Pet Shop Boys

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe famously met in a hi-fi shop in Chelsea in 1981 and decided to work together after discovering a mutual interest in dance music. Tennant, who had previously played in a band called Dust, was then a journalist for pop magazine Smash Hits, while Lowe had been studying architecture at the University of Liverpool. They first called themselves West End, but became Pet Shop Boys after meeting New York dance music guru Bobby Orlando, who produced their first single, “West End Girls”. Initially, it flopped, but a re-recording produced by Stephen Hague took it to the top of the UK charts, and their distinctive mix of techno, hypnotic melodies and Tennant's slightly fey vocals launched a glittering career hailed by the dance music world as well as traditional pop fans and the gay community. Having released fourteen studio albums over four decades, the duo have collaborated with Dusty Springfield on the single “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” and Liza Minnelli on her 1989 album Results, and their biggest hits have included covers of The Village People's “Go West” and Elvis Presley's “Always On My Mind”. Their 2020 effort, Hotspot, spawned a plethora of non-charting singles including "I don't wanna" and "Dreamland", the latter of which saw them collaborate with fellow queer icons Years & Years.

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