MusicBox- Pet Shop Boys - 40 Years Plus of Synth Pop Hits

MusicBox- Pet Shop Boys - 40 Years Plus of Synth Pop Hits

Jun, 7 2024


If Depeche Mode are the dark, sombre electronic band then Pet Shop Boys are the exact opposite. Their sound one that brings light and joy with synth pop music making fans happy for the better part of four decades.

Both bands have had their career run parallel beginning in the 1980’s. Pet Shop Boys are a duo formation made up of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe.

The two actually met in a hi-fi shop (not a pet shop) – Chelsea Record Centre in London in August 1981. It was a conversation about a Korg MS- 10 synthesizer which began a life –long bond between the two and they started to work on some music which would be their first material together.

This early collaboration now in 1982 saw the duo label their demo tapes under the name ‘West End’ before eventually settling on Pet Shop Boys. It was taken from friends who worked in a pet shop in Ealing and were known as the ‘pet shop boys’ – it also drew comparison with rap rock group Beastie Boys.

Despite not calling themselves ‘West End’ this would later become part of the 9th April 1984 single ‘West End Girls’. The song’s lyrics deal with class and the pressures of inner city life in London which were inspired partly by T.S. Eliot’s poem ‘The Waste Land’.

It’s been well received by music critics over the years, became a club hit in America and European countries and two years since it’s release it finally became a number one single.

Let’s remind ourselves why with the classic music video –

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3j2NYz

Over the past 40 years the band have continued to experience –

  • Hit albums
  • Fantastic collaborations
  • Amazing covers and remixes
  • Incredible live shows

Their most recent album release was this years ‘Nonetheless’ – with first single ‘Loneliness’. They’ll be performing this and other major hit singles when they headline Radio 2’s ‘In the Park’ – Moor Park – Preston on Sunday 8th September 2024.

To follow this and more news from the band simply visit the following website link – https://www.petshopboys.co.uk/home

Pet Shop Boys are one of few bands still around from the 1980’s. They continue to set the benchmark for other, younger synth pop bands to aspire to. Their music the feel good vibe that gets the party started and their fans have followed them to the present day.

^Alex Ashworth CCG UK Blogger