New York City Boy

"New York City Boy" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 27 September 1999 as the second single from their seventh studio album, Nightlife (1999). In the UK, the single peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached the charts in numerous European countries, peaking at number three in Spain, and number four in Finland and Hungary. In the US, the song hit number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and number 53 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart.

"New York City Boy"
Single by Pet Shop Boys
from the album Nightlife
B-side
  • "The Ghost of Myself"
  • "Casting a Shadow"
Released27 September 1999 (1999-09-27)[1]
StudioQuad (New York City)
GenreNu-disco
Length5:16
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • David Morales
  • Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More"
(1999)		 "New York City Boy"
(1999)		 "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk"
(2000)
Music video
"New York City Boy" on YouTube

The second B-side, "Casting a Shadow", was written for BBC Radio 1 during the 11 August 1999 solar eclipse, and CD 2 featured a bonus video showing the song alongside footage of the eclipse in the UK.

This song has many references inside, particularly two famous disco culture songs. The first one is in the string arrangements, reference to "It's good for the soul" by The Salsoul Orchestra (1976). It's not surprising because in the strings and arrangements is the leader of that band, Vincent Montana Jr. The second one is the sample of the Giorgio Moroder & Donna Summer song "Mac Arthur Park" (1978).

Critical reception

Pop Rescue commented, "Disco comes unashamedly bursting in, with second single New York City Boy, a kind of early Your Disco Needs You, complete with camp video and men’s choruses throughout. The pace is fast, and I can imagine that this song attracted mixes by the bucketload."[2]

Music video

The music video for the song features the New York nightspot Studio 54 and was directed by British director Howard Greenhalgh.[3]

Track listings

Personnel

According to "Nightlife: Further Listening 1996 - 2000", 2017:

  • Conductor and vocal arranger: Danny Madden
  • Arranger and conductor strings and horns: Vincent Montana, Jr.
  • Backing vocals: Billy Cliff, John James, Keith Fluitt and Steve Abram
  • Bass guitar: Gene Perez
  • Engineers: Steve Barkan, Bill Importico, Jr., Jon Smelz.
  • Mixing engineer: Goetz Botzenhardt
  • Percussion: Carlos Gomez
  • Keyboards, vocals: Chris Lowe
  • Producer: David Morales
  • Keyboards and Programmer: Joey Mosk
  • Vocals: Neil Tennant
  • Mixing engineer: Pet Shop Boys
  • Remastering engineer: Tim Young

Charts

References
  1. "New Releases – Week Starting 27 September, 1999: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 25 September 1999. p. 25. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  2. "REVIEW: "NIGHTLIFE" BY THE PET SHOP BOYS (CD, 1999)". Pop Rescue. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  3. "Pet Shop Boys - New York City Boy (1999)".
  4. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 17 February 2016". Retrieved 17 February 2016 – via Imgur.
  5. "Pet Shop Boys – New York City Boy" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  6. "Pet Shop Boys – New York City Boy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  7. "Pet Shop Boys – New York City Boy" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  8. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 46. 13 November 1999. p. 11. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  9. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 44. 30 October 1999. p. 25. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  10. "Pet Shop Boys: New York City Boy" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  11. "Pet Shop Boys – New York City Boy" (in French). Les classement single.
  12. "Pet Shop Boys – New York City Boy" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  13. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 42. 16 October 1999. p. 13. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  14. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 – Vikuna 4.11-11.11 1999". DV (in Icelandic). 5 November 1999. p. 10. ISSN 1021-8254 – via Timarit.is.
  15. "History - FIMI" (in Italian). Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  16. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Pet Shop Boys" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  17. "Pet Shop Boys – New York City Boy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  18. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  19. "Pet Shop Boys – New York City Boy" Canciones Top 50.
  20. "Pet Shop Boys – New York City Boy". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  21. "Pet Shop Boys – New York City Boy". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  22. "Pet Shop Boys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  23. "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  24. "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  25. "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Hot Singles Sales)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  26. "The Year in Music 2000 – Hot Dance Maxi-Singles Singles". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 53. 30 December 2000. p. YE-60. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books.
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