Neil Tennant was a former journalist. That's the secret to why Pet Shop Boys - It's a Sin works so well. He didn't just write a catchy synth-pop hook; he wrote a pointed, scathing editorial about his own life and the rigid religious constraints of his youth. Released in 1987, the track became a global juggernaut, hitting number one in the UK and several other countries. It was loud. It was dramatic. It sounded like the end of the world, or at least the end of a very specific kind of repression.
Honestly, if you grew up in the 80s, the "stadium pop" sound of the track was everywhere. But the song is weirdly misunderstood. People often hear the thumping electronic beat and the orchestral stabs and think it's just another dance floor filler. It isn't. It’s actually a deeply personal, almost bitter reflection on Tennant’s education at St Cuthbert's High School in Newcastle upon Tyne. It’s about the guilt that lingers long after you’ve left the classroom.
The School That Inspired a Scandal
When you listen to Pet Shop Boys - It's a Sin, you’re hearing a direct response to Catholic dogma. The lyrics are incredibly blunt. "At school they taught me how to be / So pure in thought and word and deed / They didn't quite succeed." It’s a confession that isn't really a confession. It's a critique.
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The school in question, St Cuthbert's, wasn't exactly thrilled when the song blew up. You can imagine the headmaster's face. Here was one of their most famous alumni telling the entire world that everything he was taught was basically designed to make him feel ashamed of his own existence. Tennant has often mentioned in interviews that he wrote the lyrics in about 15 minutes. Sometimes the best stuff comes out that fast because it’s been simmering for a decade. He was purging years of frustration.
The Catholic Church didn't take it lying down, either. There was a fair bit of pearl-clutching at the time. The song features a recording of a priest reciting the Confiteor in Latin, which added a layer of "blasphemy" that the tabloid press absolutely loved. But for the LGBTQ+ community in the late 80s, the song hit a completely different nerve. During the height of the AIDS crisis, a song titled "It's a Sin" carried a weight that went far beyond a disgruntled schoolboy's grievances. It became an anthem of defiance against a society that was busy moralizing a tragedy.
Producing the Sound of Impending Doom
Stephen Hague produced the track, and he deserves a massive amount of credit for the atmosphere. It sounds huge. It sounds like a cathedral collapsing in slow motion. The song uses a Fairlight CMI synthesizer, which was the cutting-edge tech of the day, to create those iconic orchestral hits.
- They wanted something that felt "maximalist."
- The NASA countdown at the beginning? That was just pure 80s flair, adding a sense of "liftoff" to a song about being weighed down.
- The thunderclaps and the dramatic pauses were designed to mimic the theatrics of a High Mass.
Chris Lowe, the quieter half of the duo, provided the driving, relentless bassline. It’s a Hi-NRG beat, a style that was massive in gay clubs at the time. By pairing these club-ready rhythms with lyrics about religious trauma, the Pet Shop Boys created a "Trojan Horse." They put a radical message inside a shiny, radio-friendly package.
The Plagiarism Lawsuit That Wasn't
Most people don't remember the drama involving Jonathan King. King was a songwriter and producer who publicly accused the Pet Shop Boys of plagiarizing the melody from Cat Stevens' song "Wild World." He even went as far as recording his own version of "Wild World" as a parody, titled "It's a Sin," to prove his point.
It backfired. Spectacularly.
The Pet Shop Boys sued for libel. They won. They didn't just win; they donated the out-of-court settlement to charity. It’s one of those bits of pop history that shows Neil Tennant’s background as a magazine editor—he knew exactly how to handle a public narrative. The melody might share a few chords with Stevens' classic, but the "vibe" is worlds apart. One is a gentle folk song about a breakup; the other is a synth-heavy epic about the weight of eternal damnation.
Why the Music Video Changed Everything
The video was directed by Derek Jarman. This is important. Jarman wasn't just a music video director; he was an avant-garde filmmaker and a radical activist. He brought a cinematic, almost medieval gloom to the project.
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The video features the "Seven Deadly Sins" personified. It’s dark. It’s moody. You see Neil Tennant being interrogated. You see Chris Lowe as a sort of silent jailer or monk. It’s visually striking and reinforced the song's themes of judgment and surveillance. In an era where most music videos were just neon lights and big hair, Jarman made something that looked like a fever dream from the 14th century. It gave the song a gravity that cemented it as "art" rather than just "content."
The Legacy of the Song in the 2020s
Fast forward to 2021. Russell T Davies releases a TV show about the AIDS epidemic in the UK. The title? It's a Sin.
The show brought the song back into the cultural zeitgeist in a massive way. It re-contextualized the track for a new generation. While the song was originally about Tennant’s school days, Davies used it to underscore the joy, the shame, and the ultimate tragedy of a generation of gay men. The Pet Shop Boys even performed the song at the BRIT Awards with Years & Years (Olly Alexander), bringing a more modern, electronic pulse to the track.
It’s rare for a pop song to have that kind of staying power. Most 80s hits feel like time capsules. They're fun for a retro night, but they don't mean much anymore. Pet Shop Boys - It's a Sin is different. It’s because the core theme—the struggle between who you are and what you’ve been told to be—is universal. It’s not just about Catholicism. It’s about any system that tries to make you feel "wrong" for simply existing.
Key Details You Might Have Missed
The song is actually quite short for something so epic. It clocks in at just under five minutes on the album version, but it feels like a three-act play.
- The "Confiteor" section is actually Neil’s real voice mixed with a professional actor's to create a more haunting effect.
- The track was the lead single from their second album, Actually.
- Despite the dark themes, it remains their most performed song live.
There's a specific irony in the song's success. It’s a song about being silenced that became the loudest thing on the radio. It’s a song about being an outcast that everyone in the world was singing along to. That’s the genius of the Pet Shop Boys. They take the "other" and make it the "mainstream."
How to Appreciate the Song Today
If you’re revisiting Pet Shop Boys - It's a Sin, don't just listen to the radio edit. Find the 12-inch "Disco Mix" or the "Phil Harding Remix." These versions let the production breathe. You can hear the intricate layering of the synths and the way the percussion is designed to feel like a ticking clock.
To really get the full experience:
- Watch the Derek Jarman video on a decent screen, not just a phone. The lighting is incredible.
- Read the lyrics as a poem. Seriously. "Everything I've ever done / Everything I ever do / Every place I've ever been / Everywhere I'm going to / It's a sin." It’s an incredibly tight, rhythmic piece of writing.
- Compare it to the 2021 cover by Years & Years to see how the emotional core of the song changes when the "anger" of the original is replaced with a softer, more mournful tone.
The song is a masterclass in songwriting. It teaches us that you don't have to sacrifice your intellectual depth to have a hit. You can talk about religion, guilt, and societal pressure while still making people dance. In a world of "disposable" pop, this track stands as a monument to what happens when you have something real to say.
If you're interested in diving deeper into the history of synth-pop or the 80s London scene, look into the biography Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath. It gives an unfiltered look at how they operated during this peak era. You can also explore the Derek Jarman archives to see how his work on this video influenced his later films. There's a whole world of art and history hidden behind that 120 BPM beat.
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Next Steps for the Listener:
- Analyze the Lyrics: Take a moment to read the full text of the Latin "Confiteor" used in the song; it adds a layer of literal confession that clarifies the song's ending.
- Explore the Album: Listen to Actually in its entirety. "It's a Sin" is the centerpiece, but tracks like "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" provide a broader context of the band's 1987 sound.
- Watch the Show: If you haven't seen the Channel 4/HBO series It's a Sin, watch it to understand the cultural weight the song carries for the LGBTQ+ community.