UK Prime Minister Tony Blair (left) and US President George W. Bush (right) in 2006. "I'm with Stupid" has been acknowledged as referring to their relationship.[1]
"I'm with Stupid" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their ninth studio album, Fundamental (2006). It was released on 8 May 2006 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's 21st top-10 single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 8.
Meaning
Though ostensibly about a romantic relationship with a man perceived by the public as a "moron", the song has been acknowledged as being, on another level, about Tony Blair's beleaguered "special relationship" with George W. Bush.[1] The protagonist of the song is eventually brought to wonder if the other's stupidity might not be a front:
The song charted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the duo's 21st UK top-10 single. One of the single's B-sides, "The Resurrectionist", in keeping with the group's fondness for unusual historical subject matter in their songs, is about body-snatching in the English Regency era, carried out by people literally called "resurrectionists".[3]
Remixers of the single include Melnyk, Max Tundra, Abe Duque and Pet Shop Boys themselves. Several of the official remixes were not released on physical media at all, being exclusively available on iTunes Music Store and other online music stores. In addition, the single has yet to be released in any form in the United States.
"I'm with Stupid" was performed on the 23 April 2006 episode of Top of the Pops, in the latest in a long series of Pet Shop Boys performances on the UK music programme.[4] The performance was planned to include six dancers, wearing masks depicting Blair's and Bush's faces. The BBC's editorial department objected, however, citing the need to be politically "impartial";[5] in the end, only one Blair mask and one Bush mask was used, with the remaining four masks replaced by ones depicting Bill Clinton, David Cameron, Menzies Campbell, and Vladimir Putin.[6]
The song was later performed in Germany in the form the BBC had objected to.[7]
In the video, the duo stage a performance in which they play the roles of Tennant and Lowe and mime "I'm with Stupid" while dressed in Very-era outfits (mainly from the "Can You Forgive Her?" and "Go West" promotional campaigns). They are accompanied by a group of dancers, also dressed in similar costumes.
The video ends with Walliams and Lucas asking for the approval of the audience, which is revealed to be Tennant and Lowe themselves, bound to their seats.
