West End Girls weeks later. In Canada, "West End Girls" first entered the "RPM" singles chart in April 1985, reaching a peak position of 81 in June 1985. Having signed with EMI, the group released their first major label single "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" in mid-1985, but it failed to attract attention. The Pet Shop Boys then decided to re-record "West End Girls", and issue this new version as a single. Producer Stephen Hague helmed the new, re-recorded version of "West End Girls". The re-recorded version of "West End Girls" was released in the United Kingdom in October 1985, debuting on
West End Girls 1985, topping the charts in both the UK and the US. In an interview on BBC4's "Synth Britannia" programme ( at 1h 21m 19s), Neil Tennant explains the role of the then new sampling technology on the track and how every single sound came from the newly introduced E-mu Emulator keyboard. "West End Girls" is a synthpop song influenced by hip hop music. The song's socially conscious streak, as well as the propulsive bass line, derives from Grandmaster Flash's protest rap song "The Message". Lowe and Hague created a "snaky, obsessive rhythm punch" for the music, replacing the song's previously