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 Annually 2025” will be published on April 4th, 2025 and is available to pre-order now at the link below. A brand new exclusive “Annually 2025” T‑shirt is also available to pre-order now.
Recent Pet Texts
We have today received the sad news that Jack Bond, the director of our feature film, “It Couldn’t Happen Here” and the videos for “Always on my mind” and “Heart, died yesterday. Jack had a distinguished career making both feature films and documentaries. He supervised the Blu-ray re-release of our film in 2020 by the British Film Institute and, during a meeting about it, suggested making another film with us! He was a warm and funny man who we very much enjoyed working with and we send our love and condolences to his family and those close to him. x
A signed pair of Neil’s Celine shoes are being auctioned as part of the “Celebrity Shoe Auction 2024”, organised by the Small Steps Project. The auction closes on Thursday, 19 December, with proceeds supporting the children’s charity, which provides shoes and emergency aid to children living on landfill sites around the world. Place your bid now via the link below. Happy Christmas!
A new film, “Wham! Last Christmas Unwrapped” will be broadcast on Saturday evening, December 14, on BBC2 TV in the UK. The film includes an interview with Neil who interviewed George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley when he worked for Smash Hits magazine in the early 80s. More information at the link below.
A new limited collection of Pet Shop Boys T‑shirts and hoodies, made in collaboration with Anti Social Social Club, is now exclusively available from their official Amazon Music store (USA only). Link to order below.
Pet Shop Boys’ “ICONS mix”, which Neil and Chris recorded earlier this year as part of BBC 6 Music’s “Loud and Proud” celebration, has been shortlisted for “ICONS Mix of the Year” by Mary Anne Hobbs. The exclusive 30-minute mix will be played out again on her 6Music show this Friday, 13th December at 12pm GMT, and afterwards will also be made available on BBC Sounds for 30 days.
The “Pet Shop Boys since 1984” tea set which is already available in our online store can, from tomorrow, be bought in person at Dover Street Market, 18–22 Haymarket, London SW1. It will also be available from DSM at the online link below.
The collection commemorates 40 years since the release of PSB’s debut single. Designed in partnership with their long-term collaborators Farrow, Tennant and Lowe present this limited-edition set featuring a teapot, cups and saucers, a milk jug and a sugar bowl. The pieces are manufactured by Duchess China in Stoke-on-Trent.
Photo: Kirby Koh/DSM
Neil has been interviewed by Jake Shears on his “Queer The Music” podcast, talking about the lyrics and the making of the PSB song “It’s a sin”, Pet Shop Boys’ creative process, collaborators and much more. The season finale episode is out now and available at the link below.
Alexei Gorinov, the first Russian citizen to be imprisoned for protesting against Russia’s war on Ukraine, has now been sentenced to three more years in prison on trumped-up charges. In court he made a heartfelt statement against the war. Read it at the link below. We salute his courage.