The Pet Shop Boys are the most successful British pop duo, according to the Guinness Book of Records, with more than 100 million records sold and many international hits. A whopping 42 singles have charted in the Top 30 and the band frequently collaborates with other well-known artists.
The beginnings in 1980s London
The Pet Shop Boys duo consists of British artists Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. The band name translates as "boys from the pet shop", though the actual band story begins in 1981 in a London electronics shop. There the two men get to know each other, exchange their phone numbers and discover a shared preference for dance and Hi-NRG music.
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Soon Neil and Chris start experimenting with electronic music themselves and writing their first songs. As both are enthusiastic about London's West End, they initially name their pop project after this district. Lowe is studying architecture and Tennant is working as a music journalist for "Smash Hits" at the time. He takes advantage of an interview meeting with The Police in New York to get to know disco producer Bobby "O" Orlando.
With him, the Pet Shop Boys record their first singles in 1984: "West End Girls" and "Opportunities". Both songs quickly become popular insider tips in the discos of California, France and Belgium. However, disagreements soon arise between the producer and the musicians, so that they soon go their separate ways.
Both members of the Pet Shop Boys were already open about their homosexuality in the 1980s and campaigned for the gay movement at benefit concerts, among other things. The pop duo achieved a certain cult status not only through their song lyrics and sound, but also through the music videos directed by Eric Watson, in which the musicians present themselves quite naturally and without the usual pop star glamour.
The Pet Shop Boys become a worldwide success
The single "West End Girls", which is still an evergreen on the radio, arouses the interest of the record company EMI. During the recording of the first album, the single is remixed and released again in October 1985. The hit conquers the charts in the USA and Great Britain and is the Pet Shop Boys' first number 1 single. In 1987 the single wins a Brit Award as "best song of the year".
The next singles "Suburbia", "It's A Sin", "Heart" and the cover version of "Always On My Mind" also storm the charts and are still played on the radio today. In 1988, the musicians won another Brit Award as best British group. In the same year, the band films "Pet Shop Boys - The Movie". The Pet Shop Boys' 1989 tour takes the band all over England and even as far as Japan.
Between singles, albums, videos, film and tour, the duo also finds time for collaborations with artists like Liza Minnelli, Dusty Springfield, David Bowie and Tina Turner. The band released their own songs on more than a dozen albums. The song "Go West" from 1993 becomes one of the Pet Shop Boys' most successful singles. The artists also write the musical "Closer To Heaven", which is premiered in 2001.
In the new millennium, the pop duo varies its style and also collaborates with musicians from outside the genre, such as Rammstein. In 2005, they created the film music for the silent film "Battleship Potemkin" with the Dresden Symphony Orchestra. The band is also involved in the worldwide "Live 8" benefit concerts. The Pet Shop Boys remixed Madonna's single "Sorry" and produced two songs for the Robbie Williams album "Rudebox".
Pet Shop Boys live on stage
The band prefers to celebrate their continuing success together with their fans: tickets for the Pet Shop Boys are a guarantee for an unforgettable evening with good music, impressive light show and weird helmets - the trademark of the pop duo. Video albums like "Inner Sanctum" offer a taste of the thrilling spectacle that awaits fans of the cult band with recorded live shows by the Pet Shop Boys.
