Sleaford Mods love a bit of ’80s synthpop. Last year they covered Yazoo’s “Don’t Go” and now they’re back with their take on Pet Shop Boys‘ classic “West End Girls,” which will be released as a 12″ single via Rough Trade with proceeds going to the homeless charity Shelter.
The 12″ includes both a “clean” and “dirty” mix, along with a remix by Pet Shop Boys themselves and a rework by HiFi Sean. The song translates surprisingly well to Sleaford Mods’ gritty milieu and the PSB remix is great too (with backup vocals by Neil Tennant).
“’West End Girls’ is a song that’s very close to my heart, my coming-of-age track in so many ways.” says Mods beatmaker Andrew Fearn. Frontman Jason Williamson adds, “I’ve been listening to the Pet Shop Boys albums ‘Please’ and ‘Actually’ a lot, the music still fits this landscape so well. When Andrew suggested we cover “West End Girls”, it was important to honour the track’s brilliance. So when Neil and Chris gave the track their blessing, our tiny minds were blown, and when we received their remix… it was almost too much, it was brilliant!”
Meanwhile, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe say, “Sleaford Mods have brought East End boys back to the West End streets for a great cause and we love their new version.”
You can watch the video for Sleaford Mods’ cover of “West End Girls,” PSB’s remix and the rest of the EP — plus watch the original video — below.
The vinyl single for “West End Girls,” which is the only place to get the “dirty” version, will be out December 15.
