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History

April 2023

On April 14, a new Pet Shop Boys’ EP, Lost, is released digitally and as part of the latest edition of the Pet Shop Boys periodical, Annually 2023. Lost was planned as a four track EP of songs that were originally demoed in 2015 for Super though now, in some cases, seemly newly relevant. Its title — taken from the first song, “The lost room”, inspired by a film about military school bullying and written in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Crimea — “also seems,” says Neil, “to represent a sort of larger, philosophical or political point, where there’ve been times recently where the world feels a bit lost in terms of the direction it’s going in.” This sense is further amplified by the last-minute addition of a fifth song, a more recent composition “Living in the past”, which the Pet Shop Boys had posted on social media two months earlier in rough demo form, accompanied by a video in which Vladimir Putin appeared to shapeshift into Joseph Stalin. 

Lost

June 2023

On June 16, a new Pet Shop Boys compilation, Smash, presenting 55 Pet Shop Boys’ singles from the years 1985 to 2020 in chronological order, is released. The title was Chris’s. “I was thinking of the artist Roy Lichtenstein,” says Chris. “It seemed very Roy Lichtenstein: Pow! Wham! Smash! And there’s also, ‘It’s a smash!’ – that’s what people used to say about singles. Also, there is the connection with Neil and Smash Hits.” Its sleeve is a combined, distorted version of previous Pet Shop Boys’ sleeves. “Listening through, I felt quite proud of the whole thing,” says Neil. “This astonishing number of singles over such long period of time. And I think the last CD is really good. You sort of imagine a moment where you might think, ‘this is all a bit dodgy now’, but in my opinion that doesn’t happen.” 

SMASH – The Singles 1985-2020
History

On this day

1954

Neil Francis Tennant is born in North Shields, Northumberland, U.K.

1989

They celebrate Neil’s 35th birthday as airline passengers flying over Siberia on the way home from tour dates in Japan. Not only do they have champagne, but the stewardess presents Neil with two birthday cakes.

1995

After working on ‘Se A Vida E,’ the Boys celebrate Neil’s birthday with a barbeque.

2006

In the wee morning hours shortly after midnight, following the earlier (July 9) PSB performance at the Exit Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia, the Scissor Sisters sing ‘Happy Birthday’ for Neil, who briefly reappears onstage with them mid-song.

2007

The Boys spend much of the day in their studio working with Pete Gleadall. Meanwhile, the Interactive Media Council awards the web development firm Airside an Interactive Media Award for Outstanding Achievement for their work on the official PSB website.

2009

The Pet Shop Boys are the headline act at a special concert at London’s O2 Arena complex titled ‘Smirnoff Experience: U.R. The Night.’ Their performance—a greatly abbreviated form of their Pandemonium Tour setlist—lasts about a half-hour.

2010

Neil spends his birthday in Munich, Germany, where the Boys perform this evening at the Tollwood Festival.

2013

The PSB Electric Tour comes to Munich.

2014

The Boys top off Neil’s 60th birthday with their appearance at the Exit Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia.

2017

They perform at the Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) in Madrid.

2022

In the Canary Islands for their upcoming shows there, Neil celebrates his birthday by having dinner and drinks in Tenerife with Chris, Pete Gleadall, and their touring band.