“Left to My Own Devices” by Pet Shop Boys

"Left to My Own Devices" opens Introspective, Pet Shop Boys' third album, and as its second single, out on Parlophone in November 1988, it outdid "Domino Dancing" by reaching number four in Britain. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe wrote it because they wanted Trevor Horn and needed a song to bring him: the day before the meeting they demoed a Lowe instrumental at Abbey Road with a phrase of Tennant's on top, and Tennant finished the words days later.

The result is a portrait of someone who goes through life doing exactly as he pleases, set to a Hi-NRG synth-pop pulse and, for the first time on a Pet Shop Boys record, an orchestra, arranged by Richard Niles. Horn produced with Stephen Lipson, who also engineered, Sally Bradshaw adds extra vocals, and Eric Watson directed the video. It has anchored their live shows ever since.

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