Pet Shop Boys
Biography
Postmodern ironists cloaked behind a veil of buoyantly melodic and lushly romantic synth pop confections, Pet Shop Boys' cheeky, smart, and utterly danceable music established them among the most commercially and critically successful groups of their era. Always remaining one step ahead of their contemporaries, the British duo navigated the constantly shifting landscape of modern dance-pop with rare grace and intelligence, moving easily from disco to house to techno with their own distinctive image remaining completely intact. Satiric and irreverent -- yet somehow strangely affecting -- Pet Shop Boys transcended the seeming disposability of their craft, offering wry and thoughtful cultural commentary communicated by the Morse code of au courant synth washes and drum-machine rhythms.
Pet Shop Boys formed in London in August 1981 when vocalist Neil Tennant (a former editor at Marvel Comics who later gained some notoriety as a journalist for Smash Hits magazine) first met keyboardist Chris Lowe (a onetime architecture student) at an electronics shop. Discovering a shared passion for dance music and synthesizers, they immediately decided to start a band. Dubbing themselves Pet Shop Boys in honor of friends who worked in such an establishment -- while also obliquely nodding to the sort of names prevalent among the New York City hip-hop culture of the early 1980s -- the duo's career first took flight in 1983, when Tennant met producer Bobby "O" Orlando while on a writing assignment. Orlando produced their first single, 1984's "West End Girls." The song was a minor hit in the U.S. but went nowhere in Britain, and its follow-up, "One More Chance," was also unsuccessful.
Upon signing to EMI, Pet Shop Boys issued 1985's biting "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)." When it too failed to attract attention, the duo's future appeared grim, but they then released an evocative new Stephen Hague production of "West End Girls," which became an international chart-topper. Its massive success propelled Pet Shop Boys' 1986 debut LP Please into the Top Ten, and when "Opportunities" was subsequently reissued, it too became a hit. Disco, a collection of dance remixes, was quickly rushed into stores, and in 1987 the duo resurfaced with the superb Actually, which launched three more Top Ten smashes -- "It's a Sin," a lovely cover of the perennial "Always on My Mind," and "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," a duet between Tennant and the great Dusty Springfield. A documentary film titled It Couldn't Happen Here was released the following year.
Also in 1988, Pet Shop Boys issued their third studio LP, the eclectic Introspective. The single "Domino Dancing" was their final Top 40 hit in the U.S. The following year, the duo collaborated with a variety of performers, most notably Liza Minnelli, for whom they produced the 1989 LP Results. They also produced material for Springfield, and Tennant joined New Order frontman Bernard Sumner and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr in the group Electronic, scoring a hit with the single "Getting Away with It." Pet Shop Boys reconvened in 1990 for the muted, downcast Behavior, produced by Harold Faltermeyer. 1991 saw the release of their hit medley of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," and was followed in 1993 by Very, lauded among the duo's finest efforts to date.
After a three-year absence, Pet Shop Boys resurfaced with Bilingual, a fluid expansion into Latin rhythms. Nightlife followed in 1999 and sparked the dance club hit "New York City Boy," whose success allowed the group to tour the U.S. for the first time in eight years. While on tour, Tennant and Lowe also collaborated with playwright Jonathan Harvey on a musical surrounding gay life and societal criticisms, which the three had been planning since 1997. Closer to Heaven made its West End debut in 2001 and had a successful run for most of the year; Pet Shop Boys' score of the original cast recording was also a hit in the U.K. They still had time to make a record for themselves, too -- in April 2002, Tennant and Lowe issued Release, and Disco 3 was compiled for release the following year. In 2005, they put together a volume of the Back to Mine series and released their soundtrack designed to accompany the 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin, a soundtrack they'd performed a year earlier at a free concert/screening in Trafalgar Square. A year later, they issued Fundamental, a mature, sometimes political album produced by Trevor Horn. The live album Concrete: In Concert at the Mermaid Theatre appeared at the end of the year, and Yes -- a collaborative effort with the production crew Xenomania -- marked the band's tenth studio effort in March 2009. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Selected Discography
If you lived the 80's dance scene, you can pretty much say that the soundtrack of your life at the time was heavily populated by Pet Shop Boys. Always consistent on bringing great music, never dull or bland. Saw them live back in 1988 and pretty much danced from the beginning of the show to the encore then jammed on the way to the after hours club listening to Actually in the car.
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even tho i think behaviour is their true masterpiece- i just bought very.like morrisey and de mode-they dont comprimise.t h e y dont change styles.they dont need to. they are perfect...
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No, Depeche Mode Luis, you are Depeche Mode's #1 fan. I am PSB's #1 fan and have been for almost 20 years. :)
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Once of my favorite groups of ALL time. Neil & Chris are a brilliant songwriting team. Their music changed my life, esp. "Being Boring".
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Cheers to Pandora for playing stuff from "Yes"..
"Love Etc" is a great song... |
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i love this guys seen high school 1985 i remember them with girl friend but we marry now
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these guys make me feel emotions of the sexual nature towards my friends when we get pissy. cheers!
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It's hard to believe these two have been making fantastic music since 1981. I've been a fan for more than half my life, but have yet to see them live. Someday...
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I have been a fan since 1983 and will continue to be until the end of the world.
I LOVE THE PET SHOP BOYS PET SHOP BOYS=FABULOU S |
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The US tour begins soon. I will see the Pet Shop Boys in Las Vegas. They perform as good on stage as in the studio. I have had the pleasure to hear them four times before. The first concert I attended, out walks Chris Lowe through the back stage exit to us awaiting fans, shouts "Did you buy any merchandise like this guy?" with Sharpie in hand and signs my "Happiness is an option" T-Shirt! My shock was captured by another fan and mailed to me weeks later. I found my Happiness!
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I wish I would have discovered the Boys earlier. I knew West End Girls but did not know who did it. I then was some where and saw the video for What Have I Done to Deserve This and really liked it. So I went home and looked them and that is when I found a new passion for the Pet Shop Boys. I was so excited about the new Yes album I had to order it from Amazon UK!
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TPSB are excellent. Huge contribution s to music. So cal was in the hands of TPSB for a while there.
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i could totally make this exact thing on my Alesis Micron!! It's comforting to know that i'm getting good enough to name the programs used as well as the rhythms
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Depeche Mode Luis...I, like you, love the PSB's; however, what is dancing in a "gay " manner? I'm sure you meant no harm...you should choose your words very carefully... t h a y can offend without intention and impact ones perception of you.
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southside boys, northside boys, eastside boys are all lookin for the westend boys
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Depeche Mode Louis: Rock the f**k on. Every body should doubt thier sexuality at least once in while. More power to you.
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Why is it that individuals of repressed societies all ways make the best music?
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These guys will always take me to the Chicago Suburbs on I-90 A.C blowing and not a care in the world.
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PSB FTW. The only band to cover U2 and Frankie Valli... in the same song
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God, I love the Pet Shop Boys. I am straight, but the PSB sometimes make me doubt my sexuality... b e c a u s e I feel the need to dance in a gay manner
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Its happy time music. I try and try to stay still but when this starts playing the foot starts a tapping and then down hill from there.
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these guys are living proof there's nothing to worry about with gays!*
*unless they flick their tongues at you while walking down sunset blvd minding your own business - that was creepy and I was pretty nervous even while 'west end girls' was playin' in the backgroud. i didn't know whether I should start dancin' or runnin' so i not-so-grace f u l l y "wiggled" down the blvd... |
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Cryptic Message for the limerick-wri t i n g french wench married to a greek husband serving in the USArmy: Finally listening to some PSB tracks and me like!! ...over...
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Aah! Its the attack of the post modern, irony clad buoyantly melodic and lushly romantic synth-pop confections!
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I'm so glad I have the choice to listen to the music I like. This is great.
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