Xenomania were doing a record with Franz Ferdinand at one point and I think Franz Ferdinand realized that they were a rock band and not a pop band. And because we’re a duo we welcome people to come and play on our records. Was it inspiring to be surrounded by such company? Bob Stanley from Saint Etienne was in the kitchen."
You’d have Girls Aloud tripping through and Alesha Dixon tripping through and all sorts of new acts that they’ve got signed to their label. And the set up was great and all the people who work there, and he has this house with all these different rooms with all these different people making music. He’s totally committed to pop music and making hit records – more so than anyone else that we met. "So we went and met Brian Higgins in Kent and we really liked him he was a real character. But with this album, we approached Xenomania because we wrote quite a few songs that just sounded sort of poppy and we thought we’d ask him and make the best out of them. We almost approached him for our last album, Fundamental but we heard that New Order were working with him - and we know New Order and there’s always been a friendly rivalry with them - so we thought, 'Oh well, we can’t work with him now.' But actually, New Order did just one track with him. NT: "Oh, it was very much a collaboration. Speaking of which, how did you come to work with Brian Higgins and Xenomania and to what degree was it a collaboration? And I think it’s the collaboration between the two of us, which is very enjoyable, and we’re always thinking of things." I know that we do it in a style that makes it look easier than it is we don’t hype ourselves that much really.
There’s a creative ambition to do things with pop music that drives us. We’re not necessarily financially driven – not that we don’t like making money, but that’s not really what drives us. NT: "Not really, as any of our various managers from any point in our career would tell you. There’s an almost casual ease about what you do. We are actually quite driven in a funny kind of way you know, it’s what our life centres on and it’s what we like doing."īut you do give the impression of not being driven. Neil Tennant: "I think we just like making music and writing songs. What keeps you motivated to produce music after so long? Yes is the 10th Pet Shop Boys album – and that’s not counting the various remix albums and soundtracks – in 23 years. With Yes ready to take it’s place as Pet Shop Boys’ finest effort since Actually, The Quietus hooked up with Neil Tennant to find what keeps them going for so long, winning The Outstanding Contribution To Music Brit Award and what the meaning of pop is in the 21st century. A combination of all embracing pop and social commentary is rare enough but factor in over 50 million album sales world wide and the release of 55 hit singles and it doesn’t take a genius to release that Pet Shop Boys really are something of a national treasure.
Pet shop boys paul weller full#
In the 25 years since they first released the original Bobby Orlando-helmed version of ‘West End Girls’, Pet Shop Boys have observed and critiqued the changing face of a country that’s finally seen Margaret Thatcher’s demon seeds come into full bloom. This is a group with an understanding of pop so innate that it hurts.īut there’s more to them than that. Co–produced by Xenomania, the pop production unit behind the pop monster that is Girls Aloud, Yes is characterised not only by the sound of the here and now but also by the fact that almost every track on the album could be single. Indeed, as evidenced by Yes, the tenth studio album from Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, Pet Shop Boys have lost none of their talent for producing the sleekly elegant pop that’s made their name. Yet unlike the musical heroes of times gone by, Pet Shop Boys remain as vibrant as ever. In much the same way that baby boomers can’t think of a time when The Rolling Stones weren’t a part of their lives, there now exists a generation that hasn’t been without the joys of avant pop duo, Pet Shop Boys.
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