途中リミックス・アルバム『Disco 3』やベスト・アルバム『Popart: The Hits』、書下ろしサウンドトラック『Battleship Potemkin: 戦艦ポチョムキン』、ミックスCD『Back To Mine』などのリリースを経て届いた新作『Fundamental』。
今作はTrevor Hornとの強力タッグによるものでファンの期待を裏切らない1枚となりそうです!また2003年のベスト・アルバム『Popart: The Hits』用にレコーディングされたDiane Warren作のナンバー"Numb"の収録も収録。リード・シングルには"I'm With Stupid"が決定しています!
【収録曲】 1. God Willing 2. Minimal 3. Sodom And Gomorrah Show 4. I'm With Stupid 5. Psychological 6. I Made My Excuses And Left 7. Integral 8. Numb 9. Luna Park 10. Casanova In Hell 11. Twentieth Century 12. Indefinite Leave To Remain
Back in the studio the Pet Shop Boys are performing 'Im with Stupid' as the Worksop man at the helm gives out orders to the duo's dancers in order to get the right camera angles.
But there is a problem. The song is statement about Tony Blair and George W Bush, and the dancers are wearing masks of the two leaders' faces.
"We can't have that as it's a political statement, and the BBC has to be impartial," comes an order from the editorial department.
Two rehearsals later and the issue is still rumbling on, with frontman Neil Tennant upset about having to lose the masks.
A further problem comes when former The Verve singer Richard Ashcroft refuses to rehearse his performance.
"That's now a BBC policy - all performers, whoever they are have to be prepared to rehearse and if they don't then they can't be on," says Julian.
The issue surrounding the Pet Shop Boys is finally resolved -the dancers can wear the masks as long as they wear masks featuring the faces of the leaders of the other main political parties.
But another one rears its ugly head.
"For some reason Jamie Foxx's people have a camcorder, and there are issues over copyright," warns a crew member.
With Richard Ashcroft no longer in the lineup, there is a problem about how to fill his empty slot, but it is worked out that if presenters Fearne Cotton and guest host Jo Whiley can talk for a bit longer then everything should work out OK.
With two hours left until filming, The Flaming Lips rehearse the Yeah Yeah Yeah Song but there's a problem with the power supply and the band cut off half way through their final rehearsal.
Then the Pet Shop Boys do one final practice - Neil has changed out of his grey suit and put an undertaker's cloak and top hat on.
"There's still too much emphasis on Blair," storms Julian. "Try and equal the filming out a bit more," he says, as the mood becomes more heated and the show is only minutes away from beaming out to the nation.