Jealousy

When Chris Lowe composed the melody for Jealousy on the piano, back in 1982, he felt it had to be a ballad. He asked Neil Tennant to write an intense lyric, and he did so based on the suspicion of infidelity, the kind that arises when one perceives indifference or disrespect towards their feelings, like waiting all night for a call that never comes. The inspiration for Tennant came from the envy an old friend of his felt for the time he spent with Lowe. This piece is considered the first "formal" song written by the Pet Shop Boys and the oldest of their compositions to be recorded and released.

The recording of Jealousy had a particular journey. Initially, demos were recorded in a London studio. In 1986, another demo was made with the intention of including it on the album Actually. The renowned soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone was contacted to handle the orchestral arrangements, but after a long wait, Morricone declined the offer, although he did contribute a piece that would become It Couldn't Happen Here. Finally, it was producer Harold Faltermeyer who took care of the arrangements when the song was included on the album Behaviour, released in 1990. The album version closes with an orchestral ending based on samples, while the single version, released as the fourth and final single on May 28, 1991, features a light remix with a real orchestra in that same ending. An extended version of this single adds an orchestral introduction and the text of William Shakespeare recited by Neil Tennant.