How the Pet Shop Boys became the soundtrack to ‘Industry’ Season 3

One of the many great joys of Industry Season 3 is the soundtrack. The series dips not once but twice into the discography of the Pet Shop Boys, with both needle drops delivering standout musical moments.

The first instance comes at the end of episode 1, with “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” playfully undercutting Lumi’s disastrous IPO. (Lumi did not, in fact, make lots of money.) Then, in episode 6, the Pet Shop Boys’ cover of “Always on My Mind” accompanies a tender flashback to Harper Stern (Myha’la) helping Yasmin Kara-Hanani (Marisa Abela) handle the complicated aftermath of her father Charles’ (Adam Levy) death.

The desire for Industry to include a double whammy of Pet Shop Boys — triple, if you count episode 6’s use of Electronic’s “Getting Away With It,” featuring vocals from Neil Tennant and a bass line performed by Chris Lowe — began with the duo’s 2022 Glastonbury set. Industry creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay were in attendance, along with Industry music supervisor Ollie White.

“They did the most amazing headline set on one of the smaller stages there. It was so explosive,” White told Mashable. “We were like, ‘They’ve still got it. They’re still relevant. We can get them on Industry. Let’s do it.’”

“Let’s make lots of money.”
Credit: Simon Ridgway / HBO

In addition to still performing live around the globe, the decades-spanning group’s music is more ubiquitous in film and TV than ever. Limited series It’s a Sin took its name from the band’s 1987 hit. Saltburn positioned “Rent” as a classist karaoke putdown, while All of Us Strangers employed “Always on My Mind” in devastating fashion. In Industry, the Pet Shop Boys’ electro-pop sounds find a perfect home, fitting right in with composer Nathan Micay’s synth-heavy score. It’s almost a surprise their work hasn’t popped up on the show before, but that’s due in part to the show’s own musical journey.

“For Season 1, the main aim of the music was to set up the youngsters living in London, what it’s like for them to be in London, and also represent what music they would be listening to as well,” White said. “As we’ve gone through Season 2 and 3, the older characters are playing a much more prominent role, so we’re finding music that can represent them as well. “

Following the heavier, COVID-centric Season 2, Down and Kay also wanted the show to feel more “fun, effervescent, and bombastic,” Down told Mashable. Pet Shop Boys and many of the show’s other music selections — from Wu-Tang Clan to Duran Duran — fit the bill.

“These are songs that make you want to punch the air,” Down told Mashable of the Pet Shop Boys tracks that made it into the show. “They’re songs that I’ve listened to thousands of times each.”

Down and Kay always knew they wanted to include “Opportunities” and “Always on My Mind” at these specific moments in Season 3. However, getting the rights to the latter proved a bit more challenging, as more people own it. (Originally recorded by Brenda Lee, the song has been covered by Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson, in addition to the Pet Shop Boys.)

Since Industry doesn’t have the highest music budget on TV, White wasn’t sure he would be able to clear it. He chose a backup song for the end credits instead: Electronic’s “Getting Away With It,” which still plays in the episode following Harper and Yasmin’s blowout argument. However, towards the end of the editing process, Industry was able to find the budget to include “Always on My Mind,” making it the final song cleared for the season.

“You were always on my mind.”
Credit: Nick Strasburg / HBO

The last sequence of episode 6 is already a knockout, as we transition from Harper and Yasmin’s fight to a flashback of one of their closest moments. But the music choices here elevate it even further, with Down calling them “the best six minutes of music the show has done.” “Getting Away With It” — a nod to Yasmin and Harper covering up Charles’ death — kicks in right as Yasmin slaps Harper, punctuating a painful beat with a bit of a wry twist. The song accompanies us as we transition to the flashback on Charles’ yacht, where it plays as part of a diegetic DJ set onboard the boat.

Most of the yacht scenes forgo Micay’s score completely, instead using a set mixed by White and Industry music editor Dan Elms in order to evoke the atmosphere of nonstop partying onboard. When you hear “Getting Away With It” fading into “Always on My Mind,” you get the exact same rush of excitement you’d feel if a DJ played a song you really loved at a party. “That’s right,” Industry seems to be saying, “you’re getting even more Pet Shop Boys goodness!”

On top of just being a great song — Kay described it as a “desert island disc” of his — “Always on My Mind” serves as the perfect wrap-up to an episode that puts Yasmin through the ringer.

“‘Always on My Mind’ is a song about not expressing your love when you could have expressed it, and that person being gone,” Kay told Mashable. “Obviously, Yasmin has a very fraught relationship with her dad, and he’s a monster. But one of the disgusting ironies and true human ironies is that she also loves him, and he’s dead.”

Overall, though, Industry‘s use of “Always on My Mind” really comes back to the push and pull between Harper and Yasmin. These are two women who have helped one another through some of the worst times in their lives, but who have also used each other and cut each other to pieces time and time again. Episode 6 sees them at their closest and most distant, and “Always on My Mind” captures both the love they once had for each other and the fact that they may never express that love again.

“It’s an elegy for Yasmin’s friendship with Harper,” Kay said. “And after that argument, it all goes to a pretty irrevocable place.”

Industry Season 3 is now streaming on Max, with new episodes premiering Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.