Actually (stylised as Pet Shop Boys, actually.) is the second album by English pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 7 September 1987 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and by EMI Manhattan in the United States and Canada. According to Neil Tennant[1][2][3] and music historian Wayne Studer,[4] the album loosely critiques Thatcherism,[1][4] the political zeitgeist of the 1980s, and was recorded in anticipation of Margaret Thatcher's re-election.[5] Actually is featured in the 2005 musical reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die,[6] and in 2006 Q magazine placed the album at No. 22 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s".[7] In 2012 Slant Magazine listed the album at No. 88 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".[8]