Always on My Mind

“Always on my Mind” is the English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys and their cover of the 1970 country love song written by Wayne Carson Thompson, Mark James and Johnny Christopher, it was first recorded by B.J Thomas, then released by Gwen McCrae as “You Were Always on My Mind” in 1972. The Pet Shop Boys’ version was released in 1987 and produced by Julian Mendelsohn and the duo.

“Always on my Mind” is a synth-pop track about missing a lover and wishing you had told them you loved them more. The Pet Shop Boys version features a harmonic variation which is not present in the original version.

The music video for “Always on My Mind” was directed by Jack Bond and released in 1987. Uploaded to YouTube in February 2007, the video features excerpts from the duo’s surreal music film “It Couldn’t Happen Here”, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe are driving in a taxi when they pick up an eccentric passenger (Joss Ackland), while the duo sing the track in the front. As of July 2020, the video has 26.9 million views and 136 thousand likes.

Release Date: 30th November 1987

Songwriter/s: Wayne Carson Thompson, Mark James & Johnny Christopher

Producer/s: Julian Mendelsohn & Pet Shop Boys

Label: Parlophone

Music Video Release Date: 1987

Music Video Director: Jack Bond

Chart Rankings, Certifications & Accolades: In its year of release, the Pet Shop Boys cover of “Always on My Mind” had charted at #10 in Australia, #2 in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland and Ireland; #3 in the Netherlands, Norway and South Africa; #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, #8 in New Zealand and the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart; #12 on the US Billboard Dance Singles Sales chart, #22 in France and #1 in Canada, Europe, Finland, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK Singles charts and West Germany. “Always on My Mind” has received Gold certification in the UK. In November 2004, The Daily Telegraph newspaper placed “Always on My Mind” at #2 on their list of the “50 best cover versions of all time”, and in October 2014, the BBC conducted a public poll in which the song was voted as the “all-time cover version”.

The lyrics to “Always on My Mind” can be read here: LINK