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Thursday (Pet Shop Boys song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other songs called "Thursday", see Thursday (disambiguation).

"Thursday"
Single by Pet Shop Boys featuring Example
from the album Electric
B-side
  • "No More Ballads"
  • "Odd Man Out"
Released4 November 2013
GenrePop[1][2]
Length5:02
Labelx2
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Stuart Price
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"Love Is a Bourgeois Construct"
(2013) 		"Thursday"
(2013) 		"Fluorescent"
(2014)
Example singles chronology
"All the Wrong Places"
(2013) 		"Thursday"
(2013) 		"Kids Again"
(2014)
Music video
"Thursday" on YouTube

"Thursday" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, featuring vocals from English singer and rapper Example. It was released on 4 November 2013 as the fourth single from the Pet Shop Boys' twelfth studio album, Electric (2013). The song reached number 61 on the UK Singles Chart and is the highest-charting single from the album.[3]

Background and composition

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Chris Lowe wrote the original demo for the song and gave it a temporary title, "Thursday Night Special". He commented that Thursday is "the new Friday"—a special night to go out.[4] The songs for Electric were recorded in alphabetical order, and Neil Tennant decided "Thursday" fit well in the sequence and wrote lyrics about anticipating the weekend.[5]

The duo wanted to use a rap on "Thursday", and they put a sample of Nicki Minaj on the track at first for an idea of how it would sound. Stuart Price, the producer of Electric, was also working with the rapper Example, who agreed to collaborate on the song. In addition to the rap, Example sang his own chorus, "I never tried to make you walk into the deep end…" Tennant's original chorus was "Thursday then Friday, it's soon gonna be the weekend…" The duo added another chorus based on Example's: "It's Thursday night, let's get it right…" Lowe also recited a list of days: "Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday".[6]

Release

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"Thursday" was released on CD single and in two digital bundles on 4 November 2013. Both physical and digital formats include remixes by Tensnake and Eddie Amador, as well as two previously unreleased B-sides, "No More Ballads" and "Odd Man Out".[7] A twelve-inch single was released on 9 December 2013.[8]

Artwork

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The sleeve for the single was designed by Mark Farrow, with photography by John Ross.[9] The image (pictured) features the disco ball-style headwear designed by Jeffrey Bryant, which Lowe wore during the Electric Tour.[10]

Critical reception

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"Thursday" was mentioned in several reviews of Electric. Kenny McGuane of Under the Radar called it "one of the best Pet Shop Boys songs of the last 20 years".[11] Thom Gibbs of NME described the song as beginning "with a resurrection of the tragic synth wash of 'West End Girls' before unfolding into an irresistible disco explosion".[12] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote: "Thursday, meanwhile, not only features a gorgeous combination of squelching bass and drifting, misty clouds of synthesisers and the reliable source of joy that is Chris Lowe taking to the microphone in stone-faced, Lancashire-vowelled Paninaro style, but rapper Example, who you might have been forgiven for thinking was precisely the kind of pop star Ego Music took aim at… but there's something striking about how his cocksure verse contrasts with the wistful neediness of Tennant's vocal".[13]

Music video

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The accompanying music video was filmed in Shanghai, China, when Pet Shop Boys performed there during the Electric Tour in August 2013.[14] Example makes a cameo in the video, with images of the musicians projected on buildings around the city.[15] The Oregonian described the video as featuring "not only two orange, Dali-esque women dancing in a busy intersection but a man with a disco ball for a head, naming all the days of a four-day weekend. It's fun with a side of social commentary."[16]

Live performances

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The song was performed on the Electric Tour with Example's section projected on a big screen behind the band.[17][18] Example joined them onstage at their tour date at The O2 Arena, London, on 18 June 2013.[19]

Usage in other media

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The song was played over the end credits of an episode of Looking.[20]

Track listings

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"Thursday" is written by Neil Tennant, Chris Lowe, and Elliot Gleave (aka Example). All other songs are by Tennant/Lowe.

CD single / digital bundle 1[7][21]
No.TitleLength
1."Thursday" (radio edit)3:56
2."No More Ballads"3:44
3."Odd Man Out"3:46
4."Thursday" (Tensnake remix)5:58
Digital bundle 2[22]
No.TitleLength
1."Thursday" (no rap radio edit)3:32
2."Thursday" (Eddie Amador remix)6:45
3."Thursday" (Mindskap remix)5:55
12-inch single[8]
No.TitleLength
1."Thursday" (album mix)5:02
2."Thursday" (Eddie Amador remix)6:45
3."Thursday" (Tensnake remix)5:58

Notes

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"Odd Man Out" includes a spoken-word sample by Charles Lloyd-Pack from the 1961 film Victim.[9]

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Electric[23] and "Thursday".[9]

Pet Shop Boys

Additional musicians

Technical personnel

Artwork

  • Farrow and PSB – design and art direction
  • John Ross – photography
  • Jeffrey Bryant – headwear design

Charts

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Chart performance for "Thursday"
Chart (2013–2014) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[24] 61
Scotland (OCC)[25] 86
UK Singles (OCC)[26] 61
UK Indie (OCC)[27] 7
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[28] 17
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[29] 36
[edit]

Lyrics: Thursday

References

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  1. ^ Daw, Robbie (5 July 2013). "Pet Shop Boys & Example's "Thursday": Watch A Video Tease of the Outstanding 'Electric' Track". Idolator. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  2. ^ Matusavage, Philip (5 July 2013). "Pet Shop Boys – Electric". musicOMH. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Songs and Albums: Full Official Chart History". Official Charts. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  4. ^ Dye, David (27 September 2013). Pet Shop Boys on World Cafe. World Cafe (radio broadcast). Philadelphia: WXPN. Event occurs at 4:45.
  5. ^ Dye 2013, 5:30.
  6. ^ Pet Shop Boys and Stuart Price (3 January 2024). Album Track by Track (Band and Producer Commentary) (audio commentary). x2. Event occurs at 12:45–15:00.
  7. ^ a b "Thursday video and single". PetShopBoys.co.uk. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Vinyl". PetShopBoys.co.uk. 11 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Pet Shop Boys (2013). Thursday (liner notes). x2. 5060186920993.
  10. ^ Flanagan, Micheal (15 April 2014). "Never Being Boring". The Bay Area Reporter. San Francisco. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  11. ^ McGuane, Kenny (18 July 2013). "Pet Shop Boys Electric". Under the Radar. Lexington, VA. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  12. ^ Gibbs, Thom (12 July 2013). "Pet Shop Boys – 'Electric'". NME. London. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  13. ^ Petridis, Alexis (4 July 2013). "Pet Shop Boys: Electric – review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  14. ^ "It's Finally Thursday". Popservations. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  15. ^ Hudson, Alex (29 September 2013). "Pet Shop Boys "Thursday" (ft. Example) (video)". Exclaim!. Toronto. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  16. ^ Kennedy, Deborah (1 October 2013). "Pet Shop Boys' 'Electric' tour comes to the Schnitz on Friday". OregonLive. Portland, OR: The Oregonian. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  17. ^ "PET SHOP BOYS LIVE ARGENTINA 2013 TN – THURSDAY". YouTube. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  18. ^ Dye 2013, 6:20.
  19. ^ Potton, Ed (20 June 2013). "Pet Shop Boys at O2 Arena, SE10". The Times. London. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  20. ^ Nowalk, Brandon (19 January 2015). "Looking: 'Looking for Results'". AV Club. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  21. ^ "Thursday – EP by Pet Shop Boys". Apple Music. United Kingdom. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  22. ^ "Thursday (Remixes) [feat. Example] – Single by Pet Shop Boys". Apple Music. United Kingdom. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  23. ^ Pet Shop Boys (2013). Electric (liner notes). x2. X20003CD1.
  24. ^ "Pet Shop Boys feat. Example – Thursday" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  26. ^ "Pet Shop Boys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  27. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  28. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  29. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
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