Pet Shop Boys - I Started A Joke

Pet Shop Boys is well-known for their covers. The British duo have done disco anthems like Village People's "Go West", they have discofied U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name" and coupling it with Boys Town Gang's Hi-NRG version of Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", they have even completely transformed the country standard "Always On My Mind" that has been made famous by Brenda Lee, Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson. But for their tribute to the recently deceased Robin Gibb, they have recorded a version of Bee Gees' wonderful 1968 classic "I Started A Joke" as humbly as they probably could. Their version is beautiful, quite faithful to the original, but of course modern sounding and electronic. Neil Tennant makes the words sound true, and the vulnerability inherent in the song is captured perfectly. "I Started A Joke" appears as one of the bonus cuts (or B-sides, as we used to say long ago) on Pet Shop Boys' recent single, the wonderful and anthemic "Winner".

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