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.)
Pet Shop Boys are happy to announce their first “Dreamworld” UK headline show for the coming year at Lytham Festival on Saturday, July 4 2026.
Recent Pet Texts
He’s 66 today. Happy Birthday, Chris!
Photo: Tate Modern
“Musik” by Jonathan Harvey with songs by Pet Shop Boys, starring Frances Barber as Billie Trix and directed by Terry Johnson, is opening soon at Wilton’s Music Hall in London! The first night is on Tuesday, October 14th and it runs until October 25th. Tickets are selling fast — check out the link below.
Neil was recently interviewed for “Music, Money & Mayhem”, a new BBC podcast series that chronicles the collapse of EMI Records and the struggle to save it. The first episode is now available on podcast platforms, with new episodes releasing every Monday.
Composer Sven Helbig (who PSB worked with on “The Most Incredible Thing”, “A Man from the Future” and several other projects) will present the UK premiere of his new “Requiem A” on Saturday, October 4th, in London. Sven will be joined at Westminster Central Hall by famed opera singer René Pape, the London Contemporary Orchestra and no less than four choirs! Full details and ticket information at the link below.
A few weeks ago, during the double PSB-screening event at BFI Southbank, I joined film writer/director Paul Tickell on stage to discuss making “It Couldn’t Happen Here” and writing the score for “Battleship Potemkin”. The conversation and the Q&A that followed it are now available to watch on YouTube at the link below. Neil x
The legendary Russian superstar, Alla Pugacheva, now living in exile, has spoken out against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. If only more prominent Russians showed the same courage! Full details at the Substack link below.
