Pet Shop Boys – Biography, Songs, Albums, Discography & Facts

Pet Shop Boys - Biography, Songs, Albums, Discography & Facts
Pet Shop Boys – The Armory – 10-2-2022. Image source: erintheredmc, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pet Shop Boys Biography

British pop music group Pet Shop Boys achieved a number of international hits starting in the 1980s. The band consisted of Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant. The Pet Shop Boys were a smart combination of sardonic, coolly delivered lyrics and catchy dance music built on synthesizers, underpinned by emotional tension. The band was founded in London in 1981 by vocalist Tennant (at the time a writer for the music magazine Smash Hits) and keyboardist Lowe. The duo, who kept their sexual orientation a secret even after Tennant came out as homosexual in 1994, integrated disco, the frantic Hi-NRG genre, house, and techno. They were influenced by the music of gay nightclubs.

In 1984, their debut single, “West End Girls,” which was produced by American Bobby Orlando, was a smash in France and Belgium. However, it wasn’t until two years later that a re-recorded version of the song reached the top of the charts in Britain, the US, and a number of other nations. From the duo’s debut album, Please (1986), further singles included “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money),” “It’s a Sin,” “Rent,” “Heart,” and “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” (a collaboration with Dusty Springfield) from Actually (1987).

It Couldn’t Happen Here, a 1988 movie starring the Pet Shop Boys, was a strange cross-country odyssey that featured the band’s hits, notably their cover of Elvis Presley‘s “Always on My Mind.

The artist and director Derek Jarman arranged a grandiose tour for the duo in 1989 after they had previously performed live seldom. Subsequent tours also featured opulent sets, including one created by architect Zaha Hadid. In the 1990s, Pet Shop Boys tracks continued to do well on the British singles chart, and their 1993 album Very peaked at number one in Britain and the US top 20. After that, their financial success started to decline somewhat, although songs like Bilingual (1996), Release (2002), Elysium (2012), Electric (2013), Super (2016), and Hotspot (2020) showed how popular they could still be.

The Pet Shop Boys continued their interdisciplinary work in the early 21st century, particularly with the creation of the musical Closer to Heaven (2001), the Battleship Potemkin soundtrack (first performed in 2004), and the score for the ballet The Most Incredible Thing (2011). Additionally, they created A Man from the Future, an eight-part orchestral composition that had its debut in 2014 and was based on the biography of British mathematician Alan Turing. The duo was honored in 2009 with a Brit Award (Britain’s Grammy) for their extraordinary contribution to British music.

Since 1984, the trio—three-time Brit Award winners and six-time Grammy nominees—has amassed 42 top 30 singles, 22 of which have reached the UK Singles Chart top 10, including four UK number ones: “West End Girls” (which also reached the top spot on the US Billboard Hot 100), “It’s a Sin,” a synth-pop rendition of “Always on My Mind,” and “Heart.” A copy of “Go West,” their original “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money),” and “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” in a duet with Dusty Springfield are some of their other top hits. They are linked to the Second British Invasion because of their five 1980s US top ten singles.

Pet Shop Boys won the Outstanding Contribution to Music prize at the 2009 Brit Awards in London. The top dance duo/group over the 40 years from the chart’s inception in 1976, according to Billboard magazine, was Pet Shop Boys in 2016. The group was given the NME Godlike Genius Award in 2017.

Pet Shop Boys Discography

HotspotSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
SuperSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
ElectricSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
ElysiumSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
YesSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
FundamentalSpotifyAppleAmazon
ReleaseSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
NightlifeSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
BilingualSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
VerySpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
BehaviourSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
IntrospectiveSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
ActuallySpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
PleaseSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon

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Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Members of Pet Shop Boys?

There are two Pet Shop Boys members. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe make up the English pop duo, who achieved mainstream success in the 1980s and have continued to be popular throughout the 1990s and 2000s. ThePet Shop Boys have sold more than 50 million records worldwide and are listed as the most successful duo in UK music history by The Guinness Book of World Records. In 2005, they were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. In 2009, Billboard magazine named them the ninth most successful dance artist of all-time.

What Was The Pet Shop Boys First Uk Number One Single?

The Pet Shop Boys first UK number one single was “West End Girls.” The song was released in 1984 and peaked at the top of the charts in 1986. The song was written by band members Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe.

What Is The Famous Pet Shop Boys Albums?

The album that made them famous is “Please.” It was released in 1986 and included the hits “West End Girls” and “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money).” The album was a huge success, reaching number one on the UK charts and selling more than four million copies worldwide. It established the Pet Shop Boys as one of the most successful pop groups of the 1980s. They have continued to be popular in the decades since, releasing a string of hit singles and albums.

Which Song Is Biggest Hit Of Pet Shop Boys?

The song “West End Girls” is the biggest hit of Pet Shop Boys. It was released in 1984 and reached number one in the UK and US.

What Is Pet Shop Boys Genre?

The Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. They formed in London in 1981 and have released 14 studio albums, two live albums, nine compilation albums, four soundtrack albums, three remix albums and 33 singles. Their music has ranged from synth-pop to electronica.

Most Searched For Pet Shop Boys Songs

West End GirlsSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
What Have I Done to deserve This?SpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
Always on My MindSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
It’s a SinSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
Hallo SpaceboySpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
Go WestSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
We’re The Pet Shop BoysSpotifyAppleYouTube
Purple Zone – Manhattan Clique DubSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
Domino DancingSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon
SuburbiaSpotifyAppleYouTubeAmazon