I love my little collection I have been developing, but I do have favorites considering that some are harder to find than others or just pure art in the making and gifts too. I will explain why a handful of my collection are special to me.
The first one you see from the top left is a collage scrapbook full with Soft Cell/Marc Almond photos I have collected along with interviews some are rare now I got it from an unofficial site long ago that doesn't exist anymore, so since I live in America, it's pretty rare those interviews are. It's six years old now, I usually would make collages in the summer time because I have so much of their photos, I didn't know what to do with them so I had a smaller notebook once, but since I made so much, I have a bigger one and even still was too much for the binder. So I had to use another folder to separate photos from collages and interviews to make some space, since I was introduced with tumblr, several Soft Cell/Marc Almond fans showed me and posted some more interviews I never seen in my life! Anyway, I will update it soon. And the cover art me and another friend did when I was in middle school, so I was a fan at a young age of the new millennium. I know that the band doesn't exist and stuff, at least the musicians are still living. I wasn't born around their time, but when I first heard them, "Tainted Love" was on a music television station even though it went off and then when I went downstairs the news was on and they played "Tainted Love" again! was it fate or coincidence? I do have plans with the collages one day as a massive art project. I officially became a Soft Cell fan at August 3, 2005. Before that, I was still developing on what to become a fan or not, well you now know my answer.
Pet Shop Boys' Catalogue is worth a lot to me is because it's my first Pet Shop Boys' book I ever gotten as a late birthday gift to myself along with Marc Almond's Tainted Life(I still haven't read it all yet to see it as a favorite) after going through a minimal, rough time. And what's also special about it, is that it's an art book which bunch of images and facts to them and it's a heavy book, well not that heavy but it's about the same mass as a text book especially having 336 pages. Since I am an artist, it was and still is something an artist should have with not only an art book but also having another band you adore and I only been a fan for about a year and some.
The third folder consist of rare photos of Soft Cell and Marc Almond basically it's the other notebook that store the other part of my photo collection, and when I find extras, I usually use them for my projects in high school such as the collaged skateboard for my physics class. I did the front cover as well, I'm love stickers as well.
Pet Shop Boys' Annually is one of my favorites because it's one of the books that are out print and are harder to find and in America they are so expensive like $200! Plus another artist gave it to me as a gift which is radical! And for it to be damn near twenty years old, it's in real good condition! It's like having a book that is almost biographical but it's only sixty-one pages. I mean to know that the band members had to struggle to make money at a young age and knowing the singer had an uneventful life, reminded me of another artist I love which is Roy Lichtenstein, I did a report on him in high school and he too, had an uneventful life started out until went to places kept going and did his artwork which was the stardom of comic book art, that you see today, him and Andy were the start of the Pop and Op art era. But going back to the whole not rich at first and knowing that the singer didn't have much people to encourage him especially wearing an outfit to the point people actually lost hope for him to be a pop star, but he proved the nay sayers wrong, so in a way, Annually proved to me even people you least thought that couldn't do anything, can be someone. I'm a struggling artist myself so I know how it feels.I don't have a degree just yet, but I did make some money with commissioning drawing, so It's a start. Annually was actually suppose to be a constant issue like their Literally magazines, but it didn't do so well in sales so that's why it was only one book of this title. gotten this info from www.geowayne.com and Catalogue I think. But this book you get the idea of how the Pet Shop Boys work and what they did before became official on Aug 19, 1981 which is a day after my birthday if I was in 1981, I would have been a day older than them since my birthday is on Aug 18th. I mean knowing that the band had to pay into their fan club and making sure the fans have something prove that they have care for their fans, even knowing before they became official doing art like things like being in other bands, doing other art pieces on a structured level, etc. Overall, it's a lovely small book and was glad to get it as a gift.
Pet Shop Boys' Special was another favorite because it's considered an "unofficial" book and it consist of big photos and facts and info that you never thought about! I was shocked to know that Soft Cell was often compare to the Pet Shop Boys! Even though Soft Cell was one of their major influences. A good friend of mine from another country told me about it, and it sounded like something I would want to have and for a good price too, why not? It was also something for myself on knowing that one of my grandfathers passed away and it came the day before the funeral. It's almost the same size as Annually, I personally call it Annually part two or Pre-Annually because some of the facts are similar. Special is like a magazine in book form really.I mean I haven't heard pin-ups in a book before unless it was a comic book or a magazine. I think this one gives more in depth information than Annually but both are really good books in my opinion! It's only available in the UK, I had to get it on the UK version of Amazon.
The Smash Hits magazine, where do I begin! On my second blog about my art observations, this was one of my most difficult finds ever! I kept hearing that Neil Tennant interviewed Marc Almond, I didn't know it was all the way true, I thought they were just saying things but what did I know. I have two of my good friends to help me search it because I found an image of it but the text was too small to read! So we found just about all his interviews but not the Marc Almond one! So I knew it exist but wanted to read it because I remember I was doing my homework and a fan told me some podcast was on some site about Neil wanting his old job back. So I gave it a good listen and I was in for a shock to my life! They read bits of the interview that Neil did of Marc back on July 8, 1982 which I find it hilarious because it was a day before Marc's birthday and two days before Neil's birthday, like some chain going on here. And I asked several fans if they have it, only a few said and only two sent it to me: A German fan that sent me a photocopy at the time, plus three Marc Almond CDs which was awesome, she had duplicates so I can't complain. And a fan from the UK that had it at his home but couldn't find it at all so he bought it instead, which shocked me because I didn't expect that so I was in tears to actually have the magazine itself! It was a pretty good interview I think, it may not mean much to fans, but it does for me. Plus after reading bits of Marc's autobiography, i can simply argue with Marc about his views on interviewers, because I don't see anything wrong with this particular interview, but I guess the others make the good ones so bad. But basically it's a gift from another artist and it's a vintage magazine what can be better?! It have other 80's musicians too.It did have another review Neil did but of Boy George, but I'm glad they settle their differences and are good friends now. They are both talented I think. I do plan one day to get the Smash Hits yearbooks that Neil did before he did Pet Shop Boys full time.
PopArt DVD because my aunt bought it for me as well as Soft Cell's The Art of Falling Apart I need it to be replaced at the time, so I got more to go, but I can wait or make CDs out of them, don't worry, this isn't no profit thing this is just my collection that's all and it's a creative one too. I like seeing music videos it had the songs of Opportunities to London including three extended version songs, and it have a thick booklet of one clip of each video. And it just have that Andy Warhol look and feel, just like some of their videos.
The "Opportunities" vinyl because it's the first and more likely the only vinyl I have in possession, I don't really care for vinyls because I don't have a record player working no was soon and it collects up space. Plus I have Catalogue and it have several images of their vinyls may not be all of them but, vinyls are just plastic and consist of photos and getting more vinyls would be a waste of my time. I want a collection that I can actually use or get joy out of it! If I was in the 80's or so, I would love to get them, but they aren't really my point of interest; however, I do love this one because it was a gift for helping out two friends on their move and hey, I can't really complain for something vintage and it's free too?! Even though the b-side is "Was That What it Was" was one of Pet Shop Boys' least favorite songs they done, but I like the fact that I just have one vinyl. I don't need so many to prove how much a fan I am of theirs, I know I wasn't in that time, and my collection of stuff maybe small but that's the beauty of it, I have a long ways to go and I'm not rushing it either. I get what I can, and I like how the band don't want fans to get too much into them and want fans to live their lives, that's a smart attitude. And is it really possible to get ALL their stuff anyway? I don't think it is and if it is, I congratulate those who do have all their stuff, but that's not me, even if I would want a decent size of a collection. Plus several fan send me songs on audio so I'm good for now, and I will get what I can. Anyway, I'm glad I have at least one vinyl, but I'm not making it a habit of getting more.
Pet Shop Boys' Performance because it's a very artsy, theatrical concert with a moral value to it, and it was a gift by an associate. And I am still currently working on more art reviews to it. I never thought I needed so much time to do an art review but it's worth the writing, and as an artist's point of view, it's something I would already consider as a favorite, I mean you get a commentary that is hilarious, rehearsals, entertainment and a moral value all in one! It's not like something I have seen before unless it's a musical like Tommy but that was more of a rock/classic musical. I would have that in a collection if you didn't already.
Soft Cell's Non Stop Exotic Video Show: I have been wanting this for a while, I know this and Soft Cell: Live in Milan are the only DVDs I know of that have Soft Cell footage. A Marc fan asked me what I wanted and told her about 3 things and I told her I'm not picky or nothing and she surprised me with this DVD. I was in a joyous mood! They omitted certain things that Marc says but I love it completely, it's almost to be rare now I think. This and their twelve Inch singles have similar images on the album art. I even like the main menu too, if there was only more of their stuff, but a lot of Soft Cell memorabilia are rare. And this DVD holds the memory of Soft Cell when they were a group.
Pet Shop Boys' Ultimate Deluxe because I like the title of it and it have a CD and DVD with some good footage and it was another gift by the same one who bought me Performance and sent me some of the audio as well. Some of the videos I haven't seen before and they are in good quality as well. And a lot of them can be found on youtube as well.
Last of the them is the PSB music cards the friend who bought me two PSB stuff, told me about these music cards on eBay and they were a bargain and free shipping now that's a sale! Just like Pet Shop Boys' Cubism I gotten for under ten dollars. They are three music cards with images of the band and facts on the back and one of them have a fact that Neil interview Marc which was awesome, it's like my searches are being found and confirmed again.
It's not in the photo, but I do love The Most Incredible Thing, I forgot to include it in this post!
So not really bad for someone who lives in America and on a note, I didn't ask fans to buy me anything, they did it on their own free will. And I personally appreciate it deeply in my heart, that there are some good people in the world. Just thought I share these with you guys or whoever that reads this blog.
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