Neil wears jacket by Philipp Plein, polo neck top by Rick Owens, jeans by Acne, boots by Christian Louboutin Chris wears jacket by Adidas, polo neck top by Topman, sunglasses, jeans, boots, hat all Chris’ own
PHOTOGRAPHY: JOSEPH SINCLAIR
Neil wears jacket by Acne, polo top by Rick Owens, jeans by Acne
Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe are in a very ‘up’ mood. They are back with a brand new album, Super, their 13th and the first since their widely seen as a return to form – and the dancefloor – 2013 effort Electric, recorded with recent live collaborator Stuart Price of Madonna’s Confessions on a Dance Floor fame. Like that record, Super is bangier, dancier, more electronic, more like what you really loved about the Pet Shop Boys in the first place. The day after our shoot the first single goes to radio. ‘The Pop Kids’ is about a young guy and girl who move to London to be part of the music scene and spend their lives ‘quoting the best bits’. The internet loves it. “It’s my life,” says one breathy Tweeter. And so it is. The Pet Shop Boys are not just a band for gay people – it might be hard to have had 42 UK top thirty singles and four UK numbers ones if they were – but there is a very specific gay sensibility and narrative in their work which comes simply from Neil Tennant expressing his life experience and with Chris Lowe’s club-driven sound.