The lyrics of the three vocal pieces within it were largely inspired by the film's original subtitles, though one – "After All (The Odessa Staircase)" – was also prompted by the role of Trafalgar Square as a home of political dissent in London.

[7][8][9] Tennant and Lowe decided to ask Torsten Rasch to orchestrate the work after hearing his song cycle Mein Herz brennt, based on the music of the rock group Rammstein.

[10] In September 2005, Pet Shop Boys and the Dresdner Sinfoniker took the concerts to Germany and performed in Frankfurt, Bonn, Berlin, and Hamburg to promote the release of the album.

In an interview for the BBC in September 2005, Neil Tennant mentioned that they had approached the governments of Iran and China about performing the film score live, but both countries declined the proposal.

[15] The song "Comrades" was frequently used in the BBC documentary Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain, episode 4, featuring Margaret Thatcher's career as prime minister.