Music TheoryPrint

Henry Purcell

Love Is a Bourgeois Construct

"Love Is a Bourgeois Construct" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their twelfth studio album, Electric (2013). It was released on 2 September 2013 as the album's third single. The

Background and recording#

“Love Is a Bourgeois Construct” was written in 2012 in Berlin after the completion of the Pet Shop Boys’ album Elysium earlier that year. Chris Lowe had the idea to write music inspired by “Chasing Sheep Is Best Left to Shepherds”. Neil Tennant came up with the title based on a passage from the novel Nice Work by David Lodge, about a plant manager who falls in love with a feminist university lecturer. The songs on Electric were recorded and sequenced in alphabetical order; the demo was originally called Bourgeois, so it followed Bolshy. When the song was recorded for the album, producer Stuart Price used the sheet music from Purcell’s work.

Release#

The single was released digitally on 2 September 2013 in two bundles, followed by a CD single on 30 September. Both the physical and digital formats include remixes by Little Boots, The Penelopes and Dave Audé, as well as two previously unreleased B-sides, “Entschuldigung!” and “Get It Online”. The twelve-inch single was released on 9 December 2013.

Artwork#

The single cover artwork consists solely of the song title in a constructivist typeface. Inner sleeves of the CD and 12-inch feature quotes from the lyrics in the same style. Pet Shop Boys decided not to make a music video for “Love Is a Bourgeois Construct” because they felt it would require an extravagant scenario and they didn’t like any of the treatments that were proposed.

Live performances#

“Love Is a Bourgeois Construct” was performed on select dates of the Electric Tour, with scenes of the Goldhawk Road in London, mentioned in the lyrics, as a backdrop. The song was played regularly during the Super Tour, and it is included on the live album Inner Sanctum, which was recorded during the Pet Shop Boys’ residency at the Royal Opera House in July 2018.

Personnel#

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Electric and “Love Is a Bourgeois Construct”. On the album, a songwriting credit for “Love Is a Bourgeois Construct” is given to Henry Purcell in addition to Tennant and Lowe; whereas on the single, Michael Nyman is credited instead of Purcell, and his music publisher, Chester Music, is also listed. Pet Shop Boys * Neil Tennant * Chris Lowe Additional vocals * Stuart Price * Andy Crookston * Pete Gleadall * Luke Halls

*Lyrics: Love is a bourgeois construct

Composer
Henry Purcell