Absolutely Fabulous (song)

"Absolutely Fabulous"
Single by Absolutely Fabulous
B-side	"Absolutely Dubulous" "This Wheel's on Fire"
Released	31 May 1994 (1994-05-31)[1]
Genre	Techno
Length	3:46
Label	Parlophone Spaghetti
Songwriter(s)	Neil Tennant Chris Lowe
Producer(s)	Pet Shop Boys
Absolutely Fabulous singles chronology
"Liberation" (1994) "Absolutely Fabulous" (1994) "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" (1994)

"Absolutely Fabulous" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released by Parlophone and Spaghetti Records as a single for 1994's Comic Relief under the artist name "Absolutely Fabulous"; it is based on the BBC sitcom of the same name created by Jennifer Saunders and features sound bites taken from the first series of the show. The single peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart and number seven on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. It was more successful in Oceania, debuting and peaking at number two in both Australia and New Zealand; in the former country, it is the band's highest-charting single, and in both, it was their last top-10 entry.

Releases

Apart from its release as a single, the song "Absolutely Fabulous" also appears on the "Further Listening" disc that came with the 2001 reissue of the Pet Shop Boys album Very. The music video clip of the song features on Pet Shop Boys' video compilation Various, available on VHS, as well as on the AbFab DVD collection of series one through three. The Our Tribe Tongue-In-Cheek Mix version of the song features on the band's Disco 2 album.

Critical reception

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "It is ostensibly a comedy record but few comedy records claim to possess as much dancefloor credibility as this one." He added, "Now its stars, Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley team up with the Pet Shop Boys to make this dance track, interspersed with sampled dialogue from the TV series along with various posturings from Edina and Patsy of which 'Techno Techno Bloody Techno Darling!' is possibly a highlight..."^[2] Pan-European magazine Music & Media described it as "a Pet Shop electro popper".^[3] Alan Jones from Music Week rated it five out of five and named it Single of the Week, adding, "The Pet Shop Boys have done a splendid job assembling some memorable snippets from the TV series' Patsy and Edina over a relentless disco beat. All profits from the single – which are likely to be considerable – go to Comic Relief. A potential number one."^[4]

Ian Gittins of Melody Maker felt that, with the song, the duo had "lowered their impeccable standards for the very first time". He wrote, "The Pet Shops sound as lusciously as ever, but Tennant's usual Mike-Leigh-down-the-disco existential witticisms (sadly missing here) are infinitely preferable to Saunders and Lumley reciting tired catchphrases and making jokes about 'Pump Up the Volume' a mere, uh, five years after MARRS had the hit. And Jennifer, darling, sweetie; the words 'caviar', 'Moet' and 'Vogue', set to a house beat, are not per se funny."^[5] Rupert Howe from NME commented, "Pats 'n' Edi rope in Neil 'n' Chris for a one-off slice of charidee cheese which will bounce straight into the Top Ten thanks to a Pet Shop production that's tighter than the skin over Pats' cheekbones. There's not much to it, of course — snippets of the series' cringeworthy hack PR-speak jostle for spare with a few cheeky Black Box/M/A/R/R/S/2 Unlimited references".^[6]

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by British and Scottish directors Howard Greenhalgh and Bob Spiers.^[7] It features the Pet Shop Boys, wearing white suits, white hats and sunglasses, performing while Absolutely Fabulous characters Edina and Patsy (Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley) dance around them. Clips from the first two original TV series are interspersed throughout the video.

Track listings

UK and Australian CD single[8] "Absolutely Fabulous" (7-inch mix) "Absolutely Fabulous" (Our Tribe Tongue-in-Cheek mix) "Absolutely Dubulous" "Absolutely Fabulous" (Dull Soulless Dance Music mix) Withdrawn UK CD single[9] "Absolutely Fabulous" (7-inch mix) "Absolutely Fabulous" (Our Tribe Tongue-in-Cheek mix) "Absolutely Dubulous" "This Wheel's on Fire" This CD was withdrawn due to copyright legalities for "This Wheel's on Fire".[10]

UK 7-inch and cassette single[11][12] "Absolutely Fabulous" (7-inch mix) "Absolutely Fabulous" (Dull Soulless Dance Music mix) UK 12-inch single[13] A1. "Absolutely Fabulous" (Our Tribe Tongue-in-Cheek mix) A2. "Absolutely Dubulous" B1. "Absolutely Fabulous" (7-inch mix) B2. "Absolutely Fabulous" (Dull Soulless Dance Music mix)

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Absolutely Fabulous" Chart (1994) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[14] 2 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[15] 28 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 8 Ireland (IRMA)[17] 18 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[18] 14 Netherlands (Dutch Single Tip)[19] 5 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[20] 2 Scotland (OCC)[21] 24 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 36 UK Singles (OCC)[23] 6 UK Dance (Music Week)[24] 11 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[25] 7

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Absolutely Fabulous" Chart (1994) Position Australia (ARIA)[26] 57

Certifications

Certifications for "Absolutely Fabulous"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[26]	Gold	35,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[27]	Gold	5,000^*
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Absolutely fabulous". petshopboys.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
2. Masterton, James (5 June 1994). "Week Ending June 11th 1994". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
3. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 18 June 1994. p. 10. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
4. Jones, Alan (28 May 1994). "Market Preview: Mainstream – Singles – Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 16. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
5. Gittins, Ian (4 June 1994). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 33.
6. Howe, Rupert (28 May 1994). "Singles". NME. p. 27. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
7. "Pet Shop Boys - Absolutely Fabulous (1994)". IMVDb. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
8. Absolutely Fabulous (UK & Australian CD single liner notes). Absolutely Fabulous. Parlophone, Spaghetti Records. 1994. CDR 6382, 7243 8 81426 2 5.
9. Absolutely Fabulous (Withdrawn UK CD single liner notes). Absolutely Fabulous. Parlophone, Spaghetti Records. 1994. CDR 6382, 7243 8 81426 2 5.
10. ""Absolutely Fabulous" at Sopetshopboys.co.uk". Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
11. Absolutely Fabulous (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Absolutely Fabulous. Parlophone, Spaghetti Records. 1994. R 6382, 7243 8 81426 7 0.
12. Absolutely Fabulous (UK cassette single sleeve). Absolutely Fabulous. Parlophone, Spaghetti Records. 1994. TC-R 6382, 7243 8 81426 4 9.
13. Absolutely Fabulous (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Absolutely Fabulous. Parlophone, Spaghetti Records. 1994. 12R 6382, 7243 8 81426 6 3.
14. "Absolutely Fabulous – Absolutely Fabulous". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
15. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 26. 25 June 1994. p. 23. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
16. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
17. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Absolutely Fabulous". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
18. "Absolutely Fabulous – Absolutely Fabulous" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
19. "Absolutely Fabulous – Absolutely Fabulous" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
20. "Absolutely Fabulous – Absolutely Fabulous". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
21. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
22. "Absolutely Fabulous – Absolutely Fabulous". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
23. "Pet Shop Boys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
24. "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 11 June 1994. p. 26. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
25. "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
26. "Australian Top 100 Singles 1994". The ARIA Report. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015 – via Imgur.
27. "New Zealand single certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Absolutely Fabulous". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.