Seen as the antithesis to conventional pop stars at the time such as Wham and Culture Club, Neil Tennant (lead vocals and guitar) and Chris Lowe (vocals and synths) met through their mutual love of electronic dance music. They spent most of their formation years in their Camden flat penning future hits “Rent”, “West End Girls” and “It’s a Sin”. Initially using the band name West End based on their love for the West End culture, they eventually settled on the name Pet Shop Boys.
In 1986 they released their debut album “Please” which peaked at number three in the UK charts and certified platinum, featuring a re-recording the number one single “West End Girls”. With their avant-garde fashion sense and constantly going against the grain while superseding expectations led to the duo becoming fashion icons and significant figures in gay culture.
A large part of the success of Pet Shop Boys lies in the importance they place on visual presentations whilst championing originality. Having art directors such as Derek Jarman, David Alden and David Fielding on board to co-ordinate their stage shows, combining music with film and theatre and incorporating it into their live sets allows them to create the ultimate visual impact.
In 2013, Tennant and Lowe took the drastic decision to leave behind their long standing partnership with Parlophone Records after being with them for 28 years as they moved on to pastures new with Kobalt Label Services. Later that year they released their 12th studio album “Electric” which peaked in the UK charts at number three and featured a guest appearance from UK rapper Example on the track “Thursday”.
In their prolific career, Pet Shop Boys have accumulated a six Grammy awards, received the 2009 BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music as well as playing alongside Elton John, Lady Gaga, Erasure and David Bowie. Pet Shop Boys have since inception been pushing boundaries and producing masterpieces outlasting their four decade duration, whilst remaining current and inspirational.
I did not even dream that such spectacular lighting design and theatrical environments for concerts existed until I saw the Pet Shop Boys show for their 2013 album Electric. Es Devlin was the director of the stage and costume design for this tour and given her credentials and diversification "she has worked on plays (Batman, American Psycho) operas (Faust), dance productions (Northern Ballet Theatre) and pop concerts (Miley Cyrus, Kanye West: Yeezus tour )" it is no wonder this show was so visually captivating.
This performance pushed the audiences senses in to overdrive. The paralyzing visuals were brilliantly coupled with the sophisticated elecro-pop for which the Pet Shop Boys are renowned. Their music was so impeccably delivered it seemed as if they could perform it in their sleep. In fact they did perform one of their songs "Love etc." lying in a bed which acted as a sort of scrim on which images of their contorting bodies were projected giving the illusion that Neil and Chris were experiencing a restless night. On other songs such as the classic " I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" performers with cow skulls on their heads engaged in a bizarre tribal dance bursting into wild fits of tantrums which soon stabilized into a meticulously choreographed routine. Their closing track was a cover of the Village People's anthem "Go West" in which the two visual performers disguised as spiders pranced around on stilts. In case you didn't get the gist the performances of the Pet Shop Boys are exploding with excitement and innovative technical theatrics and are absolutely worth seeing.
Considering the Pet Shop Boys have over 40 top 30 singles you better believe their setlist is going to be a crowd pleaser. They had every one in the theatre exuberantly dancing to "West End Girls" and passionately singing along to the serpentine ballad "It's a Sin". The Pet Shop Boys' cover songs are treat to hear as well. They are handled with such finesse and ingenuity that they rival the original recordings. They can take a slow country song like Brenda Lee's "You are Always on My Mind" and turn it into a club hit or take two songs of completely different styles like "Where the Streets Have No Name" and Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" and seamlessly meld them into a coherent idea. Taking influence from Broadway and following in the path of the great performing artists (Frank Sinatra and Dusty Springfield) it is without certainty you will be entertained.
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