BBC Radio 2 listeners vote West End Girls as their favourite Pet Shop Boys song

BBC Radio 2 listeners have crowned West End Girls as their favourite Pet Shop Boys song.

Members Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe said they were “very pleased and not totally surprised” with the listeners’ choice, and added that they “still love” performing the song.

It comes after a listener poll saw fans invited to vote for up to five of the band’s tracks from a list of songs.

The list included tracks which have charted in the UK top 100, including songs where they were a featured artist, plus album tracks chosen by a panel of experts.

The 1985 UK number one beat 1987’s It’s A Sin in second place, and the band’s version of Always On My Mind in third.

Making up the rest of the top 10 were What Have I Done To Deserve This?, performed with Dusty Springfield, Left To My Own Devices, Suburbia, Go West, Rent, Being Boring, and Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money).

Speaking about the poll results, Tennant and Lowe said: “When this vote was launched we said we’d be very interested to hear what Radio 2 listeners chose as their favourite Pet Shop Boys song and the full top 30 list of songs is fascinating.

“We are very pleased and not totally surprised that West End Girls has topped the chart.

“It’s a song we still love performing in concerts, 40 years since its first release. Thanks to everyone for voting and we look forward to seeing you at Radio 2 In The Park in Preston on September 8.”

The full top 30 countdown will be revealed on Your Ultimate Pet Shop Boys Song hosted by Mark Goodier on Radio 2, on August 24, between 1pm and 3pm.

Presenter Goodier said: “I remember playing West End Girls on its original release on their original record label.

“I loved it, but it wasn’t a success in the UK. It took about a year and a half, a new record label and a new producer and then we got the hit that has been part of our lives for almost 40 years.

“It is a remarkable song and it set the tone for what has turned out to be a magnificent career for one of Britain’s most innovative groups.”

Your Ultimate Pet Shop Boys Song will also be made available on BBC Sounds from August 19.

The streaming platform will also release Your Ultimate Pet Shop Boys Song – The Extras on the same day, giving fans the chance to listen to the tracks that did not make the top 30.