A music journalist who wanted to make records, and an architecture student he met in a London electronics shop in 1981. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe became Pet Shop Boys, and their deadpan, dramatic synth-pop has outlasted nearly everyone from their era. More than 50 million records later, they’re still at it.
West End Girls, take two
Tennant and Lowe bonded over dance music, electronics and pop songwriting. Their breakthrough came with “West End Girls”, re-recorded with producer Stephen Hague in 1985. Electronic grooves, orchestral touches and Tennant’s half-spoken verses took it to number one in the UK and the US, and made them one of the most original acts of the decade.
Please and Actually
Please (1986) set out their style: sharp social comment in polished electronic pop, with “West End Girls”, “Love Comes Quickly”, “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” and “Suburbia”. Actually (1987) is one of the defining albums of the ’80s, with “It’s a Sin”, “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” with Dusty Springfield, “Rent” and “Heart”. “It’s a Sin” became a signature: huge drama, huge production, Tennant’s voice cutting right through it.
Introspective and Behaviour
Introspective (1988) stretched out into long dance productions: “Always on My Mind”, “Domino Dancing”, “Left to My Own Devices”. Behaviour (1990), with “Being Boring”, “So Hard” and “Jealousy”, is often called their masterpiece, quieter and more reflective, and among the finest synth-pop records anyone has made.
Is Pet Shop Boys new wave?
Yes. Pet Shop Boys are one of the great synth-pop acts to come out of ’80s new wave. “West End Girls” and “It’s a Sin” sit right alongside the Human League and Depeche Mode, and their mix of electronics, wit and drama took the sound into dance, house and modern pop.
Four decades of reinvention
They never stopped: Very (1993), Bilingual (1996), Nightlife (1999), Fundamental (2006), Yes (2009), Electric (2013), Super (2016), Hotspot (2020) and Nonetheless (2024). Along the way they worked with Dusty Springfield, Liza Minnelli, David Bowie, Elton John and Kylie Minogue.
Pet Shop Boys by the numbers
- More than 50 million records sold worldwide
- 15 studio albums
- Brit Awards, including Outstanding Contribution to Music, and Grammy nominations
- Festival headliners and sold-out tours worldwide
The Killers, Robyn, Scissor Sisters, CHVRCHES and Years & Years have all named them as an influence.
The essential Pet Shop Boys songs
“West End Girls” · “Love Comes Quickly” · “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” · “Suburbia” · “It’s a Sin” · “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” · “Rent” · “Heart” · “Always on My Mind” · “Domino Dancing” · “Left to My Own Devices” · “Being Boring” · “Can You Forgive Her?” · “Go West” · “Se a Vida É (That’s the Way Life Is)”
The essential albums
Please (1986) · Actually (1987) · Introspective (1988) · Behaviour (1990) · Very (1993) · Bilingual (1996) · Fundamental (2006) · Yes (2009) · Electric (2013) · Nonetheless (2024)
New to Pet Shop Boys? Start here
Actually is the one: “It’s a Sin” and “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” back to back is about as good as ’80s pop gets. Then Behaviour, and let “Being Boring” do its quiet work on you.
Like Pet Shop Boys? Try these next
- New Order: post-punk meets the dance floor, and a big part of modern synth-pop
- Depeche Mode: electronic music with real emotional weight
- Erasure: Vince Clarke and Andy Bell’s sing-along synth-pop
- The Human League: the Sheffield band that defined the sound
- Heaven 17: smart electronic pop with funk and soul
- OMD: cinematic British synth-pop
- ABC: electronic pop dressed in orchestral elegance
- Gary Numan: the pioneer a generation of synth artists followed
- Bronski Beat: dance-floor synth-pop with something to say
- Electronic: Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr, with Neil Tennant on the first single
- Talk Talk: synth-pop hits, then art rock
- Duran Duran: new romantic style with global pop reach
Hear Pet Shop Boys on New Wave Radio
Request “West End Girls” and hear the city at night. Or ask for “Rent”, the quiet one that hits hardest.
Official links: petshopboys.co.uk · Facebook · Instagram · YouTube · Spotify
