Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys is a British synthpop duo, made up of singer-songwriter Neil Tennant and keyboardist-songwriter Chris Lowe, formed in London in 1981. from the 80's and up to the late 90's.

To date, the group have sold over 100 million records worldwide. Since 1984 (the year they debuted) 40 of their singles have reached the Top 20 and 22 in the Top 10 in the UK, in addition to four number ones: "West End Girls", "It's a Sin", "Always on My Mind" and "Heart". Their successes led them to lead what is known as the second British invasion. In 1999, they were voted the most successful duo in UK history.

With few exceptions in the 80's, from the late 90' the duo frequently composes and collaborates with other artists, both in the production, composition and remixing of songs. They are considered pioneers of electronic pop.

Birth of the group

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe met at an electronics store on King's Road, Chelsea, London on August 19, 1981. This happened because Neil, after buying a piano electronic, he did not know how to plug it into a power source, and so he went to the aforementioned store to purchase a special plug for the equipment; that's where he met Lowe.

Because they shared a love of music (even Tennant wrote as a music critic for Smash Hits, a music magazine that ceased to exist in 2006), they decided to write together, despite the disparity in artistic tastes between them: Neil liked classical music and Chris dance. Originally they planned to call themselves West End, due to their love for central London, but later they changed to their current name remembering a friend of both who worked in a pet store. Tennant particularly liked this name a lot because it sounded like a rap group.

Trajectory

The debut Please (1986-1987)

Their first album was Please, a name that, according to the duo, when ordered in a store would sound something like: "Can I have the Pet Shop Boys album, please?" (“Could I have the Pet Shop Boys album, please?”); which was released on March 23, 1986, peaking at number three on the British Album Chart. Since its release on October 28 of the previous year, "West End Girls" (which peaked at number one on in 9 countries, including the UK and US), was their credential to the public. Generally this song is nominated for all kinds of eighties polls that are on British TV, many times being the winner. Such was the success of the song in its time, that it served to obtain its first awards globally.

The first version of this song was the group's first single, released on April 9, 1984 under the production of the famous multi-instrumentalist, Bobby "O" Orlando (The Flirts, Roni Griffith, Oh Romeo, Divine, Waterfront Home, among others), on the Epic Records label. It was successful on records in Los Angeles, Belgium, Spain and France and only reached number 121 on the British chart.

It would later come out as a single, "Love Comes Quickly", which reached #19 on the British charts and a sad number 62 on Billboard, being a real disappointment for the duo, who saw this song as their album favourite.

"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)", was the third single from their album and reached #11 and #10 in the UK and US respectively. It should be noted that in the version on the album Please, Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) was presented with a much more renewed version at the hands of producer Stephen Hague (O.M.D., The Communards, Jimmy Sommerville, New Order, Erasure among others), which modified the first single version where it was produced by J.J.Jeckzalic and Nicholas Froome (Art of Noise) in 1985, as well as being remixed by Ron Dean Miller and The Latin Rascals. The remix version featured the group's first collaboration with Shep Pettibone, thus reaching number 1 on Billboard magazine's Hot Dance chart.

Their first tour was scheduled for 1986, but was postponed to 1989, given the duo's initial reluctance to appear in public. At the time, his single "Suburbia" reached No. 8 on the British charts and 70 on the other side of the Atlantic, this time produced by Julian Mendelsohn (Hall & Oates, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, among others), this being the first participation of this producer with them. This theme was inspired by the film by Penelope Spheeris, which chronicles youth riots in industrialized metropolises. The video was recorded in part in the city of Los Angeles, taking advantage of a trip they made for an MTV Awards nomination.

Actually and imperial phase (1987-1988)

In 1987, what became known as the "imperial phase" would arrive, a time of unprecedented success in its history, with songs like "It's a Sin" ("It's a sin"), which became their second #1 single. This song received criticism, but also praise such as War Cry, Salvation Army magazine, which gave it a thumbs up about the concept of sin in modern times.

On August 16, the duo participate in the television special 'Love Me Tender', commemorating the tenth anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley. There they presented their version of "Always on My Mind", introducing a harmonic variation not present in Presley's original. The song was very well received by the public, so the duo decided to release it as a single, reaching number one on the charts in several countries and reaching #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Rightly, it was not included. on Actually, but on their next album, where it would appear in tandem as a full-length song with the acid-house track "In My House". Until that date, the best-known version of the song was that of Elvis Presley in 1972, totally different from the one the duo released that year. Decades later, The Telegraph newspaper considered the Pet Shop Boys' version to be the second best cover in all of music history, only preceded by Jimi Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower".

On September 7 of the same year, his album Actually is released, which for many critics is one of his best works. The fate of their songs had taken a different turn than that of Please and this time they pointed to the set of policies established in the “Thatcher” era. This would be the time in which the duo would acquire greater fame worldwide and that would be demonstrated in the good place that their singles had on the charts.

Included on the album was the legendary song "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", a duet with Dusty Springfield, released as a single a few weeks before the album's release, a song that has always been highly regarded by the members of the duo since Dusty Springfield has always been a musical reference for both. Also part of the album is the song "It Couldn't Happen Here", the only pop song co-written with the genius of the soundtracks Ennio Morricone, although his participation was indirectly, since he sent them some orchestral lines discarded from their works from which the Pet Shop Boys composed the song. At this same time, they decided to shoot a film that was named after this song in question and that dealt with the lives of the members of the duo, under the rather peculiar vision of director Jack Bond. British actors with great careers such as Joss Ackland and Neil Dickson participated in the film, but even so, part of the specialized critics destroyed the film and another sector elevated it to such a point that it won a Gold Jury Award at the Houston Film Festival Awards. Scenes from the tape appear in the video for the single "Always on my Mind".

Consolidation and experiment records (1988-1992)

Liza Minnelli

The album Introspective, released in 1988, shows a clear influence of house culture and includes heavy songs such as «Left to My Own Devices», «Domino Dancing», «It's Alright" and "I'm Not Scared", a song that was also recorded by the group Eighth Wonder (Patsy Kensit) and "I Want a Dog" (Remixed by Frankie Knuckles, this being the first music-style production house for a successful group), previously used as the B-side of the single "Rent" in 1987. For the first time, the duo records songs for a studio album that exceed 6 minutes in length and are dedicated mainly to DJs and to 12-inch vinyl collectors.

"Left to My Own Devices" is considered by fans as the "Bohemian Rhapsody" of the Pet Shop Boys due to the great orchestral and musical quality of the song in which the beats are combined with an elegant piece of great workmanship. In the album version you can appreciate the totally theatrical setting of the song where you can even hear a soprano sing, all this under the production of the genius of Trevor Horn and Stephen Lipson. Domino Dancing, another of Introspective's highest-impact tracks, has clear Latin influences and it came as quite a surprise to fans to hear the duo navigate those waters for the first time. To do this, they enlisted the help of Lewis Martineé, a producer who at that time was quite fashionable for consecrating various eighties artists (Exposé, etc.) and who knew how to give them the necessary rhythms that the duo needed at that time. The song is inspired by a collaborator of the Pet Shop Boys that when he played dominoes with Chris Lowe, he always beat him and would start dancing to celebrate his triumphs. For 1989 they made duets with Dusty Springfield and Liza Minnelli, which were released on albums like Scandal (original soundtrack of the film), Reputation and Results including other songs. In this way, Pet Shop Boys not only began to establish themselves as a group that made intelligent pop and gave results, but they also developed a facet as collaborators and music producers that would earn them great prestige within the music industry. The duo would be accused of being responsible for the new musical breath that Liza Minnelli had in the late 80's and early 90's after a string of poor results by the singer-actress. In that same year he began his first series of concerts, which took them to Great Britain, Japan and Hong Kong.

On October 22, 1990, their album Behaviour was released, an album with a more intimate atmosphere, in which you can discover Pet Shop Boys in their purest form. The album was recorded in Munich, Germany, in collaboration with producer Harold Faltermeyer. Initially, it was not well received by the public and the duo had to face its first sales crisis, but over time it would end up becoming a cult piece, not only for its fans, but also for the general public.. Usually, Behaviour appears on the lists of the best albums of the 90s and it is even frequent to find it in different Internet surveys. They present it in 1991 on a world tour that takes them to Japan, the United States and Europe. They offer concerts in Barcelona and Madrid, which cause a great impact due to their sophisticated theatrical staging, supported by a large team of actors and dancers. This tour would bear the name Performance, and would be recognized and praised by the press at the time for the theatrical theme that combined sex, religion, vices and a stark self-criticism of their own lives, obviously set in the course of the songs that the duo performed. The staging not only combined artists from classical ballet, but also high-level singers, thus meeting Sylvia Mason-James, the greatest vocal collaborator in the duo's history.

In parallel, Tennant and Lowe joined the Electronic group, along with Bernard Sumner (New Order) and Johnny Marr (The Smiths), although so many egos together only gave for three singles and already for the edition of the first album, the group was already a duo, with only Sumner and Marr. Tennant was a solo contributor on "Getting away With it" and "Dissappointed", songs that, in the long run, are the most remembered by this provisional duo that later released two more albums. At this time it was the first time that it was rumored about the separation of the duo due to a supposed depression that Tennant would have due to the death of his friend, Christopher Dowell, due to AIDS, a disease that was spreading on a large scale then. However, Lowe's quick link to Electronic to collaborate with his partner on the song "The Patience of a Saint", served to clear up the doubts of that moment.

On November 4, 1991, the duo release Discography, a compilation album of their greatest hits, which included their first fifteen singles plus three new songs, also available as singles: "DJ Culture", a cover of the Irish band U2's single "Where the Streets Have No Name (I can't take my eyes off you)" (released in March of that year) and "Was It Worth It?";

Very and the return to the lights (1993-1995)

In 1993, they traveled to Russia to launch the MTV Russia channel, presenting their version of the song "Go West", original by Village People. On September 27 of that year, the album Very, with additional production by Stephen Hague. The album marked a return to the most euphoric and lavish electronic pop, which is considered by the vast majority of fans as the duo's best album since it not only contained totally danceable and energetic rhythms, but any of its songs could have been simple.. Very became a machine for making singles and quickly climbing to the top of the charts. Sales levels skyrocketed and for the first time, the duo managed to reach #1 in the UK record sales. Lego), but also contained alternative covers with different colors. The image of the duo also changed, they were no longer the proper and spare duo who barely moved in their videos, but instead adopted colorful costumes, hats shaped like cones, as if taken from cartoons, with which they dressed up in live performances and in your own clips. The promotional videos of the Very singles were characterized by presenting 3D animation by Howard Greenhaugh, who would be responsible for many of the video clips that would follow the album.

Simultaneously with the release of Very, Pet Shop Boys decided to release a limited version, called Very Relentless, which included a new six-track CD, in which Chris Lowe's participation in the composition of the songs was more than evident.

In 1994 they went on a tour, the Discovery Tour, which took them to Australia, Singapore, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Colombia, countries in which they caused a great impact due to the staging, where they showed a a couple of half-naked men caressing each other in a cage, and in another cage, two girls, and which caused a lot of controversy, but which left their followers very pleased. In Colombia, they performed at the El Campín stadium, filling the stadium's capacity of 35,000 people and selling out a month before their presentation. It was feared that because it was a Spanish-speaking country, not many people would be summoned, but the concert was considered one of the best of the decade.

In 1995 they released Alternative, a double CD and triple vinyl containing all the B-sides of singles released up to that time. True collector's items for fans are the so-called B-sides, due to the high quality of their songs, since they are often of better quality than the A-sides, but by their own decision, they are often relegated to remain almost anonymous.. Examples of this are «Paninaro», «Was that what it was?», «In the Night», «Shameless», Miserablism and We All Feel Better in the Dark among others; themes that would have helped any artist to establish themselves. To promote this compilation, they released a new version of their B-side, "Paninaro '95", a decision that was difficult for them to specify because they were in the dilemma of promoting the compilation with Shameless.

Bilingual, Nightlife and the Musical (1996-2001)

In 1996, Bilingual experiments with Brazilian rhythms and scores three more UK Top 10 hits: "Before", "A Red Letter Day" and "Se a vida é (That's The Way Life Is)", a daring fusion of samba and electronic pop. Contrary to expectations, they do not tour this album, but offer a series of concerts in the same place (as if it were a play): the Savoy Theater in London. From this the VHS-DVD Somewhere will be released. The genesis of Bilingual was generated after the Discovery tour, in which they toured South American countries for the first time, soaking up their Latin rhythms, especially Brazil, in which, the album shows clear signs of rhythms coming from the carioca people, such as bossa nova and batucadas. Despite the latter, the song -which was later released as a single-, "Single Bilingual" He was influenced by the Argentine band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, with their hit "Matador". Bilingual, in the United Kingdom and European countries, received strong criticism and did not have the good reception that his previous albums had had, due to the sudden experimentation with rhythms that were rather unknown on that side of the planet. Despite this, it manages to reach #4 in the British charts, with 5 singles entering the top 20 sales. In South America, on the other hand, the success of the album was resounding, as well as each of the singles. that went on the market, reaching the top positions in the radio lists.

The duo at a concert in Turku, Finland in 1997

This album can be considered avant-garde, given that years later at the end of that decade, the so-called "latinmania" would invade the world. The Bilingual era is one of the most productive B-sides in the history of Pet Shop Boys, standing out in quality and variety of rhythms, in which songs like Betrayed, The Truck-Drive and his mate stand out. and Hit and Miss among others.

After the release of this album, the duo decided to bring to the market a special edition called "Bilingual Especial Edition", which included the 12 original songs from Bilingual, plus a new album of remixes, including two new songs called "The Boy who couldn't keep his clothes on" and "Somewhere", original by musician Stephen Sondheim and which was later released as a single reaching the Top 9 in the UK.

After the release of Bilingual, the Pet Shop Boys get fully involved in the production of a musical, Closer to Heaven, from which their next album will suffer. Nightlife (published in 1999) a musical journey through the different areas of nightlife and its stories, published both on CD and on Minidisc. For the preparation of this new studio album, the Pet Shop Boys had the help and collaboration of various well-known artists in the musical field such as the Scottish producer Craig Armstrong ("The Only One", " Closer to Heaven"), DJ David Morales ("New York City Boy", "I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Anymore&# 34;), singer Kylie Minogue (performing "In Denial") and Rollo Armstrong ("For your Own Good", "Radiophonic"). On this new album, the duo can be seen going through a series of sounds more linked to discos, trendy techno and the night world, but without neglecting that seal that has characterized them for years. New York City Boy was the most remembered song of that era and hit clubs in the UK as well as in the US. The video for this hit was once again directed by Howard Greenhaugh, who remarkably recreated the popular Studio 54. A separate mention is made of the ballads on the album, such as "The Only One" and "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk", which became Nightlife's biggest hit. The visual proposal was again what would stand out the most at this time, since the duo would change their image again, adopting a more nocturnal and underground look, incorporating new wave, punk and oriental elements. The outstanding director Pedro Rommanyl was in charge of the clips, who were praised for the great aesthetics and meticulousness of his work. The video "I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Anymore", won an award for best international video at the Viva Comets Awards, in Germany.

After the album was released, they went on a new world tour, called the "Nightlife Tour", between 1999 and 2000 that included a stage designed by the prestigious Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid and new remixes of her songs best known. "Nightlife Tour" It began on October 20, 1999, at the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami. Shortly after the tour began, its promoter, Harvey Goldsmith, ran into financial problems that caused much uncertainty about the future of the tour. Eventually, halfway through the tour, Harvey Goldsmith Entertainments Limited went bankrupt. This was a turning point for the duo, where their disbandment seemed to come true. Despite everything, and after conversations between them, they kept going, ending the tour on February 12, 2000 in Mannheim, Germany. the tour would be recorded to be marketed as "Montage, The Nightlife Tour", which brought together the visits that were made to the countries, plus additional material that attached the three respective clips of the singles from the last album and the video of "For Your Own Good" that appears when watching the concert in its entirety.

On May 31, 2001, and after several years of work, the musical Closer to Heaven (also popularized as the first musical of the century XXI) co-written with highly regarded playwright Jonathan Harvey. Initially, it is not the expected success, more than anything due to the terrible reviews that the musical receives, even so, the performances were carried out over nine months with a more than remarkable audience result. To do this, the duo also recorded a CD with each of the songs they presented on their show. On this album, the duo can only be appreciated instrumentally since the songs are performed by other artists such as Francis Barber, Billie Trix or Shell, among others. The album was well received by music critics and the Pet Shop Boys can be heard going through sounds that go through Trip-Hop (K-Hole), Hip-Hop (Out of my system), pop (Nine out of Ten), dance (It's just my little tribute to Caligula, Darling) among various styles. That same year they released their albums Please, Actually, Introspective, Behaviour, Very again. i> and Bilingual completely remastered and packaged in special boxes with numerous details for their fans, including a second CD in all the boxes with contemporary themes for each album (remixes, B-sides, collaborations,....), plus a booklet containing all the lyrics with commentary by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe themselves. The decision was made in gratitude to their fans, because the BBC decided to hold a telephone contest in which they would choose the most important group of the 80's, with the Pet Shop Boys being chosen with more than 80% of the preferences.

The Acoustic Release (2002-2005)

In 2002, the duo released their album Release, considered by fans as an impasse in the group's musical career because in this album they experimented with compositions that were not purely electronic, but instead attended the presence of other electro-acoustic instruments such as guitars and percussion. Despite criticism from their most staunch fans for the Pet Shop Boys' new statement of principles: “We are totally distanced from danceable songs because, for the most part, they lost their attachment to creating a series of adult emotions in the listener. We are no longer interested in that style”, critics praised the new work of the London duo, to such an extent that they were nominated for a Grammy Award.

1927 promotional poster of the silent film The Potemkin Warehouseof which Pet Shop Boys made the soundtrack.

The video for the single "Home and Dry", directed by Wolfgang Tillmans, was awarded an award by MTV, despite the anger of fans who consider this the worst video due to its simplicity and lack of subject matter. the video. On the other hand, his second single "I Get Along" was embroiled in controversy because it alluded to a "fictitious" conversation, in which Prime Minister Tony Blair had to leave out his strongman and friend., Peter Mandelson. For the same reason, Mandelson met with the group to discuss this issue and avoid going to court. In the video, in the final moments, images appear of what would be the duo's new video and next single: "E-Mail", which never happened. The third single, "London", was only released in Germany where it toured with relative success, and as if this were not enough, "The Night I Fell in Love", a theme that is also included on the album, recreates a homosexual relationship in the like a guy falls in love with his favorite pop star. Two types are named here: Stan (name by which American rapper Eminem is identified) and Dre (alluding to Dr. Dre, famous music producer of the hip-hop genre and also Eminem's mentor and teacher). The matter did not go down very well with both artists and they dedicated part of the song Can I Bitch?, in which they took revenge on the English duo.

At the end of 2003 they fought the coldness generated with Release with a double anthology of hits, PopArt, which led them to carry out, in the summer of 2004, a mini-tour based on their most popular songs. known. The 'tour' He takes them to the Benicàssim festival and to the big festivals in Bilbao. Only songs that reached the UK Top #20 were considered for the album, premiering two new songs that also met those requirements: Miracles and Flamboyant. This release was accompanied by the limited edition PopArtMix [Sold in countries like Japan], in which the duo made up of Tennant and Lowe chose the 10 best mixes of their songs, made by prestigious global DJs. In the autumn of 2004 they continue the In Concert mini tour in Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

In 2004 they worked on the soundtrack of the Russian film Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin (1925), staged for the first time at a massive concert in Trafalgar Square, London, on 12 September 2004, in collaboration with the Dresden Symphony Orchestra conducted by Torsten Rach. The realization of the event was due to the conversations that were in charge of the British government with the duo, since they urgently needed to look for a pop group capable of carrying out an event of such magnitude. A background reason in this show, according to the duo, was a way of protesting against the invasion of Iraq in 2003, since the tape contains warlike overtones that were quite impressive for its time (1923). The subsequent album went on sale in September 2005, under the authorship of "Tennant - Lowe" since commercially they could not use the name "Pet Shop Boys" in the classical music market.

Fundamental and Yes (2006-2010)

The edition of his new studio album, Fundamental, produced by Trevor Horn, was released on May 22, 2006, after postponing it for a year due to work reasons, in conjunction with his new hit "I'm with Stupid", released on May 8 of the same year and which reached number 8 on the British charts. In the video, the comedy duo of Matt Lucas and David Walliams, popular from the Little Britain series, play Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant in a parody, where they give a comedic summary of their career.

Neil Tennant playing live at the Fundamental Tour.

The second single, "Minimal," only made it to 19, despite being considered superior to its predecessor. This poor position is partly attributed to distribution problems during launch week. In the summer of that year they performed at various festivals, accounting for up to six concerts in Spain, one of them at La Granja de San Ildefonso in Segovia where they performed a magnificent concert with a large audience of El Acorazado Potemkin, later launching a world tour in autumn. that started in the United States. In October, the third single from Fundamental, "Numb", was released, along with the group's first live album, Concrete, which covers their performance at the Mermaid Theater in May. London together with the BBC Concert Orchestra and with special guests such as Rufus Wainwright, Frances Barber and Robbie Williams.

Numb, the third single from Fundamental, is the second single in the duo's history not to reach the top 20 on the UK Chart and was again attributed to the non-distribution of the single by part of the record company A nuisance that was evident on the Pet Shop Boys website itself, where they called to report if the single did not reach its destination. Almost at the same time as these two releases ("Concrete" and "Numb") they have published Catalogue, a book that collects all the graphic material published by the group, mostly designed by Mark Farrow and A Life in Pop, a two-hour documentary on the group's history that includes the latest videos from the band.

Once the tour in South America and Australia that took place in the months of March and April 2007 (whose first stop was on January 5 in Madrid) had finished, they embarked on a new European tour that went through Germany, France, the United United among other countries and obviously by Spain. At the beginning of the European tour they published the DVD Cubism, a recording of the concert offered on November 14, 2006 at the National Auditorium in Mexico City.

In October of the same year (2007) Disco 4 was released, the fourth album in the Disco series that began in 1986, followed by Disco 2 in 1994 and Disc 3 in 2003. These are albums basically dedicated to new remixes of their own songs, although Disc 4 give preference to the remixes made for other artists, such as Madonna, David Bowie, Yoko Ono or Rammstein among others. From this album they released the remix of "Integral" to promote the album, yes, the number of copies was limited to a few copies for sale and to be distributed in clubs in Europe and North America. The video for this song, whose theme is the protest against IQ cards, a new law that will identify British citizens through numbers, marks a true vanguard in technology since it incorporates a system similar to IQ cards in which, By taking photos of the video clip with mobile phones adapted to this technology, more than 150 pages related to the subject can be deciphered.

On February 24 the single "Love etc." in a promotional video made by Han Hoogerbrugge uploaded to the YouTube platform, to finally be released on March 16, reaching No. 14 in the United Kingdom and No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart in the United States.

On March 23, 2009, Yes was released, the duo's tenth studio album that included 10 new songs along with the aforementioned track "Love etc.", in collaboration with the production studio Xenomania. Recording took place during 2008 under the production of the Pet Shop Boys themselves in conjunction with Brian Higgins and the Xenomania team. The British duo chose this team in the recordings of the song "The Loving Kind" by Girls Aloud, where the first conversations began to define what would be the new studio album. Xenomanía co-wrote three of the songs on this new recording ("Love etc.", "The way it used to be" and "More than a dream"), while the rest is pure Pet Shop Boys composition. The theme "All over the world" has a sampler from the ballet March The Nutcracker by the Russian composer Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky. Guitarist Johnny Marr (The Smiths, Electronic) who collaborated on previous albums such as Release and Behaviour, reappears in the credits. Owen Pallett and his orchestral arrangements (The Last Shadow Puppets, Final Fantasy) also appear in the production, standing out on "Beautiful People" and "Legacy".

Chris Lowe at a Pandemonium Tour concert in 2009

On June 10, the "Pandemonium Tour" begins, a new world tour to promote the album that takes the duo to tour Europe, Asia, Oceania and America in its entirety. On this tour they have included a new version of "Viva la vida", original by the British group Coldplay. At the concert held in December 2009 at the O2 Arena in London, where they promoted their latest album Yes and also has the best songs of his career. It has CD and DVD, where the CD brings 17 songs from the concert and the DVD the 22 songs, where there are also new versions such as "West End Girls". The DVD features extras, with 3 music videos ("Love etc.", "All Over The World", "Did You See Me Coming?"), 2 live performances at the O2 ("My Girl", "It Doesn't #39;t Often Snow At Christmas"), also includes the live performance at the 2009 BRIT Awards with Lady Gaga and Brandon Flowers of The Killers, and an audio commentary from the band and Es Devlin.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the group's first success, on November 1, 2010, a compilation album called Ultimate was released under the Parlophone label, which includes the 18 most successful hits representative of the duo since "West End Girls" released in late 1985 when the group included it on their first album Please , to Love etc. included on the album Yes and released in spring 2009. This compilation includes a previously unreleased single, "Together".

Thirty years of career, Elysium and label change (2011-2015)

On September 28, 2011, the Pet Shop Boys announced that they had written 16 new songs for their next studio album (follow-up to Yes). At that time they expected to start recording the new songs in November 2011 to release the album in 2012. Meanwhile, Format, a compilation album of B-sides from 1996 to 2009 was released in February 2012., as a follow-up to the album Alternative.

In January 2012, the Pet Shop Boys announced on their official website that they had begun recording their new album in Los Angeles with producer Andrew Dawson. On June 6 of that same year, the title of the new album, Elysium, was announced on their website, and a song from it called "Invisible" was published. In August, "Winner", the first single from the new album, was released in the US and Europe. Elysium it goes on sale worldwide on September 10. According to the website Jenesaispop, "Elysium is an enjoyable album in the beauty of its melodies, suitable for the period of maturity that it lives the duo, and at the same time also for the new generations who enjoy the elegance of Jessie Ware or Frank Ocean. On October 15, the second single from this new album was released: "Leaving". On December 31, 2012, the third and final single from the Pet Shop Boys' eleventh album, 'Memory of the Future', was released, a version mixed by Stuart Price.

After 28 years of relationship with the Parlophone record company, on March 14, 2013, the Pet Shop Boys announced in a statement on their official website that they were leaving their longtime record label to switch to Kobalt Label Services, who They house artists such as Björk, Jake Bugg, Beck, Eddie Vedder among others. On the same day, they also surprised everyone by announcing a new album to be called Electric and it was released on July 15, 2013. The album is produced by Stuart Price, who has collaborated with Madonna, Kylie Minogue, The Killers or Scissor Sisters, etc. The album received praise for its dance style, which has earned it being considered by many critics and audiences as their best album since Very in 1993, peaking at #3 on the best-selling album charts. of 2013 in the United Kingdom. This new album is composed of 9 tracks, one of them, entitled "The last to die" it's a Bruce Springsteen cover; In addition, the theme "Thursday" is sung along with British rapper Example. On April 30 on their official website, the duo posted their first single: "Axis". According to critics, it is his best album of the last 20 years and the one that has sold the most in this period, reaching the Top 3 in the UK charts and the Top 5 in Spain. In May 2013 they began a tour around the world called Electric Tour where they visited Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Colombia, Asia (the duo performed for the first time in the Philippines, Indonesia, China and Thailand), Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, Europe and North America.

Super (2016-2019)

On January 15, 2016, a curious viral campaign was launched all over the world with a website called whatissuper.co with no data showing a countdown to be launched on January 21 at 1 GMT, with a musical teaser and the word "Super" changing color, posters have also been seen in cities such as London, Rome, Berlin or Paris. Everything indicates that it is the presentation of the new Pet Shop Boys album, since the sound of that teaser that can be heard on the web has many characteristics of the British duo. It is finally confirmed that the new album is called Super and is released on April 1. On March 18, the album's lead single, "The Pop Kids", is released. The song would peak at # 1 on the US Dance Club Songs charts

In conjunction with the album release, they performed a series of concerts from 20-23 July 2016 at the Royal Opera House under the name "Inner Sanctum".

Hotspot (2020-Present)

The duo release their fourteenth album titled Hotspot on January 22, 2020. The album marks their third collaboration with producer Stuart Price, following Electric in 2013 and Super in 2016, featuring 10 tracks and a limited edition bonus disc of instrumental versions of all tracks.

On March 3, 2022, a collaboration with synth-pop duo Soft Cell is announced, releasing the joint single "Purple Zone". Written by Soft Cell with production from remixes by the Pet Shop Boys, the song features vocals from Marc Almond and Neil Tennant.

Influences

The duo had great success in the United States in the second half of the 1980s, with hits like "West End Girls" which reached number one on the charts. Their last Top 40 single, "Domino Dancing," reached number 18 on the North American charts in 1988. Since then, the group has enjoyed cult following and success in American clubs with eight number one hits. on the "Billboard Dance charts". In addition, the British duo have gone on numerous world tours, in 1989, 1991, 1994, 1999-2000, 2002, 2006-2007, 2009-2010, 2013-2014 and 2016-2017. During each tour, they present a large number of concerts in the United States mainly, in addition to multiple presentations in the rest of the world.

Their studio album, Fundamental, was released on the Parlophone record label on May 22, 2006. It peaked at number 5 in the UK and number 2 in the rest of Europe. The first single from the album, "I'm With Stupid" was released in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2006, peaking at number 8 on the British Singles Chart. In December, the duo were nominated for two Grammy Awards in the categories "Best Dance Recording" ("I'm With Stupid") and "Best Dance/Electronic Album" (Fundamental).

In 2003, Billboard's Hot Dance/Disco 1974-2003 book listed them as the fourth most successful group on the US dance and disco charts, behind Madonna, Janet Jackson and Donna Summer. In October 2005, a Swedish tribute band called the West End Girls scored number three on the Swedish charts with a cover of 'Domino Dancing'. In January 2006 they released their version of 'West End Girls', and their album was released in June. The Pet Shop Boys also have a tribute band in Birmingham, called Pet Shop Noise, who have been performing in the UK for several years.

Madonna's album Confessions on a Dance Floor, released in November 2005, includes a song called "Jump", which has many similarities to "West End Girls". In an interview on Popjustice with Stuart Price, the record's producer, she said that & # 34;Jump & # 34; is totally inspired by Chris Lowe. It seems that during the recording of the album, Madonna said "Pet Shop Boys! I fucking love them!" ("Pet Shop Boys! I love them!"). Pet Shop Boys also remixed "Sorry", the second single from the album. This remix has become one of the favorites for Madonna's fans, since she has been using this version on her last tour instead of the one that appears on her album. The history between Madonna and the Pet Shop Boys dates back to 1988 with the song "Heart". It was composed by the duo with the idea of offering it to Madonna so that she could sing it, but they did not dare to call her to propose it and they recorded it themselves. In said video of the success, the famous actor Ian Mckellen (X-Men, Mr. De Los Anillos, among others), as "vampire in love". The song was number one on the UK charts. Later, in 1991, they included a tongue-in-cheek reference to Madonna in the song 'DJ Culture', following Madonna and Sean Penn's divorce. Tennant writes, "Like Liz before Betty / She after Sean / suddenly you're missing / then you're reborn" ("Like Liz before Betty / Ella after Sean / suddenly you're lost / and then you're reborn"). Tennant refers to the 'reinvention' what Madonna was going through at the time. Madonna also paid tribute to the Pet Shop Boys at the 2006 Brit Awards gala, naming them as one of the British artists who influenced her music during her speech after she was presented with the award for best international artist by Tennant..

American comic book artist Thomas K. Dye, best known for creating the satirical web-comic Newshounds, began by attempting to make a comic book called The Boy Shop Pets, which he named because the protagonists were animals. It was written between November 1991 and January 1992.

Artist Robbie Williams, UK group Keane, Scissor Sisters, The Killers and singer Kylie Minogue have also frequently cited the Pet Shop Boys as influences. The song by the American group Guns N' Roses "November Rain" is inspired by "My October Symphony", according to Axl Rose, leader of the group. The singers George Michael and Elton John have also declared their admiration for the English duo, especially the latter, who has recorded together In Private, from the album Fundamentalism and previously he had already done pairs for English TV with the song Believe/Song for a Guy.

The English newspaper The Daily Telegraph placed the Pet Shop Boys at number 18 in a list of the best English composers. Chris Harvey declares: "We were never being boring," Tennant sang in 1990 and, 18 years later, it still sounds like a better epithet for the duo's songwriting career than the one it began. with "Opportunities" (Let's Make Lots of Money).

B-sides

One of the outstanding characteristics of the duo is the great bill and quality of the B-sides that accompany their promotional singles. Although the Pet Shop Boys have declared that these songs are their favorite among all the others, we can find here the true musical essence of these Britons, who repeatedly for many music critics, cannot explain how they leave out of the studio albums to songs that beat their A-sides in terms of rhythm and quality. The first B-sides compilation was released in 1995, titled Alternative and brought together all the songs from 1985- nineteen ninety five. Paradoxically, a large number of these songs had already played a lot on radio stations in their first edition as B-sides, among which "In The Night", "Paninaro", "Shameless", "Miserablism", "We all feel better in the dark", and some even reached a very high position on charts in some countries. On Pet Shop Boys' last tour, the Fundamental Tour, specifically on their tour of South America and Oceania, the duo used two B-sides on their tracklist: "Paninaro" and "We're the Pet Shop Boys". And on Electric Tour, "I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)"

In February 2012, Pet Shop Boys release the album Format which is a compilation of B-sides from 1996 to 2009, presented as a sequel to the album Alternative.

Collaborations

Since the first years in which the Pet Shop Boys gained worldwide notoriety, they began to collaborate with prestigious and established artists such as Liza Minnelli, who produced 7 of her songs from her album " Results" and also to her friend, the late Dusty Springfield. Later would come the turn of Boy George, with the well-known song that would go on the soundtrack of the movie The Crying Game, theme of the same name. Electronic, Pete Burns, Eighth Wonder, Blur, Suede, Cicero, Kylie Minogue, Fat Les 2000, Robbie Williams, Myu, David Bowie, Peter Rauhofer, The Killers, Yoko Ono, Superchumbo, DJ Fresh, Rufus Wainwright, Rammstein, Madonna, Atomizer, Alcázar, Morten Harket, Bloodhound Gang, Kiki Kokova, Girls Aloud, Tina Turner, Lady GaGa, Claptone, Jean Michel Jarre and former England Arsenal player Ian Wright are some of the artists to whom the duo have contributed as much as composers, production, vocalization or remixing, work that lately has brought him many good dividends, reaching #1 of the most prestigious dance music charts.

Awards and recognitions

Awards

Throughout their career, the British duo have won a number of awards and recognitions for their musical work and influences on later generations. Here is a non-exhaustive list of some of the awards they have received:

• 1987 - Brit Awards, Best Simple: West End Girls.
• 1987 - Ivor Novello Award, Best British Simple: West End Girls.
• 1988 - Brit Awards, Best British Group: Pet Shop Boys.
• 1988 - Ivor Novello Award, Best British Group: Pet Shop Boys.
• 1988 Houston Film Festival Awards: Gold Jury Award: It Couldn’t Happen Here.
• 1988 [Berolina Awards]: Group of the Year
• 1991 [Music Week's Awards]: Best Video Of The Year 1990: Being Boring
• 1994 [Siggraph Wave Awards]: Best Music Video: Liberation
• 1994 [Effects " Animation Festival Awards]: Best Music Video: Liberation
• 1999 [Viva Comet Awards (Germany)]: Best International Video: I Don't Know What You Want but I Can’t Give It Any More
• 1999 [El Country of Tentations (El País)]: Best International Band
• 2000 [Outstanding Contribution to British Music]
• 2000 [RSH Gold Awards (Germany)]: Best International Band
• 2000 [Guinness Records]: Music: The Title most Longest: I Don ́t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give it any More
• 2003 [MTV European Music Awards]: Best Music Video: Home and Dry
• 2003 [A-ward]: Pioneers Of Pop: Outstanding Contribution to Pop Music
• 2003 [World Award]: World Arts Award: An honor presented to artists who have achieved international acclaim through their profession and have decisively influenced contemporary culture. [The Award was presented by the President of World Art Awards, Mikhail Gorbachev]
• 2004 ['Q' Award]: 'Q' Inspiration Award: An honor from british 'Q' Magazine presented to artists who have done much for the music industry.
• 2007 [Pixel Awards]: Pet Shop Boys web design
• 2008 [Guinness Records]: Music: The most successful duo in the Pop History
• 2009 [Brit Awards]: Outstanding Contribution to Music
• 2011 [Evening Standard Award]: Beyond Theatre Award
• 2013 - ['Q' Award]: "Outstanding Contribution To Music"
• 2015 - [MAMA]: "Worldwide Inspiration Award"
• 2017 - [VO5 NME Awards]: "Godlike Genius Award"

Nominations

• 1986 [MTV Music Awards]: Best New Band
• 1994 [MTV European Music Awards]: Best Cover: Go West
• 1997 [39rd Annual Grammy Awards (London)]: Best Dance Song: To Step Aside (Hasbrouck Heights Mix)
• 2000 15th Annual The Winter Music Conference's International Dance Music Awards (Miami, Florida)]: Best Dance Artist/Group
• 2000 Best HI NRG/Euro 12”: New York City Boy
• 2000 [4th Annual Gay/Lesbian American Music Awards (New York's Manhattan Center)]: Best Dance Track: New York City Boy
• 2000 [Music Week's Creative & Design Awards (London)]: Best Design Of A Series Of Sleeves
• 2000 [Music Week's Creative & Design Awards (London)]: 2000 Best Album Design
• 2001 [43rd Annual Grammy Awards]: Remixer Of The Year: Peter Rauhofer: Pet Shop Boys - I Don't Know What You Want (Peter Rauhofer Roxy Anthem)
• 2002 [44th Annual Grammy Awards]: Best Packaging: Release
• 2007 [49th Annual Grammy Awards]: Best Dance Recording: Pet Shop Boys "I'm With Stupid"
• 2007 [49th Annual Grammy Awards]: Best Dance Record: Pet Shop Boys "Fundamental"
• 2009 [52nd Annual Grammy Awards]: Best Electronic/Dance Album: Pet Shop Boys "Yes"

Discography

• Please (1986)
• Actually (1987)
• Introspective (1988)
• Behaviour (1990)
• Very (1993)
• Bilingual (1996)
• Nightlife (1999)
• Release (2002)
• Fundamental (2006)
• Yes (2009)
• Elysium (2012)
• Electric (2013)
• Super (2016)
• Hotspot (2020)

Tours

• MCMLXXXIX Tour (1989)
• Performance Tour (1991)
• Discovery Tour (1994)
• Somewhere Tour (1997)
• Nightlife Tour (1999–2000)
• Uni/Release Tour (2002)
• PopArt Tour (2004)
• Fundamental Tour (2006–2007)
• Pandemonium Tour (2009–2010)
• Electric tour (2013–2015)
• Super Tour (2016–2019)
• Dreamworld Tour (2021)
• Unity Tour with New Order (2022)