Pet Shop Boys Community

Patsy wrote:HEEEELLLLLOOOO
Neil was into girls back then, he wasn't born gay ffs

Surely he was into both back then....

This paragraph from Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Shop_Boys) explains some (probably not all true).

"Sexuality
Neil Tennant is openly gay, although he refused to confirm rumours about his sexuality in the 1980s until finally coming out shortly after the release of 1993's Very in Attitude, a UK gay lifestyle magazine. Lowe, meanwhile, has remained tight-lipped despite making several suggestive remarks on chat shows.[citation needed] The duo are sometimes incorrectly assumed to be a couple (in the 1990 biography Pet Shop Boys, Literally, Tennant recalls that even their ex-manager, Tom Watkins, was under this impression for a time).

Pet Shop Boys are seen as significant figures in gay culture for such songs as "Can you forgive her?", "It's a sin" (for which gay director Derek Jarman produced the video), "New York City Boy" and their cover of Village People's "Go West". They have written a song about a young male fan spending a night with a rapper, based on Eminem, called "The night I fell in love" and a song about coming out, "Metamorphosis". Their 1990s single "Being boring" dealt with the gay experience and the devastation wrought by the AIDS crisis; the song, and its supporting video filmed by Bruce Weber, remains one of their most popular. However, Neil Tennant has stated many times that his lyrics are not specifically gay. Many of their songs are written from an ambiguous view point that can be taken any way the listener perceives it, and this goes some way to explain why a large segment of their die-hard fans are heterosexual.

Pet Shop Boys have performed and worked with many artists considered to be gay icons such as Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Dusty Springfield and Kylie Minogue. Pet Shop Boys attempted to organise and perform in a planned 2001 tour of out gay musicians, entitled 'Wotapalava'. However, the plans were later put on hold and the idea seems to have been discarded."

Personally, I don't mind if Chris were more open about it or outed himself.

Marisan wrote:This paragraph from Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Shop_Boys) explains some (probably not all true).

"Sexuality
Neil Tennant is openly gay, although he refused to confirm rumours about his sexuality in the 1980s until finally coming out shortly after the release of 1993's Very in Attitude, a UK gay lifestyle magazine. Lowe, meanwhile, has remained tight-lipped despite making several suggestive remarks on chat shows.[citation needed] The duo are sometimes incorrectly assumed to be a couple (in the 1990 biography Pet Shop Boys, Literally, Tennant recalls that even their ex-manager, Tom Watkins, was under this impression for a time).

Pet Shop Boys are seen as significant figures in gay culture for such songs as "Can you forgive her?", "It's a sin" (for which gay director Derek Jarman produced the video), "New York City Boy" and their cover of Village People's "Go West". They have written a song about a young male fan spending a night with a rapper, based on Eminem, called "The night I fell in love" and a song about coming out, "Metamorphosis". Their 1990s single "Being boring" dealt with the gay experience and the devastation wrought by the AIDS crisis; the song, and its supporting video filmed by Bruce Weber, remains one of their most popular. However, Neil Tennant has stated many times that his lyrics are not specifically gay. Many of their songs are written from an ambiguous view point that can be taken any way the listener perceives it, and this goes some way to explain why a large segment of their die-hard fans are heterosexual.

Pet Shop Boys have performed and worked with many artists considered to be gay icons such as Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Dusty Springfield and Kylie Minogue. Pet Shop Boys attempted to organise and perform in a planned 2001 tour of out gay musicians, entitled 'Wotapalava'. However, the plans were later put on hold and the idea seems to have been discarded."

Generally speaking, Wikipedia is not a better source for PSB information than this forum. This is where practically all of PSB expertise is gathered and continually updated. Having said that, the entry seems to be quite accurate - although I think it's more than "a large segment" of their fans that are heterosexual - past polls from this forum have suggested that 60-70% of the members are straight. (Has Geowayne had a poll about this?)

As for Neil's past, I think he is just one of those gay people who isn't actually repulsed by the idea of sexual relations with a woman and who desperately tried to live the life he "knew he wanted". When he got older and realised it would never be what he really wanted he stopped pretending, really.

Also, I wonder how much of a relationship he had with Krysia, who seems to have been who he was living with at the time. I think it is possible it was always more of a friendship.

Joemoz wrote:[...]Having said that, the entry seems to be quite accurate - although I think it's more than "a large segment" of their fans that are heterosexual - past polls from this forum have suggested that 60-70% of the members are straight. (Has Geowayne had a poll about this?)

Yes, Wayne had two polls about this subject, click here and here.

kennym wrote:Is it not a bit homophobic to suggest two homosexuals can't be anything more than friends?

As a hetrosexual i have lots of hetrosexual friends..

sure two straight people can be friends as well as two gay people but if the friend is hot I find it hard to agree people are above base human desires.

I believe it was said more correctly in when harry met sally,they cant truly be friends because the sex thing will always be there.

glennjridge wrote:I believe it was said more correctly in when harry met sally,they cant truly be friends because the sex thing will always be there.

I'm going to weigh in on this from my perspective as an older gay man who has certainly had his share of gay friends. But let me say right up front that what I'm about to say by no means implies that Neil and Chris have ever been "lovers" or anything more than friends and artistic/business partners. They have said very clearly that they haven't been lovers, and I believe them.

I can say from my own experience that gay men can definitely be very good friends if (1) they aren't sexually attracted to each other in the first place (such as if they're not each other's type) or (2) they are (or were) sexually attracted to each other, and indeed had been sexual partners (if only once), but the sexual relationship ended very amicably, by mutual consent, with neither of them being hurt in the process. In fact, the latter situation can result in some especially strong gay friendships. Yes, the "sex thing" will always be there, but for two gay men it often becomes a fond shared past experience in a way that I think only rarely happens for heterosexual ex-couples.

I think the most unlikely situations for an enduring friendship between gay men would be if one or both of them had been hurt in the process or if it were a one-sided "unrequited" physical attraction, with one of them interested in "more" but the other not.

Please keep in mind, of course, that there are always exceptions to every rule.

I don't pretend to know which of the situations above (if any of them) describe the Boys, nor do I particularly care. It's pretty irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Just my two bits.

I can easily imagine that Neil did fancy Chris early on, and that it came to friendship.
And wonderful collaboration.


Interesting to me: I think Neil is way more handsome as a middle-aged guy then he was when West End girls came out. Chris was a beauty when young, and not so much now imho. They've evened out.

Joemoz wrote:Also, I wonder how much of a relationship he had with Krysia, who seems to have been who he was living with at the time. I think it is possible it was always more of a friendship.

I'm sure BSNYG was written about her, and they were an item. Eventually she got married to Eric Watson

Flaffer wrote:

Joemoz wrote:Also, I wonder how much of a relationship he had with Krysia, who seems to have been who he was living with at the time. I think it is possible it was always more of a friendship.

I'm sure BSNYG was writtne about her, and they were an item. Eventually she got married to Eric Watson

It surely was. But judging from Neil's explanations of that song, it wasn't clear to me whether they were really dating, or in reality just hanging out as friends. Boy Strange is about her too. Was she also the girl he was living with in the era that The Ghost of myself describes? Or was that somebody entirely different? (Rosemary?

None of these suggest that he ever really was 100% into that relationship.

Joemoz wrote:

Niall wrote:One of my old lecturers, Peter Stewart, was a colleague of Neil's at Smash Hits. He says that very early on, ie when Neil first brought Chris to the office, it was clear that Neil fancied Chris. Peter says all the other gay guys, including Peter himself, used to flirt with Chris to piss Neil off!

Thanks for that little story Nice with some new gossip here. Any more from that source? I'm sure there must be a lot to tell about those early days.

I haven't seen Peter Stewart in ages. He became a journalism lecturer after Smash Hits. He says Chris used to come up to the office for Neil's lunch break wearing vests/tanktops and little pairs of shorts. Peter says Neil was an annoying bitch most of the time.

Niall wrote: He says Chris used to come up to the office for Neil's lunch break wearing vests/tanktops and little pairs of shorts.

I always thought Chris had a little bit of Austrailian in him.

Patsy wrote:HEEEELLLLLOOOO
Neil was into girls back then, he wasn't born gay ffs

But you don´t choose to be gay. So you´re born to be whatever you will be later on. (I´m bi myself)
Neil´s last relationship with woman ended before he met Chris.

Nightlife wrote:

Niall wrote: He says Chris used to come up to the office for Neil's lunch break wearing vests/tanktops and little pairs of shorts.

I always thought Chris had a little bit of Austrailian in him.

Only occasionally.

I didn't know Neil was into women before
how come it took him so long to figure out he's gay
though he isn't camp, I still can't imagine him with a woman
neither with man
he's always had powerful appearance so he doesn't need better half
he's just fine solo, and I think he is solo now for a long time, probably suits him

geowayne wrote:

glennjridge wrote:I believe it was said more correctly in when harry met sally,they cant truly be friends because the sex thing will always be there.

I'm going to weigh in on this from my perspective as an older gay man who has certainly had his share of gay friends. But let me say right up front that what I'm about to say by no means implies that Neil and Chris have ever been "lovers" or anything more than friends and artistic/business partners. They have said very clearly that they haven't been lovers, and I believe them.

I can say from my own experience that gay men can definitely be very good friends if (1) they aren't sexually attracted to each other in the first place (such as if they're not each other's type) or (2) they are (or were) sexually attracted to each other, and indeed had been sexual partners (if only once), but the sexual relationship ended very amicably, by mutual consent, with neither of them being hurt in the process. In fact, the latter situation can result in some especially strong gay friendships. Yes, the "sex thing" will always be there, but for two gay men it often becomes a fond shared past experience in a way that I think only rarely happens for heterosexual ex-couples.

I think the most unlikely situations for an enduring friendship between gay men would be if one or both of them had been hurt in the process or if it were a one-sided "unrequited" physical attraction, with one of them interested in "more" but the other not.

Please keep in mind, of course, that there are always exceptions to every rule.

I don't pretend to know which of the situations above (if any of them) describe the Boys, nor do I particularly care. It's pretty irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Just my two bits.

I think you described your idea very well here! (By the way, Wayne, I've visited your site many times and I think it's great. I like the way you write things and the polls are great. Good work indeed!)

I also think that heterosexual people can be good friends with someone from the opposite sex. Being "the right type of person" means a lot. I wouldn't be interested in someone, no matter how "handsome" he is, if he is not a certain type of person. There are men I like in the way that they could be my brothers - especially if they think similarly about me. Apart from that, I find Neil very attractive no matter what he is. I especially like his voice. It's a matter of feeling comfortable when someone is around (in real life or "virtually"). Having someone else around isn't that nice necessarily, yet there's no logic to really explain why.