Pet Shop Boys:
PLEASE - March 1986
West End Girls - October 1985
Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) - February 1986
Paninaro - May 1986
Suburbia (remix) - September 1986
Main change is the addition of Paninaro, which shouldn't have been a B-side and should have been a big summer hit that year.
DISCO - November 1986
No change there, great release and album.
ACTUALLY - September 1987
It's a Sin - June 1987
What Have I Done To Deserve This? - August 1987
King's Cross - October 1987
Rent - January 1988
Heart (remix) - March 1988
'King's Cross' would have been released a few weeks before the fire, the release would have been a horrible coincidence but all proceeds from it would have been donated to charity.
INTROSPECTIVE - October 1988
(Always On My Mind - November 1987)
Left To My Own Devices - July 1988
Domino Dancing - September 1988
It's Alright - November 1988
'Devices' should have been the big lead release from Introspective, fantastic track, though Always On My Mind would have still been a last-minute release and surprise Christmas #1. Then the MCMLXXXIX tour in 1989 and a well-deserved break from creating new material, you'd still get the likes of 'Losing My Mind' (Liza Minelli), 'Nothing Has Been Proved/In Private' (Dusty Springfield) and 'Getting Away With It' (Electronic) to give fans their Tennant/Lowe fix.
BEHAVIOUR - October 1990
So Hard - September 1990
Jealousy - November 1990
Being Boring - January 1991
Where The Streets Have No Name/How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously - March 1991
This is a really tricky one, the whole era was full of great but not massively commercially friendly songs. So Hard and WTSHNN/HCYETBTS I've left as-is, but I think 'Jealousy' would have made a better follow-up and 'Being Boring' would have gained a higher chart position by being released after Christmas and in a low-selling January.
DISCOGRAPHY (greatest hits) - November 1991
Was It Worth It? - May 1991
A fantastic track with an unfortunately timed-release, coming in the December rush when everyone already had the album. This would have been a huge summer hit of 1991 and following on from the smash of Where The Streets Have No Name. DJ Culture would have still been on the album but I wouldn't have released it as a single.
Performance Tour, then 1992 is spent writing more material and Electronic's 'Disappointed' still getting released in the meantime. Then...
VERY - September 1993
Go West - July 1993
Shameless - October 1993
Can You Forgive Her? - December 1993
One In A Million - February 1994
Liberation - April 1994
Yesterday When I Was Mad (remix) - July 1994
Go West is a huge #1 and a surprise return, then they hit #1 again with Shameless. Can You Forgive Her a top 10 hit in the Christmas chart, then One In A Million goes top 5 with ease in early '94. A couple of top 20s into that year, the album is a massive seller and Neil and Chris, out of nowhere, are megastars again.
'Disco 2' doesn't happen, it doesn't need to. Absolutely Fabulous still does but it sells much better as their stars are much bigger. Massive sold out Discovery Tour.
ALTERNATIVE (B sides album) - August 1995
In The Night '95 - July 1995
As Paninaro was never a B-side in this universe, 'In The Night' takes its place as a well-loved B-side given a 90s remix.
BILINGUAL - September 1996
Se A Vide E - July 1996
Discoteca - September 1996
Somewhere - November 1996
A Red Letter Day - January 1997
The Survivors/To Step Aside - March 1997
Se A Vide E shows off a new sound for them and is another big summer hit, 'Discoteca' promotes the new album, 'Somewhere' a novelty release for Christmas and then A Red Letter Day sneaks into the low-selling January. 'The Survivors' is released as a charity single as a double-A side with To Step Aside ('Aside' = 'A side', get it?), the rest of 1997 is spent on the Somewhere Tour.
As an extra bit of fun, 'Disco Potential' is released as an anonymous white label, gets some club play and then it's revealed Neil and Chris made it to the embarrassment of big beat DJs everywhere. One for the papers in a Prodigy/East 17/Cliff Richard sort of story.
NIGHTLIFE - October 1999
For Your Own Good - July 1999
Closer To Heaven - September 1999
You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk - January 2000
In Denial (remix) - July 2000
This is a tricky one as it's not the best of eras for them, but a 3:30 edit of the Faithless-inspired For Your Own Good could have done well in the summer of '99. Closer To Heaven promotes the album and is more of the same, and then I'd leave 'Drunk' exactly as it was - great single, perfectly timed as the first top 10 hit of the new millennium. Then Nightlife Tour.
The success of Kylie Minogue's 'Spinning Around' in summer 2000 would get them to remix In Denial and release it while the iron's hot, a bit of a easy way to get a hit but keeps them looking relevant.
RELEASE - April 2002
London - March 2002
I Get Along - July 2002
Their worst album and worst era. Unsaveable really, but I'd make 'London' the lead release instead of Home and Dry and keep I Get Along as before, then Release Tour.
POPART (greatest hits) - November 2003
Miracles - November 2003
Flamboyant - March 2004
I'd ditch the silly 'Pop' and 'Art' tracklisting and make it a straight chronological one, a remastered update of Discography on Disc 1 and their 1993-2003 singles on Disc 2, fixing a few of the errors they made with including the wrong mixes of a couple of songs. Miracles and Flamboyant I'd leave exactly as is, they needed to be released to show they hadn't completely lost their minds after the last few years of underwhelming releases.
FUNDAMENTAL - May 2006
I'm With Stupid - May 2006
The Sodom and Gomorrah Show - July 2006
Integral - October 2006
IWS is a fantastic lead single, keep that absolutely the same and its top 10 place and "return to form" reviews. Sodom and Gomorrah would have been a risky choice but it's one of the best from that album, and then Integral as the last single. Tour through 2006-07.
YES - March 2009
Love Etc - March 2009
All Over The World - May 2009
Pandemonium - July 2009
Did You See Me Coming - September 2009
What the hell happened here? Love Etc was the easy first choice but the two next most perfect choices got completely missed as singles. This immediately fixes it and All Over The World would have been an instant second top 20 for them. Pandemonium Tour as before, the release of that single timed with the start of the tour.
CHRISTMAS (EP) - December 2009
Great EP, obviously timed. Unchanged. Shelve 2010's 'Together' as a waste of time, and put it as a bonus track on...
FORMAT (B sides album 2) - February 2012
Then that year's 'Elysium' doesn't happen. Instead...
ELECTRIC - July 2013
Thursday (feat. Example) - May 2013
Love Is A Bourgeois Construct - June 2013
Vocal - August 2013
Tease the fans with 'Axis' by releasing as a free download and on youtube in the spring, then shock them with 'Thursday' with its Example collab to get people interested in them again, then a few weeks later hit them with 'Construct' and get a summer hit with Vocal. Then, just in time for Christmas, re-release the album with a second bonus disc called 'Elysium', an abandoned album scheduled for release in 2012 but pulled. Electric Tour over 2013-14, and we're here in the present.
I realise some of my choices may be extremely controversial (or just hopelessly baffling) for some hardcore PSB fans, but hey, I'm just having fun
