NEWS
The group claimed that the rapper used a sample of ‘West End Girls’ without their permission last year
Pet Shop Boys have spoken out about Drake’s unauthorised sample of one of their tracks in a new interview.
The comments come after the band claimed last October that the rapper used a sample of their hit ‘West End Girls’ without their knowledge or permission.
The alleged infringement was included in Drake’s latest album ‘For All The Dogs’, on a track called ‘All The Parties’ in which the Canadian artist sings: “East End boy and West End girls.” The lyrics and melody mirrored the Pet Shop Boys’ own song, in which they sing: “In a West End town, a dead end world/ The East End boys and West End girls.”
Following its release, the London duo took to X/Twitter to write: “Surprising to hear Drake singing the chorus of ‘West End Girls’ in the track ‘All the Parties’ on his new album. No credit given or permission requested.”
Now, in a new interview with NME, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have shed more light on the debate, and said that it has all been resolved.
They began by making a nod towards the topic, recalling the differences between modern and ‘80s rap. “Modern rap takes up a lot more words, whereas the classic early ‘80s Grandmaster Flash style, which is the school I belong to, doesn’t take up as many words. Also, I like the rhythm of it because you can understand the lyrics,” Tennant said, to which Lowe added, “We should have just autotuned you and turned you into Drake!”
Directly referencing the conflict between the two later on in the interview, Tennant said: “It’s all sorted now, but I must say I thought it was a really nice bit in the record. He sang it very well.”
He continued: “I don’t think people regard it as a rap record, even though we did. If you read a book about rap, no one will ever mention ‘West End Girls’ in it’”.
Lowe then jumped in: “Hang on, you won the bloody BRIT Award for Best Hip-Hop/Rap/Grime Artist this year!” he said, spotlighting Tennant’s heartbreaking singing (and lyrics) on the award recipient Casisdead’s ‘Famous Last Words’”.
As for Pet Shop Boys, the duo are gearing up to release their 15th studio album, ‘Nonetheless’, which will be released on April 26 via Parlophone – visit here to pre-order.
The release follows the reissue of their rare album ‘Relentless’ for its 30th anniversary last year. Originally released in 1993, only 500 copies were made at the time, and has become a prized collector’s item.
The pair said of the reissue: “This album was an experiment for us 30 years ago with its six new extended dance tracks. We’re very proud of it and delighted it’s now getting the stand-alone release it deserves.”
