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Cover of Actually by Pet Shop Boys
Cover: Actually

Song · Pet Shop Boys

“It's a Sin” by Pet Shop Boys

From the album Actually (1987)

“It's a Sin” by Pet Shop Boys appears on 23 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 1987 and 2021. It was first released in 1987 on the album Actually. Its best result is #11 on the Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1987. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #14 alternative song of 1987, #1,518 alternative song of all time and #87 of the '80s.

23countdowns
9stations
#11best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1987–2021years charted

Watch

Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin (Official Video) [HD REMASTERED]

Video from YouTube (PetShopBoys Parlophone). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"It's a Sin" kicked off Pet Shop Boys' second album, Actually, as its lead single in June 1987, and it's synth-pop turned up to operatic: a thundering Hi-NRG disco storm with Neil Tennant's deadpan voice delivering the drama at its center. Tennant and Chris Lowe wrote it, Julian Mendelsohn produced it, and Stephen Hague added production and mixed it, while Andy Richards filled in on keyboards and sampler.

It gave the English duo their second UK number one, where it stayed for three weeks, and it topped the charts in more than 15 other countries, among them West Germany, Ireland, Sweden and Spain. In America it went to number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1987 27 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1987 107
1987 21 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1987 91
1987 11 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1987 105
1987 23 WLIR / WDRE Long Island, NY WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1987 99

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 377 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1988 390 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1988 166 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988) 200
1989 485 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1991 388 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1999 469 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 325 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2002 981 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1822 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 407 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 1822 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2007 1355 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1302 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1331 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1365 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1429 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1478 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1534 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2021 815 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909

Also listed as: It's A Sin.

Charting alongside it in 1987

Best songs of 1987 →
  1. 1Girlfriend in a ComaThe Smiths
  2. 2With or Without YouU2
  3. 3Dear GodXTC
  4. 4Why Can't I Be You?The Cure
  5. 5StrangeloveDepeche Mode
  6. 6Lips Like SugarEcho and the Bunnymen

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