Pet Shop Boys at Manchester Arena
Johnny James, Managing Editor
The ever-iconic Pet Shop Boys are heading to Manchester’s AO Arena this May as part of their first ever greatest hits tour.
Forming the duo in 1981, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe made waves by combining New York dance music with radiant pop, hi-NRG sparkles and a very English sensibility. 40 years later and their ability to weave social commentary and political satire into an infectious electro-pop format endures. So does their hero status in the LGBT+ community, for whom their rich documentation of the life of lonely queer boys continues to resonate.
Smart and multi-layered, their music is simultaneously meaningful and frivolous, melancholic and joyous, and it’s made them one of the most successful duos of all time. To date, they’ve produced a staggering 44 UK top-40 hits, including iconic and era-defining songs such as ‘West End Girls’, ‘What Have I Done to Deserve This?’, ‘Left to My Own Devices’, ‘Go West’ and ‘It’s a Sin’ – the latter notably having been given new life via the recent Channel 4 drama named after the song.
And it’s those hits that their upcoming tour will celebrate. Originally planned for spring 2020 but rescheduled due to you-know-what, Dreamworld – The Greatest Hits Live will see the pair hit the road for the first time in five years. No unwieldy album tracks, no filler, just the bangers you know and love. Count us in.
