Pet Shop Boys - The sound of the atom splitting

"The Sound Of The Atom Splitting" was created on the spot as a compliment to the a-side of the single "Left To My Own Devices", specifically the line "Debussy to a disco beat".

Trevor Horn provided the inspiration for the line, so they took the best part of an hour and used the drum pattern from 'Left To My Own Devices' with Neil playing Debussy-esque chords over top of the chaos. The vocals were added later, and were inspired by a line from a film by Derek Jarman called "The Last of England": "A man says, 'What's that sound? It's the sound of the atom splitting'.

Neil Tennant: "I thought, 'That's a good line'. I thought the sound of the atom splitting was the sound of a nuclear explosion; the sound of the end of the world...The lyric is a dialogue between a fascist and a wet liberal. The right wing person is rather amused by the liberal because he's obviously so feeble he's never going to do anything."