Absolutely Fabulous (song)

"Absolutely Fabulous" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released in May 1994, 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. The accompanying music video was directed by Howard Greenhalgh and Bob Spiers.

"Absolutely Fabulous"
Single by Absolutely Fabulous
B-side	"Absolutely Dubulous" "This Wheel's on Fire"
Released	31 May 1994 (1994-05-31)[1]
Genre	Disco[2] house[3] techno pop[4]
Length	3:46
Label	Parlophone Spaghetti
Songwriter(s)	Neil Tennant Chris Lowe
Producer(s)	Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"Liberation" (1994) "Absolutely Fabulous" (1994) "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" (1994)

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..."^[5] Pan-European magazine Music & Media described it as "a Pet Shop electro popper".^[6] Alan Jones from Music Week gave it a full score of 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."^[2]

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."^[3] 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".^[7] James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update described it as "Jennifer Saunders & Joanna Lumley samples studded romping techno pop" in his weekly dance column.^[4]

Music video

The music video for "Absolutely Fabulous" was directed by British and Scottish directors Howard Greenhalgh and Bob Spiers.^[8] 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[9] "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[10] "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".[11]

UK 7-inch and cassette single[12][13] "Absolutely Fabulous" (7-inch mix) "Absolutely Fabulous" (Dull Soulless Dance Music mix) UK 12-inch single[14] 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)[15] 2 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[16] 28 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[17] 8 Ireland (IRMA)[18] 18 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[19] 14 Netherlands (Dutch Single Tip)[20] 5 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] 2 Scotland (OCC)[22] 24 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 36 UK Singles (OCC)[24] 6 UK Airplay (Music Week)[25] 19 UK Dance (Music Week)[26] 11 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[27] 7

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Absolutely Fabulous" Chart (1994) Position Australia (ARIA)[28] 57 UK Singles (OCC)[29] 111

Certifications

Certifications for "Absolutely Fabulous"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[28]	Gold	35,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[30]	Gold	5,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.