Last night’s concert with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra was a wonderful experience for us. The orchestra played with such luxurious power and conviction, conducted by Dominic Wheeler, and the Manchester Chamber Choir brought ethereal beauty to, for instance, “Miracles” and “He dreamed of machines” (from our new piece about Alan Turing). To hear Johnny Marr playing the guitar riff from “This must be the place I waited years to leave” was a real thrill so many years after he played on the original record; his acoustic guitar playing on “Breathing space” was gorgeous. Other highlights for me were performing live for the first time “It couldn’t happen here”, “The survivors” and “For all of us”. Sven Helbig’s orchestral arrangements were both magnificent and subtle: “New York City boy” was returned to Broadway; “He dreamed of machines” had a pale beauty. Many thanks to everyone at the BBC, Parlophone and our management and tour personnel for making it happen, to Pete Gleadall for programming and to Jo Whiley for introducing it. The concert can be heard on BBC Radio 2 tonight at 8 pm. I hope you enjoy it. Neil x (Photograph by Kate Southall/BBC.)
Celebrating 40 years since Pet Shop Boys’ first worldwide hit “West End girls”, this new T‑shirt is part of the PSB “Since 1984” range, designed by Farrow.
Recent Pet Texts
David Bowie died ten years ago today. In a special BBC 6 Music programme, Neil discusses Bowie including PSB’s collaboration with him on “Hallo Spaceboy”. The show is part of a series called “Bowie Forever”. Listen to it now on BBC Sounds.
Day off in Osaka before tomorrow’s show at the World Theatre in Kobe.
40 years ago, on Tuesday, January 7, 1986, “West End girls” hit number one in the UK singles chart and stayed there for two weeks. Neil and Chris performed the song in the number one slot on “Top of the Pops” two days later. It went on to hit the top spot in Canada, the USA, Finland, Norway and New Zealand and was the first of four PSB UK number one singles. In 2020 The Guardian newspaper elected it the greatest UK Number One single of all time.
Two new exclusive PSB “Dreamworld” Japan T‑shirts are now available online and in-store through Dover Street Market Ginza in Tokyo. All details at the link below. Pet Shop Boys perform in Tokyo tonight and in Kobe on Friday.
Neil is recovering well from the virus that led to PSB cancelling their festival show in Tokyo on Sunday. He and Chris are looking forward to tonight’s Dreamworld concert at the Tokyo Garden Theatre and to their show on Friday in Kobe.
Unfortunately Pet Shop Boys will not be able to perform at today’s Rockin’ On Sonic Festival in Tokyo as Neil Tennant is suffering from an acute gastrointestinal virus. Pet Shop Boys apologise for this unavoidable cancellation but look forward to their concerts at the Tokyo Garden Theatre in Tokyo on Tuesday and the World Memorial Hall in Kobe on Friday.
We are sad to hear that the distinguished British photographer Martin Parr, famous for his wryly distinctive images of everyday life, has died. In 2002 we asked him to direct the video for our song “London” and he made a short film which, in its combination of urban pathos and quirky London street life, was instantly recognisable as his work. We send our sincere condolences to his family and friends. Neil and Chris xx
Photo: New York Times