MUSIC: Pet Shop Boys

The icons and music pioneers that are Grammy winning English synth pop duo Pet Shop Boys were a massive success in the late 1980s. To this day the Pet Shop Boys Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe continue to tour, and fans love them not only for nostalgia but because they are quite simply still belting out great catchy dance music with cool thoughtful lyrics. New album Nonetheless is their fifteenth album – and their first in four years and we can hear them taking us back to their late 1980s most famous sounds.

Background

In 1981 vocalist Neil Tennant was a journalist for British music magazine Smash Hits, and keyboard player Chris Lowe an architecture student. The two met in a hi-fi shop on the Kings Road in London. Their friendship grew over a shared love for electronic music and led to the formation of the duo the Pet Shop Boys. The two both listened to a lot of the music of the time from bands like OMD, Soft Cell, the Human League and Depeche Mode and also influenced by the music in gay nightclubs, began to work on their own songs. They say that their name came from friends who worked in a pet shop in Ealing.  

Music Career

The Pet Shop Boys first single West End Girls brought them pop success in 1984, topping charts worldwide and winning a Brit and an Ivor Novello Award.

First album Please was released in 1986, and featured West End Girls along with big catchy hits such as Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money), and Suburbia. The album had critical acclaim and commercial success, in fact the late 1980s saw the Pet Shop Boys reach global fame. This album is a timeless classic.

Second album Actually (1987) continued a winning streak with hits like It’s a Sin, Rent, and What Have I Done to Deserve This? a collaboration with Dusty Springfield. The album had a more mature theme and sound. That same year the duo was on UK TV programme Love Me Tender commemorating the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley‘s death.  Their cover of Elvis’s Always on My Mind would later be re-released in a 12″ version and was a smash hit.

Album Introspective came in 1988 and had longer, dance-oriented tracks, featuring the epic Domino Dancing and Left to My Own Devices. Album four Behaviour (1990) saw a departure from dancefloor anthems with a quieter tone and tracks like Being Boring and Jealous.

The commercial success which was the album Very (1993) brought back upbeat, pop-infused anthems, and wonderful catchy epic hits like Go West which no-one could fail to dance to.   

The Bilingual album in 1996 had collaborations with Latin artists like Shakira. Tracks like Single-Bilingual and Se a vida é (That’s the Way Life Is) showcased synth pop and diverse musical influences with a lovely Latin vibe.

The Nightlife Album in 1999 was full of fantastic dance electropop songs and included a duet with Kylie, Release (2002) had a more guitar-driven sound, away from their electronic roots with great songs such as I Get Along.

Bold and relevant album Fundamental (2006) returned to electronic sounds, with clever lyrics of political themes and society issues in tracks like I’m with Stupid and Integral.

Next album was Yes in 2009 which also gave the duo a couple of UK Top 40 hits such as Love Etc.

In 2013 The Pet Shop Boys toured the entire year with an all-new show, Electric, to promote the release of their eleventh and twelfth albums, Elysium and Electric.

Thirteenth album Super (2016) continued with dance-pop and tracks such as The Pop Kids.

In 2020 it was the modern electropop album Hotspot which hits all the right spots and included a lovely duet with Olly Alexander (Years and Years) called Dreamland. It was their fourteenth studio album and was due to have a series of concerts were planned but were delayed to 2022 due to the global pandemic. In 2022 they also played the famous Glastonbury festival for the third time, bringing a hits-packed spectacular to the excited audience. 

The much anticipated fifteenth album Nonetheless is looking to be their highest charting album in over 30 years. Uplifting and reflective it sounds fresh and features ten tracks and will be available digitally and on CD, black vinyl, clear vinyl, grey vinyl and cassette. Tracks include Loneliness, Feel, Why Am I Dancing?, New London Boy and Love Is The Law.

The Pet Shop Boys’ have fifteen albums spanning four decades so it’s not surprising they are already in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful duo in UK music history. Their journey from small beginnings meeting in a shop in London, to international stardom shows their enduring creativity and relevance – they really are pop icons.

Now on their fifteenth studio album The Pet Shop Boys continue to inspire and influence generations of artists, leaving an important legacy to pop music.  

Dreamworld the tour starts in 2024 and features the duo’s greatest hits, it’s going to be an event not to miss.