Overview Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)

1 overview

1.1 history
1.2 lyric
1.3 release

1.3.1 in night

overview
history

the song written during pet shop boys formative years, in 1983. according neil tennant, main lyrical concept came while in recording studio in camden town when chris lowe asked him make lyric based around line let s make lots of money . tennant has said inspired relationship between characters of dustin hoffman , jon voight in 1969 film midnight cowboy.

the first version of song, recorded duo s first producer, bobby orlando, not released; upon signing record label parlophone, re-recorded song j. j. jeczalik (of art of noise) , nicholas froome.

the original single release charted low @ number 116 in uk, exceedingly outdone number 1 spectacle of second release of west end girls in multiple countries. producer stephen hague still on board release, new single version duo s debut album, please, mixed, reprogramming done hague , re-recorded vocals tennant. second release of opportunities , following album s release, resulted in better chart performance. single band chart higher in uk, becoming duo s second top 10 single in us, peaking @ #10, , missing out (#11) in uk. in australia, first version 1 chart (although outside top 40).

please included brief, cacophonic track titled opportunities (reprise) , original middle section song proper before edited out.

lyric

the lyric depicts, in tennant s words, 2 losers . song written perspective of man describes himself being intellectual , educated. lyrics addressed towards character, identified having looks , brawn , , invited join song s protagonist in scheme make lots of money .

tennant has made clear, however, schemes doomed failure. protagonist s claimed accreditations, phd in mathematics sorbonne , knowledge of computer programming, conceited fabrications. punchline of joke of song, says, people in not going make money . band have attributed cynicism of song, in part, punk rock attitudes of period.

the meaning of lyric taken @ face value listeners, , subsequent interpretation of song materialistic anthem receives mixed reactions. satirical interpretation, on other hand, has cemented pet shop boys reputation ironists many, chagrin of band result more sincere songs being ignored.

a notable change between original , re-recorded versions of opportunities omission of spoken outro love had / , love hide / bury / when die? according tennant, lyrics removed second version of song duo feared passage construed pretentious . first 2 lines of outro, however, sung within lyrics of why don t live together? please album. original single version of opportunities unavailable on compact disc until 1998 u.s.-only essential compilation album, , subsequently published on compact disc in u.k., in longer edit of mix, on 2-disc expanded 2001 remaster of please.

release

12-inch remixes 1985 release produced ron dean miller of nuance, while 1986 release produced noted 1980s producer shep pettibone. of miller s overdubs went on incorporated 1986 single version.

in night

the b-side of 1985 release, in night , subculture known zazous, appeared in france during german occupation of france in world war ii; concerned fashion , music, , allied neither nazis , vichy france nor french resistance, distrusted both sides. tennant, having read movement in book david pryce-jones, asks, in song, question of whether apathy amounted collaborationism.

an instrumental version of in night became opening theme music of bbc fashion programme clothes show second season in 1987 (the original 1986 theme 5 star, find time (shep pettibone remix) . continued decade until 1995 saw instrumental re-recording of song, in night 95 , purpose of replacing old theme.