Pet Shop Boys' Best Of Album: Discography Click cover to BUY |
The Pet Shop Boys are the result of a Sliding Doors scenario. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe met completely
by fluke in an electronics shop. They soon found they had many things in common, including a shared passion
for dance music and Northern roots. Tennant was born in North Shields, Chris Lowe in Blackpool. Both
had pop stardom aspirations. |
|
At 16 Tennant played in a band called Dust. "We were absolutely convinced we would become terribly
famous." With the group's dreams having turned to dust, Tennant went on to study history at the
Polytechnic of North London. On leaving, he landed a career in publishing.
Meanwhile, Lowe was a trombonist in an old time dance hall band. He had plans to be an architect and studied at Liverpool University. He moved to London after being offered a place at an architectural practice. Following their chance encounter, Tennant and Lowe decided to form a pop partnership. After calling themselves West End for a while, they eventually went for the Pet Shop Boys (the name derived from some friends who worked in a pet shop in Ealing). By now, Tennant was working for pop mag Smash Hits. While in New York interviewing The Police, he fixed up lunch with producer Bobby Orlando. Both boys were big fans of Orlando's hi energy tracks. Flattered, Bobby O suggested they make a record together. West End Girls was first released in 1984. Although a club hit in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the single failed to impact on the charts. In 1985 the Pet Shop Boys signed to Parlophone Records and a new version of West End Girls was subsequently released. Second time around, the song became a monster seller. It made #1 in the UK, the US, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Israel, Norway, Hong Kong and New Zealand. In all, 1.5 million copies were sold. Today, the Pet Shop Boys' back catalogue includes more hits than you can poke a stick at: Love Comes Quickly, Rent, Opportunities, What Have I Done To Deserve This, Domino Dancing, It's A Sin, It's Alright, Always On My Mind, Left To My Own Devices, Where The Streets Have No Name, Go West ... and go see the Guinness Book Of Hit Singles for a complete list. Over the years they've collaborated with the likes of Dusty Springfield, Tina Turner, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Bruce Weber, Derek Jarman, Jonathan Harvey and Liza Minnelli. And they're still up and at it. A live video and DVD, Montage, will be released this week (Monday 12 November 2001) and a new album is due for release spring 2002. "Music is an inspiration and always has been an inspiration," said Tennant in an interview. "Music represents the good side of mankind; music tends to be a good force rather than bad." Keep up the good work boys. |
|