles off Results but my favourite song on it would be a tie between SSIS and Losing My Mind!

23 minutes ago, Popchartfreak said:

Leaving is another classy low-key PSB single, top 10 for me for not a big chart-topper, but that isnt to say it's not very good, it is - just an unusual choice for a single - but that's SO PSB.....!

So Sorry I Said was another odd choice, more of a showtune from a musical that should have been, and my least-fave of all to date bar Ab Fab. Very tasteful and all that but the follow-up cover of Love Pains was way better and the highlight Pet Shop Boys song on Results was If There Was Love - that should have been the 3rd single. Just a few name-drops for those on the album - Angelo Badamenti (Twin Peaks composer), Anne Dudley (Art Of Noise, Lexicon Of Love), Carol Kenyon (Temptation, Heaven 17 show-stopping vocal), Katie Kissoon (70's hit-maker), Courtney Pine (jazz star).

I would add, as much as I love the PSB original, the version of "Rent" she does on the album takes it to a whole new level. See also the version of twist in my sobriety.

I preferred that Liza one to the other one oops. 7.5 again as did 'Leaving'. I liked both of the Liza tracks though.

I'd never heard this one before starting the rate, it didn't really leave that much of an impression compared to say 'Losing My Mind'.

I'd certainly recommend the album as it is very PSB sounding and some of rhe reworks are fantastic!

Don't Drop Bombs is my favourite. I got my partner the Liza album on vinyl last year as she's a big PSB fan.

7 hours ago, Gezza said:

Hurrah for @MangoOoOoOo . You all did this song the dirty. I must admit I wasn't much fussed on it when i bought "results" but over the years I've grown to love it, and it's certainly better than DDB even if it seems most don't agree with me 😁

Oh I’m another who definitely prefers So Sorry I Said over Don’t Drop Bombs. It’s great and I gave it a 7, listening again I probably should have gone higher!

I hadn't heard this song before and it didn't make much of an impression on me after one listen. I do know her version of Rent and like it a lot.

#51

IT DOESN’T OFTEN SNOW AT CHRISTMAS

 

YEAR: 2009

PEAK POSITION: 40

 

Christmas is not all it’s cracked up to be

Families fighting around a plastic tree

Nothing on the TV that you’d want to see

And it’s hardly ever snowing

 

Technically part of their “Christmas EP”, lead track “It Doesn’t Often Snow At Christmas” dated back to 1997 when it was fan club exclusive single and was remixed for this release.  The EP also contained their mash up of “Domino Dancing” and “Viva La Vida” which also garnered some attention.

 

It was their last top 40 single as the noughties came to an end.

 

AI: Unlike most Christmas songs, this one doesn’t pretend everything is magical. Instead, it leans into the disappointment, the commercialism, the forced cheer. But rather than sounding cynical, it’s affectionate—like someone rolling their eyes at the season while still secretly loving it.

 

He sings about the lack of snow, the lack of magic, the lack of sincerity, but he does it with a twinkle. It’s a Christmas song for people who don’t trust Christmas songs.  It’s a rare thing: a Christmas song that feels honest, witty, and emotionally grounded. It acknowledges the season’s flaws while still finding joy in it. It’s festive pop for grown‑ups, outsiders, and anyone who prefers their Christmas with a side of irony and a disco beat.

Highest score: 9 @MangoOoOoOo @AH Gold

Lowest score: 1- @Ghoulian

I can see why 'Christmas' ended up quite low here but I've always liked it a lot.

One of my three 5's out there. Quite underwhelming a Christmas effort imo oops.

My lowest scorer to come still and it's been mentioned in the thread already.

Not an essential PSB one-off for me, it's sweet but not one likely to get radio play at Christmas given the opposition, but it's an interesting diversion in the same way the more recent Cricket Wife is, or the outside projects like Alan Turing, ballets, musicals, movie soundtracks. I'm sure it would be anathema to Chris & Neil but they have more than enough strong obscure songs to re-purpose in another musical.

“Thursday” is my favourite out so far - I gave that a whopping 5. I didn’t think it entirely worked but it had some interesting elements and I found it a cut above most of the recent stuff.

“It Doesn’t Often Snow At Christmas” was my lowest score of the whole thing - I found that very naff. Most of the others out were around 3s for me so nothing I really enjoyed.

I actually really quite like it! A quirky little Christmas number.