A Red Letter Day: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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"'''A Red Letter Day'''" is a song by English [[synth-pop]] duo [[Pet Shop Boys]], released on 17 March 1997 as the fourth single from their sixth studio album, ''[[Bilingual (album)|Bilingual]]'' (1996). The single peaked at number 9 on the [[UK Singles Chart]], making it another top 10 single for the group. However, it then fell straight out of the UK top 40 (to number 42) the following week.<ref name="uk"/> At the time, this was a record as the biggest such fall to ever occur in UK chart history, but it was then beaten the following year by [[Embrace (English band)|Embrace]] with their single "[[My Weakness Is None of Your Business]]" (which fell from number 9 to 44 the following week).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19980830/7501/ |title=Official Singles Chart Top 100 |publisher=Official Charts Company |date=30 August 1998 |access-date=3 November 2020}}</ref>

==Composition==

The PSB used the chord progression from [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s "Ode to Joy", which is sung on the record by Choral Academy of Moscow.<ref>Pet Shop Boys https://www.petshopboys.co.uk/history/1997</ref>

The duo were admirers of the sound of Motiv8,{{citation needed|date=September 2014}} who had remixed various other artists at the time. [[Neil Tennant]] asked the man behind Motiv8 ([[Steve Rodway]]) to remix this single, even visiting Rodway at work in his studio during the remix.{{citation needed|date=September 2014}} After it was finished and delivered, Tennant insisted that a synth line, which Rodway had come up with on the Motiv8 version, should be used on the Pet Shop Boys' own main mix. After unsuccessful attempts to recreate Rodway's riff, it eventually had to be [[Sampling (music)|sampled]] from the Motiv8 mix.{{citation needed|date=September 2014}} Thus, as well as appearing on the Motiv8 remix, it appears on the Pet Shop Boys' main version.