Pet Shop Boys Unveil Monumental Visual History Book
As Pet Shop Boys celebrate over four decades in music, they are releasing a massive 600-page book titled Pet Shop Boys: Volume, which serves as a complete visual record of their career. The book collects record sleeves, music videos, and concert imagery that have been as crucial to their identity as their synth-pop hits.
Inspiring a Generation of Visual Artists
In 1988, a young Wolfgang Tillmans tore an A0 poster advertising Pet Shop Boys' album Introspective from a building site in Hamburg and nailed it to his wall. "It was just so cool in the context of the time," recalls the now-renowned artist, admiring how the pop duo had gone "one level more abstract."
Around the same period in Doncaster, teenager Alasdair McLellan—now an A-list fashion photographer—was captivated by keyboardist Chris Lowe's style. "I always thought he was the best-dressed man of the 80s," McLellan says. "He just seemed to do it better than everyone else." Both artists later collaborated with Pet Shop Boys, creating videos that are now part of this comprehensive visual archive.
Total Artistic Control and Minimalist Design
Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe sat down at London's Toklas restaurant to discuss their bright orange doorstopper of a book. "We've always had joy in packaging and thought it was part of the creative statement," Tennant explains, ordering a carafe of white wine.
The duo benefited from the CD boom of the mid-80s, when record companies had generous budgets. Their designer, Mark Farrow, recalls: "Record companies were making money hand over fist and they had budgets to throw around. It was great!"
Pet Shop Boys maintained complete artistic control from the beginning. "We had in our contract: total artistic control," Lowe states. "So we could do whatever we wanted." This allowed for bold choices like the minimalist cover of their debut album Please, which featured largely white space with tiny typography and miniature portraits—a stark contrast to the brash designs common in 1986.
Defying Expectations and Royal Protocol
Their minimalist approach extended to performances. Despite their energetic hits, Pet Shop Boys would often stand motionless on shows like Top of the Pops. "I think Tom said something like, 'Oh God, they don't do anything,'" Lowe recalls of their late manager.
In 1987, they caused controversy by refusing to wave at Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip during the Royal Variety Performance finale. "Live television is easy," Tennant says. "They can't do anything. Our mothers were both furious." Carry On star Barbara Windsor, who appeared in their film It Couldn't Happen Here, expressed her disapproval more physically. "She slapped our bottoms," Tennant reveals. "She said, 'You're very naughty, boys. You should have done the finale.'"
Censorship and Queer Sensibility
Pet Shop Boys pushed boundaries with their 1990 video for Being Boring, directed by photographer Bruce Weber. The opening featured a naked man bouncing on a trampoline, which horrified their record company. "We were basically told off," Tennant remembers. They recently discovered that EMI America had censored the video decades later, editing out the controversial opening.
When asked if they were expressing what would now be called a queer sensibility, Tennant responds: "Someone recently said we were queer trailblazers. We want to do a T-shirt: queer trailblazer. We went through the late 80s totally undefined." He emphasizes that ambiguity and complexity have always been central to their work.
Awkward Moments and Enduring Tours
In the 1990s, the duo experimented with unconventional costumes, including orange suits and dunces' hats to promote Can You Forgive Her? "Our manager was worried that we would be ridiculed," Tennant says. "But I always remember Adam Ant's great line, 'Ridicule is nothing to be scared of.'"
Their current greatest hits tour, Dreamworld, began in May 2022 and continues to draw crowds worldwide. "It's going on for ever," Lowe laughs. "Get used to it." Meanwhile, they're staging a series of five London shows called Obscure, featuring only B-sides and album tracks for dedicated fans.
As they prepare to leave the restaurant, Tennant makes a final point: "There's a tendency to assume that everything with us is thought-out and plotted. But actually, the reality is it's much more improvised and instinctive." The encounter concludes with a chance meeting with legendary designer Peter Saville, adding another layer to their rich visual history.
