Not many people would utter Copley Symphony Hall and the Pet Shop Boys in the same sentence but fans of both have been doing just that when it was announced that eclectic techno pop Grammy nominated duo The Pet Shop Boys would be performing there Oct. 8.
The infamous electronic U.K. pop duo that rose to fame back in 1984 is back on the road, and after a 45 city worldwide tour schedule that started in Chile in May of this year, they will be coming to San Diego. The title of their show is Electric which is also the title of their 12th studio album that was released this past July.
The pop group got their start in 1981, when both were working in an electronic store in Chelsea, London and realized they both had a love for dance music. It was then that Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe started the group West End, which then became The Pet Shop Boys.
The duo hit the scene hard with the song “West End Girls” (inspired by The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot) that was produced by Bobby Orlando in 1984. The song became an instant club favorite in Los Angeles and San Francisco, but it wasn’t until 1986 that the song hit the charts and while it was slow to rise, it became the number one song in the U.S., U.K., New Zealand, Canada, Norway and Hong Kong and sold more than a million copies worldwide.
Through the years the duo has had its share of hits and a few snags along the way. They broke ties with their original producer Bobby Orlando (Bobby O), and have been through a few more since then producing hits like “Always On My Mind,” “Opportunities” and “What Have I Done To Deserve This” (with Dusty Springfield), but the duo always seems to rally back with yet another dance floor hit.
Their latest album, Electric, produced by Stuart Price (best known in Britain as DJ Jacques Lu Cont) was released in July of this year. The album was recorded in both alphabetic and chronological order and that is how they are listed on the finished album as well, with the exception of the song entitled “Love Is A Bourgeois Construct,” which was originally titled “Bourgeois.”
Most of the songs on the album had been recorded for the earlier album Elysium, but according to Tennant they wanted that album to be more of a “one-mood” piece. So, the songs that didn’t make the cut have resurfaced on this album; including Bruce Springsteen’s anti war song “The Last to Die.”
Much like the unlikely, yet exciting, pairing of Copley Symphony Hall and the Pet Shop Boys, the same could be said for their choice to cover a Springsteen song. The decision to do the song came from Chris Lowe’s sister who is a big fan of “The Boss.” She suggested the tune to them and they instantly connected with the political message as well as the musicality of the song. That, and the realization that Springsteen’s chord changes work very well with electronic dance music (EDM).
The songs inspirations come from many different, amazingly creative sources. The track “Shouting in the Evening” was inspired both by British actor Michael Gambon (Professor Albus Dumbledore in the last six Harry Potter films) and, oddly enough, Lionel Richie’s song “Dancing on the Ceiling.” The song “Love Is A Bourgeois Construct” was inspired by a piece of dialogue in the book Nice Work written by David Lodge.
The one thing that the Pet Shop Boys have easily done through the years is to take poetic lyrics and set them to a style of music that is a fusion of both dance and pop music. This common thread in their work has set Tennant and Lowe’s music apart from the rest of the electronic dance music revolution that has seemingly been around for years.
Aside from bringing an incredible mix of sound to the stage and dance floor the duo is also known for their sense of theatricality. In 2011 the duo wrote a ballet based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale The Most Incredible Thing and they are currently working on a piece that is based on the gay British scientist Alan Turing who committed suicide in 1954.
That same type of theatricality is what fans can expect to see with the “Electric Tour” show. It will be an amazing theatrical experience that will incorporate a mix of strobes, film, lights and lasers and of course the duo’s eclectic brand of music.
Pet Shops Boys Electric Tour tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster or by calling 619-235-0804.
