"Domino Dancing" is a song by Englishsynth-pop duoPet Shop Boys, released in September 1988 byParlophone as the lead single from their third studio album,Introspective (1988). The song reached number seven on theUK Singles Chart and topped the charts in Finland and Spain. Its music video was directed byEric Watson and filmed inPuerto Rico.
Written byChris Lowe andNeil Tennant, and influenced byLatin pop, the song was produced byLewis A. Martinée, the Miami-based producer behind 1980sfreestyle groups such asExposé. The song was recorded at Martinée's studio in Miami, resulting in a large number of studio musicians being featured on it for a Pet Shop Boys song.
The duo had achieved three number ones in 1987 and 1988, and "Domino Dancing" was expected to continue this success. However, the public reception to the duo's new Latin sound proved disappointing. Tennant remembers: "...it entered the charts at number nine and I thought, 'that's that, then – it's all over'. I knew then that ourimperial phase of number one hits was over."[5]
The single missed the top 10 on theBillboard Hot 100, peaking at number 18, and was the duo's sixth and, to date, last top-20 entry in the United States.[6] (In fact, they have not made the top 60 since "Domino Dancing".) The song did reach number five on theBillboardHot Dance Club Play chart, where the duo has seen more consistent success.[7]
John Wilde fromMelody Maker said, "After taking some delightless turns in recent months,Tennant andLowe swoon, yupswoon, back with their most exquisite offering for many a moon. It looks as weightless as a kite up there. It comes complete with a spoken interlude that wakes up the glowworms inside me for the first time since that heavenly respite in the middle ofHuman League's 'Louise'."[8] Pan-European magazineMusic & Media wrote, "Their knack of creating irresistiblesynthesizer-driven pop songs never seems to diminish. Not their best, but still better than most of the competition."[1] Jack Barron fromNME named it Single of the Week, adding, "'Domino Dancing' perfectly captures the omnipresent power dynamics of an unbalanced relationship, which most are. It's a song of acid jealousy burning a hole in a love affair. An emotional Paradise reduced to Hell by the constant flick of a partner's eyes elsewhere in covert flirtation."[9]
The music video for "Domino Dancing" was directed byEric Watson and was his sixth of eleven collaborations with the band. The storyline is about a love triangle between two handsome young men who are fighting over a beautiful woman.Rolling Stone magazine calls the video "probably the most homoerotic pop video ever made", citing the slow-motion shots of the boys wrestling on the beach:
As such, the video exemplified the mainstream exploitation of gay sex in the Eighties, most evident in Calvin Klein ads and feature films likeTop Gun. Unfortunately,Domino Dancing was every bit as dishonest, titillating the straight world with images it could never acknowledge, then doubling the repression by keeping openly gay expression closeted.
All the lead actors were Puerto Rican; the two boys were David Boira and Adalberto Martinez Mojica and the girl was Donna Bottman,[11] who was an aspiring actress and model. All of them were cast by the Pet Shop Boys.
Domino Dancing (extended version) is a seven-minute dance song, combined with Lowe's synth melodies, Cuban brass andhip hop beats.
Versions
Domino Dancing (short video 7″) – 4:18
Domino Dancing (extended version 12″ remix) – 7:41[12]
The Swedish Pet Shop Boystribute bandWest End Girls released a cover version of "Domino Dancing" in 2005 as a single from their albumGoes Petshopping, peaking at number three on the Swedish Singles Chart.
^abAbebe, Nitsuh (6 October 2006)."Pet Shop Boys -PopArt: The Hits".Pitchfork. Retrieved10 January 2025.These songs are, in a way, the urtext of dance-pop...the strangely mellow, downtempo Latin freestyle on "Domino Dancing"...
^Molanphy, Chris (16 July 2022)."Point of No Return Edition".Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast).Slate. Retrieved4 January 2025.
^Domino Dancing (Japanese mini-CD single liner notes). Pet Shop Boys.EMI Records Japan. 1988. XP10-2024.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Domino Dancing (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1988. 12R 6190.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Domino Dancing (UK CD single liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1988. CDR 6190.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Domino Dancing (UK cassette single sleeve). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1988. TCR 6190.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Domino Dancing (Australian 12-inch single sleeve). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1988. ED 378.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Domino Dancing (UK 12-inch remix single vinyl disc). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 1988. 12RX 6190.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Domino Dancing (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Pet Shop Boys. EMI Manhattan Records. 1988. V-56116.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^"Classifiche".Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved1 June 2022.Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Pet Shop Boys" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
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