Pet Shop Boys

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Template:Infobox band Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic/pop music act, formed by Neil Tennant (b. 10 July 1954) who provides main vocals, keyboards and very occasionally guitar, and Chris Lowe (b. 4 October 1959) on keyboards and occasionally on vocals.

The longevity of their career is generally attributed to their ability to create melodic pop/dance music with intelligent lyrics and striking style. They are one of the most consistently successful duos in pop music, particularly in Europe. Since 1986, they have had 38 top 40 singles in the UK including four number ones: "West End girls", "It's a sin", "Always on my mind" and "Heart". While maintaining a strong presence in the dance and club charts in the United States, their mainstream success waned in the late eighties (their last top 40 hit in the U.S. was "Domino Dancing" in 1988). Their popularity is still prevalent through their very active and devoted fan base.

A new album titled Fundamental is due to be released under the Parlophone label on May 22, 2006.

Contents

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Before Pet Shop Boys

Neil Francis Tennant was born in North Shields, North Tyneside. While at school, Tennant played in a group in Newcastle called Dust. Their most popular song was called "Can you hear the dawn break?", and they were heavily influenced by The Incredible String Band. In 1975, after completing a degree in history at North London Polytechnic, Tennant took a job as editor at Marvel UK. In 1977 he moved to Macdonald Educational Publishing, later moving to ITV Books. In 1982, he joined the writing staff of Smash Hits magazine.

Christopher Sean Lowe was born in Blackpool, Lancashire. At school, Lowe played trombone in a seven-piece dance band called One Under The Eight, who played old-time popular favourites like "Hello Dolly", "La Bamba", and "Moon River". A skilled pianist, he moved on to playing keyboards in rock group Stallion. In 1978, Lowe went to University of Liverpool to study architecture. From 1981 to 1982, he spent a work placement year gaining practical experience in a London architectural practice. During this time, he designed a staircase for an industrial development in Milton Keynes.

On August 19, 1981, Tennant and Lowe met by chance at an electronics shop on the Kings Road in Chelsea. Realizing they had a common interest in dance music, they began to write together. To begin with they called themselves West End, because of their love of London's West End, but later they came up with the name Pet Shop Boys, a name derived from some friends who worked in a pet shop in Ealing. They said that Pet Shop Boys "sounded like an English rap group".

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The early years

Tennant and Lowe worked on material together in Tennant's Chelsea flat, where they came up with many of the songs that would later surface on future albums such as "It's A Sin", "West End girls" and "Jealousy". Their big break came in August 1983, when Tennant was sent by Smash Hits to interview The Police in New York.

The duo were obsessed with a stream of Hi-NRG records made by New York producer Bobby Orlando, known as Bobby O. According to Tennant: "I thought well, if I've got to go and see The Police play then I'm also going to have lunch with Bobby O". They shared a cheeseburger and carrot cake at a restaurant called The Apple Jack on August 19 (two years to the day since Tennant and Lowe had met) and Bobby O suggested making a record with the Pet Shop Boys after hearing a demo tape that Tennant had taken with him.

In April 1984, the Bobby O-produced "West End girls" was released, becoming a club hit in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Though the track did not do well in the UK, it was a minor hit in France and Belgium.

In March 1985, after long negotiations, Pet Shop Boys cut their contractual ties with Bobby O with a settlement giving Bobby O significant royalties for future sales. Hiring manager Tom Watkins, they signed with the London-based Parlophone label. In April, Tennant left Smash Hits (where he had progressed to the role of deputy editor) and in July, a new single "Opportunities (Let's make lots of money)" was released, reaching number 116 in the UK. Unperturbed by the low chart position, they returned to the studio in August to re-record "West End girls" with Stephen Hague. Released in October 1985, this new version of "West End girls" initially entered the charts at a similarly low position, but began a slow rise so that by January 1986 it achieved the number one position. It was subsequently number one in the USA, Canada, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand and Norway, and sold an estimated 1.5 million copies worldwide.

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Sound and image

Image:CYFH.jpg Neil Tennant has consistently and sincerely labelled the Pet Shop Boys' music as "disco". Their music's trademark sound is a combination of pure synthesised pop (which could qualify them as a New Wave group), with sometimes slightly over-the-top instrumentation, contrasting with Tennant's laconic vocals, sometimes spoken-word or rap. Despite a history of implementing current musical trends from the underground (house, electro, jungle, techno etc.) into their productions, they have always maintained their own specific and defined sound. Their lyrics (mainly written by Tennant) have been described as articulate, stylish and poetic. Among their musical trademarks is the combining of pop hooks with detailed chord structures and soundscapes.

Visually, the group grew to favour avant-garde tailored fashions. Early in their career, the duo were frequently accused of lacking stage presence, said to be a deliberate reaction to the hyper-cheerful music of the time demonstrated by bands such as Wham!. A typical early performance featured Lowe in the background hitting the occasional note on a Fairlight synthesiser keyboard and Tennant singing, but otherwise unanimated, in the foreground.

However, when touring in 1991, they were heavily influenced by opera and theatre staging. They brought in David Alden and David Fielding from the English National Opera to help with stage and costume design. The shows made no attempt to involve or even acknowledge the audience, and pushed the choreography and staging centre stage. Subsequent tours have used artist Sam Taylor-Wood and architect Zaha Hadid for stage design. In 1993, when promoting their Very album, they dramatically changed their image. They wore brightly coloured costumes and used state-of-the-art computer technology to place themselves in a modern computer graphic world. This concept of reinvention was again realized for the promotion of the Nightlife album, in which they transformed their look wearing wigs and glasses with very futuristic urban wardrobes.

The duo have always been very interested in the artwork and design for their releases. They have primarily worked with Mark Farrow, who designed the cover of their first Parlophone release in 1985. Their record sleeves are quite often very minimal, and the attention to detail is obvious, down to the font type and style. In 2006, they plan to release a book entitled Catalogue, showcasing their accomplishments in artwork and design. The collaboration between Mark Farrow and Pet Shop Boys is comparable to the designer-band relationship of Peter Saville and New Order.

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Sexuality

Pet Shop Boys are seen as significant figures in gay culture for such songs as "Can you forgive her?", "It's a sin" (for which Derek Jarman produced the video), "New York City boy" and their cover of The Village People's "Go West". They have written a song about a young male fan spending a night with a rapper, based on Eminem, called "The night I fell in love" and a song about coming out, "Metamorphosis". Their 1990s single "Being boring" dealt with the gay experience and the devastation wrought by the AIDS crisis; the song, and its supporting video filmed by Bruce Weber, remains one of their most popular. However, Neil Tennant has stated many times that his lyrics are not specifically gay. Many of their songs are written from an ambiguous view point that can be taken any way the listeners perceives it, and this goes some way to explain why a larger majority of their die-hard fans are heterosexual.

Pet Shop Boys have performed and worked with many artists considered to be gay icons such as Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Dusty Springfield and Kylie Minogue. Pet Shop Boys attempted to organise and perform in a planned 2001 tour of out gay musicians, entitled Wotapalava. However, the plans were later put on hold and the idea seems to have been discarded.

Despite their widespread popularity with both the heterosexual and gay communities, Neil Tennant denied rumours of being gay in the 1980s until finally coming out shortly after the release of 1993's Very in Attitude, a UK gay lifestyle magazine. Lowe, meanwhile, has remained tight-lipped.

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Discography

Main article: Pet Shop Boys discography

Studio albums by Pet Shop Boys include:

Compilation albums by Pet Shop Boys include:

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Other Ventures

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  • Pet Shop Boys are well known for their high profile collaborations with other artists. This began in 1987 with their duet with Dusty Springfield on "What have I done to deserve this?". The duo later went on to produce half of her solo Reputation album, and the singles "In private" and "Nothing has been proved".
  • Pet Shop Boys provided a song for Patsy Kensit's band Eighth Wonder in 1987. The song, "I'm not scared", became her biggest hit single and later Pet Shop Boys included their own version of the track on their Introspective album in 1988.
  • In 1988, Pet Shop Boys and Jack Bond produced the film It Couldn't Happen Here. The feature film starred both Tennant and Lowe along with Barbara Windsor, Joss Ackland and Gareth Hunt.
  • Following their hit single with Springfield, Pet Shop Boys were asked to write and produce an album for Liza Minnelli in 1989. The album, Results, also included the hit single "Losing My Mind", a cover version of the Stephen Sondheim song.
  • Tennant and Lowe set up Spaghetti Records in the early 90s. Their most successful release was the soundtrack to the 1992 film The Crying Game which featured Boy George performing the title song. Other artists on the label included Scottish singer David Cicero, rap duo The Ignorants and Masterboy.
  • Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe worked on Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr's first Electronic album. Tennant co-wrote, co-produced and provided vocals on three tracks: "Getting Away With It", "The Patience of a Saint", and "Disappointed". Chris Lowe also co-wrote and co-produced "The Patience of a Saint". "Disappointed" was also featured in the movie Cool World.
  • In 1993, Chris Lowe wrote and produced the track "Do the right thing" for footballer Ian Wright. The song also featured backing vocals by long-time Pet Shop Boys backing singer Sylvia Mason-James and the single featured remixes by Rollo.
  • In 1994, Pet Shop Boys released the 1994 Comic Relief single, "Absolutely Fabulous". The song started when Tennant and Lowe were playing around with samples from the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous in the studio. They wanted to release a single, so approached Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, and it was suggested to release it as a charity single. The single was released under the artist name of "Absolutely Fabulous produced by Pet Shop Boys". It is widely considered as a Pet Shop Boys single and featured on the 2001 re-issue of their album Very, but it was excluded from the greatest hits album PopArt. The video to the single featured clips from the sitcom along with specially recorded footage of Tennant and Lowe with the characters of Edina (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley).
  • In 1994, Pet Shop Boys remixed the Blur single "Girls and Boys". It was a club hit throughout Europe and started a trend for Pet Shop Boys to remix other artists' music. Since 1994, Pet Shop Boys have remixed tracks for artists including David Bowie ("Hallo Spaceboy" in 1996), Fat Les ("Jerusalem" in 2000), Yoko Ono ("Walking on Thin Ice" in 2003), Rammstein ("Mein Teil" in 2004 and Madonna ("Sorry" in 2005).
  • In 1998, Neil Tennant organised an album of Noel Coward songs, Twentieth Century Blues, with all proceeds going to an AIDS charity. The album included the Pet Shop Boys version of "Sail Away" along with songs performed by Elton John, Texas, Marianne Faithfull, The Divine Comedy, Suede, Damon Albarn, Vic Reeves and Robbie Williams. Tennant co-produced the Williams track and provided backing vocals for Elton John. Later that year, Tennant also provided backing vocals on Robbie Williams' "No Regrets" single along with Neil Hannon from The Divine Comedy.
  • Kylie Minogue duets with Neil Tennant on the Pet Shop Boys' song "In denial" taken from the Nightlife album. The song, written for the Pet Shop Boys musical Closer to Heaven, is about a father (Neil Tennant) coming out to his daughter (Minogue). Kylie Minogue performed the track live during her 2005 Showgirl tour, singing to a pre-recorded Neil Tennant. This is not the first time that Pet Shop Boys have worked with Minogue. In 1994, the Pet Shop Boys wrote a song for inclusion on her Kylie Minogue album. "Falling" was based around an unreleased remix of "Go West" with new lyrics by Tennant. However, Minogue and her record company did not like the production sound of the Pet Shop Boys' demo, and asked Farley & Heller to produce the track.
  • Pet Shop Boys collaborated with the playwright Jonathan Harvey to write their musical Closer to Heaven. The musical ran at the Arts Theatre in London in 2001 with financial backing from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group. The show opened in May 2001 to mixed reviews and although the run was initially extended, it closed earlier than expected due to poor ticket sales in October 2001. Around the time of the London closure, Neil Tennant said that they were in talks to take the musical to various locations in Europe (particularly Germany which is a big market for Pet Shop Boys) and to take it to New York. Nothing further has been issued by Pet Shop Boys or Really Useful Group regarding these performances, however in 2005, a series of performances were done in the Brisbane Powerhouse Australia, but they were independent to Pet Shop Boys and Really Useful Group.
  • Pet Shop Boys remixed Yoko Ono's "Walking On Thin Ice" in 2003. The re-issue of her single featured remixes by other high profile DJs, including Danny Tenaglia and Peter Rauhofer (who have both collaborated with Pet Shop Boys on previous releases).

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  • In 2003, the Pet Shop Boys' Spaghetti Records label was rebranded as two new labels: Olde English Vinyl and Lucky Kunst. The first release on Olde English Vinyl was Atomizer's "Hooked On Radiation", followed by Pete Burns's "Jack and Jill Party" in 2004. The only Lucky Kunst release to date is a cover of the Donna Summer track "Love to Love You Baby" which features the artist Sam Taylor-Wood (using the pseudonym Kiki Kokova) on vocals. This was not the first time that Pet Shop Boys had collaborated with Taylor-Wood - in 1998, they recorded a version of "Je t'aime... moi non plus", originally by Serge Gainsbourg.
  • In September 2004, Pet Shop Boys appeared at a free concert in Trafalgar Square, London where they performed a new soundtrack to accompany the seminal 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin. More live performances were done in Germany in September 2005, and the soundtrack followed on September 5, 2005.
  • In November 2004, Pet Shop Boys played at the Prince's Trust concert called Produced by Trevor Horn, a festival with artists who worked with famous British producer Trevor Horn. Other artists included Grace Jones, ABC, Seal and Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
  • In 2005, the Pet Shop Boys were selected as the headline act for the Live 8 performances from Red Square, Moscow. They were received extremely well by the crowd in Moscow.
  • Also in 2005, the Pet Shop Boys were asked to put together the twentieth release to the Back to Mine series, an ongoing anthology showcasing artists' favorite personal music selections. The series has featured other well-known DJs and artists, such as Dave Seaman, Nick Warren, Danny Tenaglia, Orbital, Everything But The Girl, and New Order. When approached, the Pet Shop Boys told the Back to Mine crew that they would put together a compilation on one condition only: that they could each have their "own" CD (therefore making it a two CD set). This project allowed both Tennant and Lowe to express their own individualized musical influences: Tennant opted for more artful, ambient, and orchestral ventures, where Lowe chose Eighties-inspired retro-disco. After listening to both CDs, one can easily conclude how the Pet Shop Boys sound has come to be, and what makes it so unique.
  • Neil Tennant appeared as a guest vocalist on a track called "Tranquilizer" for Superchumbo's 2005 WowieZowie album. Tennant co-wrote the track with Tom Stephan (a.k.a. Superchumbo). This is not the first time that Tom Stephan has worked with Pet Shop Boys. He co-wrote and co-produced the song "Screaming" which appeared on the soundtrack to Gus Van Sant's 1998 remake of Psycho. He has also remixed several songs including "New York City boy", "Paninaro '95 and "Sexy Northerner".
  • In February 2006, Pet Shop Boys remixed Madonna's single, "Sorry". The single went straight to number one in the UK singles chart.
  • The Pet Shop Boys' forthcoming album, Fundamental, will feature a song entitled "Numb", written by songwriter Diane Warren. A promo video has been released for Fundamental's first single "I'm with Stupid" with the British funsters Matt Lucas and David Walliams, better known as the team behind Little Britain. Lucas and Walliams portray Tennant and Lowe, parodying their previous videos including "Go West" and "Can you forgive her?". The video was filmed at the theatre at Alexandra Palace.
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Trivia

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  • The actor Sir Ian McKellen appeared in the music video for "Heart" playing a vampire who steals Neil Tennant's wife. It was seen to be ironic since McKellen was a well-known gay figure at the time (he came out in the 1970s). McKellen is also famous for playing Gandalf in the Lord Of The Rings saga and Magneto in the X-Men movies.
  • According to Chris Lowe, the one musical obsession Lowe and Tennant shared when first meeting was David Bowie.
  • Pet Shop Boys have a penchant for choosing one-word album titles - often amusing ones, when used in conjunction with the group's name. For example, when asking for a copy of their first album, Please, record-shop customers would sometimes have to say, "Can you help me find the new Pet Shop Boys album, Please?". It is said that because of this polite title, their first album was a big hit in Japan. The album titles are often meant to be part of a sentence, as in , "This is the Pet Shop Boys' Introspective album?"; "Do you have the new Pet Shop Boys Release?" or "This is the Pet Shop Boys' Disco album".
  • Earlier this century, Neil Tennant ended debate over how to write the band's song titles. He claims that the definitive Pet Shop Boys style is to treat each song title like a sentence, thus only the first letter of definitive articles should be capitalised. For example: "What have I done to deserve this?" or "Yesterday, when I was mad". Some other amusing Pet Shop Boys "sentence-like" song titles are "The boy who couldn't keep his clothes on", "I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more", "How can you expect to be taken seriously?", and "You only tell me you love me when you're drunk".
  • A defining element of Pet Shop Boys is their obsession with extended and remixed versions of their songs. As of 2005, they have been remixed by over 70 different DJs and producers. In many cases, Pet Shop Boys have used aspiring remixers who became well known later—they used Moby in 1991, Sasha in 1993, Tracy Young in 1995, Trouser Enthusiasts in 1997, and Eric Prydz in 2003. Their roster of remixers also includes Brothers in Rhythm, David Morales, Frankie Knuckles, Rollo, Pink Noise, Basement Jaxx, Deep Dish, Blank and Jones, and Scissor Sisters. The vast array of Pet Shop Boys remixes have made them one of the most collectible bands in the world. Collectors relish the assortment of triple-vinyl limited editions, unique artwork sleeves, and multiple compact disc singles. One highly sought after item is a 1997 fan-club only release called "It doesn't often snow at Christmas", a CD single that is clear with a frosted snowflake on it that came in a PET film bubble sleeve (and interestingly, this song has been included on a 2005 Elton John Christmas CD, sold exclusively at Starbucks Coffee shops in the United States). The only other artist who probably rivals the Pet Shop Boys in this remix/collector category is Depeche Mode.
  • As of 2003, Pet Shop Boys were ranked by Billboard's Joel Whitburn (in his book Billboard's Hot Dance/Disco 1974-2003) as the number-four most successful act on the U.S. Dance/Club Play charts, behind only Madonna, Janet Jackson and Donna Summer.
  • In 2005, a Swedish tribute band called West End Girls had a number-six hit single in their home country with a cover version of "Domino dancing". An album is planned. Pet Shop Boys also have a UK-based tribute band in the form of Birmingham-based Pet Shop Noise who have been performing locally for many years.
  • Madonna's album Confessions on a Dance Floor, released November 2005, includes a track called "Jump" which has close similarities to "West End girls". An interview at www.popjustice.co.uk with Stuart Price, who produced Madonna's album, revealed the track "Jump" was a complete Chris Lowe inspiration. While recording the album with Madonna, she even blurted out at one point, "Pet Shop Boys! I fucking love them!". Pet Shop Boys have also remixed "Sorry", the second single from the album which went straight to number one in the UK charts. The history between Madonna and Pet Shop Boys goes back to 1988, with the song "Heart". It was composed by the duo with the idea of pitching it to Madonna to sing, but then it turned out that they were too shy to call her and offer her the song, so they recorded it themselves. The song ended up going to number one in the UK charts. Later, in 1991, Madonna was referenced in a tongue-in-cheek lyric in the song "DJ Culture," right after Madonna and Sean Penn had divorced. Tennant writes, "Like Liz before Betty / She after Sean / suddenly you're missing / then you're reborn". Tennant refers to the 'reinvention' Madonna was going through at the time. Madonna also paid tribute to the Pet Shop Boys at the 2006 Brit Awards naming them as one of the British artists who had influenced her music, in her acceptance speech after being presented with the 'Best International Female' award by Neil Tennant.
  • Their song, "Opportunities", is the theme song for the hit WB television reality show, Beauty and the Geek.
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See also

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External links

Template:Wikiquote

Official Sites

Fan Sites

Fan Forums

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