Chris Lowe interview: "we like each other but we don't have sex"

[Nickname]

Here:
https://www.kulturnews.de/pet-shop-boys ... m-hotspot/

Pet Shop Boys: Furiously cheerful

The Pet Shop Boys recorded their Berlin album with "Hotspot". Because they love the surrounding lakes as much as the relaxed nudity in the Berghain.

Chris, you and Neil can be seen dancing in the video for your new single "Monkey Business". The Pet Shop Boys are not used to so much dynamism.

Chris Lowe: (laughs) Isn't it? We haven't been in one of our videos for a while, and we just felt like doing it on Monkey Business. Precisely because this song is so relentlessly brisk, funky and danceable. I would have liked to train longer, but it also looks really funny.

Do you dance a lot privately?

Lowe: Oh, hardly anymore. I have seen everything. Neil and I like to go out age-appropriate now. When we are in Berlin, we like to meet up with friends for a few Prosecco in the Berghain on Sunday afternoon before having a late lunch.

How do you handle the nudity there?

Lowe: (screeches) We are sitting up in the Panorama Bar, where people are usually not naked. Neither did Neil and I, we keep all of our clothes on. But if the others want to be naked, they should like to. We both think it's cool. The whole atmosphere in Berghain is very liberating - also because the cell phones have to stay out. You can't go anywhere in London without being watched and watched. And when people are not photographing other people, they are photographing themselves. Annoying. Neil and I don't like to attract attention. Relaxed and relaxed Berlin is made for this.

How much time do you spend in Berlin?

Lowe: About ten weeks a year on average. We recently bought an apartment, a fairly large one, with a small studio inside.

Do you live in a shared apartment?

Lowe: Yes! We finally wanted to have our own place to stay. Our friend, the photographer Wolfgang Tilmans, has a very similar apartment. A good 100 years old, with a “Berlin room” in the middle. It was very difficult to get an apartment in Berlin at all.

What are you doing

Lowe: We have bicycles that we like to cycle with in the Tiergarten. Summer is particularly wonderful, of course. In summer everything is great in Berlin. We spend a lot of time outdoors with our bikes, either in the woods or at the lakes in the surrounding area. We particularly like the Schlachtensee, it is the perfect size.

You and Neil, you always look so sympathetically stoic together. Is that actually a mesh?

Lowe: (laughs) God yes, that's our aura. We laugh a lot together, we have a lot of fun. Especially with Stuart Price, who is a really exuberant guy. In the studio we spend more time chatting and laughing than making music. The basic mood of the Pet Shop Boys is a furious, cheerful mood.

You've known each other for almost 40 years. How much is your relationship like that of an old couple?

Lowe: Do married couples stay together as long as we do? Not many, right? However, this is more of a friendship than a marriage with us. We like each other but we don't have sex. Okay, some spouses may not either. Anyway: the basis of our relationship is music and we both love good food. We are constantly trying out new restaurants.

The last song on "Hotspot" is called "Wedding in Berlin". A wild techno piece that picks up Mendelssohn Bartholdy's wedding march and whose chorus is "We are getting married, because we love each other". How much irony is there in the song?

Lowe: None at all! We wrote “Wedding In Berlin” as a wedding song for a good friend. We pressed exactly one vinyl copy and gave it to the two of them. The song is a nice end to our Berlin adventure record. When you hear it, imagine that the wedding took place in Berghain.

[Nicholas]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww that was lovely.

[Spittingcat]

That made me happy.

[Mimmo]

One vinyl copy?! As a PSB's record collector I'm envious of the married couple!

[Effen Vida]

That’s perhaps the best, most open, honest and revealing interview from one of our boys I’ve read since Neil‘s coming out interview in ‘94.
Chris should talk more, he’s quite good at it.

[Denene]

I really enjoyed that, thank you!

[domino]

… we don't have sex. Okay, some spouses may not either.

[glennjridge]

They have such a nice life! can you imagine them biking around berlin? they should video their bike rides and food experiences. they dont work their media enough IMO with fun stuff like that

[greenmile]

Maybe they could do a joint tour with Kraftwerk and travel from venue to venue by cycling.

[Future Lover]

Nickname sure knows to write these clickbait titles from time to time!

[psb-freak]

Wow. Thanks a lot for the interview. More like these.

[Marie loves PSB]

Apologies, I didn't want to highjack your thread Nickname. (Thanks for posting) I didn't want to make another thread about the same-ish type of thing either. What would you all think if the title was true and PSB announced that they were getting married? (Out of interest).

[ArtHist]

Did Chris unintentionally out himself. Freudian vibes.

[rashomon]

Apologies, I didn't want to highjack your thread Nickname. (Thanks for posting) I didn't want to make another thread about the same-ish type of thing either. What would you all think if the title was true and PSB announced that they were getting married? (Out of interest).

Hmm well if that were to happen ... I think I know of a song that they could play at their wedding

[psb-freak]

I'm just listening to Wedding in Berlin and imaging Neil and Chris walking down the altar.