Pet Shop Boys Community

13. Obscure announcement and ticket sale

On 10 November, an announcement from the official Pet Shop Boys channels sent the fan community into meltdown. PSB would be performing a special run of five intimate shows in April 2026 at London’s Electric Ballroom. Even more tantalising was the promise of a setlist built entirely from “non‑single album tracks, b‑sides and fan favourites” - the kind of deep‑cut celebration fans had dreamed about for years, and which Chris had mischievously teased in Literally decades earlier. The choice of venue nodded to the duo’s own Camden recording roots, while the timing acknowledged the 40th anniversary of their debut album Please. These are set to be truly historic nights.

Two days later came the ticketing details. Access to a priority booking window was tied to pre‑orders of Volume, the forthcoming hardback book documenting four decades of Pet Shop Boys’ visual world. Quick-fingered fans moved fast to secure the ultra‑limited signed and numbered edition, complete with exclusive cover and slipcase - a collector’s item before it even existed.

By the time tickets finally went on sale, anticipation had reached fever pitch, and the shows sold out instantly. Now the countdown begins in earnest, with one question echoing across the fan community: after 40 years of music, which rare treasures will they choose to bring into the spotlight?

12. A Monster new version of It’s A Sin

When Netflix unveiled the official trailer for the third instalment of its Monster anthology series, The Ed Gein Story, many viewers experienced a jolt of recognition. Underscoring the teaser was a striking new reimagining of It’s a sin, crafted by composer and sound designer Bryce Miller.

Miller revealed on Instagram that he had deliberately pushed the track into unsettling new territory, writing: “From a hauntingly whimsical rendition in the open to full psychotic operatic madness in the second half, this was a fun one to bring to life!” The result is a version tailor‑made for the series’ disturbing exploration of true‑crime horror.

The new season of Monster centres on the life and crimes of Ed Gein - the convicted murderer, graverobber, and suspected serial killer whose grotesque legacy has inspired decades of horror fiction. In this adaptation, Gein is portrayed by Charlie Hunnam, bringing a familiar face to one of America’s most infamous figures.

Miller’s involvement adds to an already impressive résumé. His work has featured in major cultural touchstones including Stranger Things, Joker: Folie à Deux, Oppenheimer, Dune: Part Two, Jurassic World, and The Batman, cementing his reputation for creating bold, cinematic soundscapes.

Pet Shop Boys were so taken with Miller’s interpretation that they released the mix digitally in the run‑up to Halloween - yet another unusual and compelling reading of this evolving, iconic song.

11. The Secret Public exhibition

From May to November, Neil’s original 1983 lyric manuscripts for West End girls and It’s a sin were exhibited at the John Rylands Library in Manchester as part of The Secret Public: LGBTQ Pop 1955-1985. The exhibition, drawn from the cultural archive of Jon Savage - author, University of Manchester Professor of Popular Culture, and longtime friend of Neil (he’s the “party animal” phoned in Left to my own devices) - explored the profound influence LGBTQ performers, artists and activists had on mainstream pop culture across three decades.

The display of Neil’s early drafts offered a rare glimpse into the evolution of two of Pet Shop Boys’ most iconic songs. The West End girls manuscript shows how the famous rap took shape, complete with unused lines and early structural notes. On the reverse, further fragments appear: abandoned verses, rhythmic experiments, and even a rough outline of the song’s architecture.

The It’s a sin typescript - produced on Neil’s idiosyncratically wonky typewriter - provides similar insight. Handwritten additions reveal him wrestling with the bridge, trying out lines and variations before arriving at the version that would become one of the duo’s defining singles. Additional notes show him exploring alternative lyrical ideas and emotional angles before settling on the final structure.

Together, these manuscripts demonstrate, in the exhibition’s words, “how a gay sensibility could inform the lyrics of chart‑topping records”, and they sat alongside material on Little Richard, James Dean, Dusty Springfield, Sylvester, Boy George, Marilyn and many others. Beautifully presented as part of the Library’s Rylands125 celebrations, the exhibition was a definite highlight of Manchester’s cultural year.

10. Great Movie Songs with Anne Dudley & Friends

In March, Neil appeared as a special guest vocalist at Great Movie Songs with Anne Dudley & Friends at the Roundhouse in London, part of the inaugural London Soundtrack Festival. The concert was arranged and conducted by Anne Dudley, whose long association with Pet Shop Boys stretches back more than three decades. Dudley first worked with Neil and Chris on Liza Minnelli’s Results in 1989 and has since contributed orchestral arrangements, conducting and performances to the likes of Very, Fundamental, Concrete, and Neil’s collaboration with Electronic on Getting Away With It. She also arranged and conducted the Boys’ 2024 BBC Radio 2 Piano Room session.

Backed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Neil performed three songs during the evening: Everybody’s Talkin’ from Midnight Cowboy (a longtime favourite of his, from a film that helped inspire Opportunities, To face the truth and The only one), Nothing Has Been Proved from Scandal (a song they wrote originally for Dusty, with Neil visibly wrestling with some of its trickier phrasing), and a duet with Jake Shears on Liza’s version of Rent, included due to its recent association with Saltburn. In a Pet Text posted afterwards, Neil said he “loved performing” the three songs and described the night as “a great experience”.

The wider programme featured an eclectic mix of soundtrack material performed by Omar, Monica Mancini, Lance Ellington and Louise Dearman, ranging from Twin Peaks’ Sycamore Trees to Henry Mancini standards such as Moon River, alongside blockbuster themes from Dirty Dancing, Titanic, Beverly Hills Cop and Thunderball.

Rent proved a highlight of the evening, reimagined as a theatrical mini‑drama that played to both singers’ strengths - a fitting continuation of the enduring Dudley / PSB musical partnership.

9. Record Store Day highlights

This year’s Record Store Day, held on 12 April, offered two particular gems for Pet Shop Boys fans willing to brave the early‑morning queues. The main attraction was the first appearance of Johnny Marr’s Look Out! Live in London, pressed on orange vinyl. Recorded at his sold‑out 2024 Hammersmith Apollo show - the culmination of his Spirit Power tour - the album captures Marr’s 40‑year repertoire, moving from solo favourites such as Easy Money, Hi Hello and Somewhere to Smiths classics including This Charming Man, How Soon Is Now? and There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.

The night was made especially memorable by the appearance of Neil, who joined Marr onstage for Electronic’s Getting Away With It, complete with newly added lyrics, and a one‑off rendition of David Bowie’s Rebel Rebel. The limited orange vinyl edition of Look Out Live! - including the two Neil collaborations - quickly became one of RSD’s most sought‑after titles before receiving a full release in September.

Also attracting attention was the first‑ever vinyl reissue of Dusty Springfield’s Reputation, released on pink vinyl. The combination of Dusty’s ageless voice and Neil and Chris’s pop sensibility had powered her triumphant 1987 comeback with What have I done to deserve this?, and the trio reunited for the second - and widely considered superior - side of Reputation in 1990. Featuring PSB fan favourites Daydreaming and Occupy Your Mind alongside the singles Nothing Has Been Proved and In Private, this long‑awaited return to vinyl became another must-have for collectors.

8. Musik returns to London

In October, Musik - the outrageous one‑woman cabaret created by Jonathan Harvey and Pet Shop Boys - returned to London for a two‑week run at Wilton’s Music Hall. The show once again starred Frances Barber as Billie Trix, the larger‑than‑life icon, rock star, screen goddess and hedonist she first portrayed in Pet Shop Boys’ 2001 West End musical Closer to Heaven. Six years after its acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe premiere and London transfer, Musik made a triumphant comeback, this time under the direction of Tony Award‑winner Terry Johnson.

Across its 60 minutes, Billie again recounted her life of excess in a breathless, unbroken monologue: from post‑war Berlin to Andy Warhol’s Factory, via the Vietnam War and a decade spent living in a Soho Square phone box. Harvey’s script and six original Pet Shop Boys songs gave Barber ample room to unleash a performance critics have repeatedly described as staggering, subversive and destined for cult status. During the run, the production was also filmed, with audiences on 22 and 23 October becoming part of the shoot.

For Neil and Chris, the return of Musik marked a continuation of a long‑held idea. After creating Billie Trix for Closer to Heaven, they had often discussed giving her a show of her own - a chance to write more songs for a character whose outrageousness, vulnerability and accidental wisdom had become fan favourites. As they noted when announcing the revival, Barber’s performance was “not to be missed”, and Wilton’s proved a fittingly atmospheric home for Billie’s latest chapter.

Nearly 25 years after Closer to Heaven’s all-too-brief run, it’s great to see their theatrical creation enjoying some deserved longevity.

DopeFiend wrote: Mon 29 Dec 2025, 4:33 pm Uh, if you're going to post a big write up maybe do it on a blog website. This is a forum for open discussion.
Also, no point in doing separate replies to yourself. That's bad forum etiquette. Do 1 main post and that's it.
Also, PSB are doing an annual review, it's called Annually and is available for preorder now.

Get over yourself.

This is a brilliant read, Dog. Keep going - thank you for taking the time to write it. Thoroughly enjoying it

Dreamland wrote: Tue 30 Dec 2025, 7:02 pm

DopeFiend wrote: Mon 29 Dec 2025, 4:33 pm Uh, if you're going to post a big write up maybe do it on a blog website. This is a forum for open discussion.
Also, no point in doing separate replies to yourself. That's bad forum etiquette. Do 1 main post and that's it.
Also, PSB are doing an annual review, it's called Annually and is available for preorder now.

Get over yourself.

This is a brilliant read, Dog. Keep going - thank you for taking the time to write it. Thoroughly enjoying it

Agreed. I know the reason DopeFiend makes many of his/her posts is to simply troll for a reaction (like this), but please stop being so rude to other friendly, well meaning forum users. It really is tiresome.

7. Neil’s collaboration with Kae Tempest

July brought an unexpected and striking collaboration when Neil appeared on Self Titled, the acclaimed new album by poet, rapper and playwright Kae Tempest. His vocals feature on the track Sunshine on Catford, in what one reviewer described as “full‑beam 1980s synth‑pop”.

Produced with Fraser T. Smith, Self Titled was widely praised as Tempest’s most direct and emotionally open album to date. Sunshine on Catford was singled out as the album’s biggest stylistic curveball, and critics noted a queer “generational resonance” in the collaboration.

For PSB fans, the track offered a mid‑year surprise and continued a recent run of unexpected guest appearances from Neil, following his contributions to Casisdead’s Skydive in 2023 and Michael Berkeley’s Zero Hour in 2024. Sunshine on Catford added another thoughtful, left‑field entry to a growing list of projects where Neil’s voice finds a new and surprising context.

6. Hymn (In memoriam Alexei Navalny)

On 20 February, Pet Shop Boys released Hymn (In memoriam Alexei Navalny), a brief, solemn piece written and demoed in the days prior. Navalny - a prominent Russian opposition figure, anti‑corruption campaigner and the Kremlin’s most persistent critic - had died in a remote Arctic penal colony just over a year earlier, following years of politically motivated prosecutions, imprisonment and mistreatment. His death, reported by Russian authorities as a “sudden” collapse, was immediately met with widespread international condemnation and accusations of state responsibility. Pet Shop Boys’ song was dedicated to his memory and his cause. The original version was spare and direct: six short verses set to piano and minimal electronics, with Neil’s voice carrying a plea for a free and democratic Russia.

In early June, ahead of a planned appearance at a Berlin memorial event for Navalny, the duo released new versions of the track. The most striking was a much longer Dance Mix, which wove Neil’s spoken readings from Navalny’s prison letters and his book Patriot into the original vocal. The accompanying video took a different approach, replacing Neil’s narration with extensive audio drawn from Navalny’s public speeches.

The Berlin event - This Is Navalny - was later cancelled, with refunds issued and the inaugural Navalny Prize postponed. But the Boys’ tribute continued. In August, they issued a limited seven‑inch vinyl featuring the original mix backed with a Choral Mix. Only 300 copies were produced, each signed by Neil, Chris and Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya. It sold out immediately, with all proceeds pledged to the Anti‑Corruption Foundation founded by Navalny to support the fight for a fair and just future for Russia.

The release was another quietly powerful and morally grounded statement on a subject the duo have long chosen to speak out on.

Super review of the year, Dog. Thanks for the time, work, and nuggets of info all over the place. Indeed a surprising amount to document in a "lull" of a year.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

5. Annually 2025

April brought the latest edition of Annually, the Pet Shop Boys’ yearly hard‑backed publication, now firmly established as the essential chronicle of each PSB year. The 2025 volume - a bumper 64‑page book - focused on the duo’s exceptionally busy Nonetheless era, once again gathering news, features and behind‑the‑scenes material from across the campaign.

A substantial news section charted the year’s activity in detail, while two exclusive features offered rare access: time in the studio with Neil and Chris during their BBC Radio 6 Music Artist in Residence sessions, and a look backstage at their KOKO London show. The book also included the full transcript of Jon Savage’s In Conversation event at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library in Manchester on album‑launch day, alongside a selection of previously unseen photographs and the traditional fan Q&A section.

Annually remains a highlight of any PSB fan’s year, and this edition once again proved why: detailed, generous and unmistakably shaped by the duo’s own unique and humorous voice.

4. Disco 5

On 21 November, Pet Shop Boys released Disco 5, the latest instalment in their long‑running Disco series, which began in 1986 and has charted the duo’s parallel history as both the remixed and remixers - collaborators and curators of the dancefloor. The 12‑track collection brought together their recent remixes for a wide range of artists, including new work for Tina Turner, The Hidden Cameras and Primal Scream, alongside PSB‑produced tracks and their remix of their own Dreamland featuring Olly Alexander.

The album showcased the breadth of their remix work from recent years: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Paul Weller, Claptone, Wolfgang Tillmans and Sleaford Mods all featured, alongside the PSB/Soft Cell collaboration Purple Zone. Two earlier productions also returned to print - Sam Taylor‑Johnson’s I’m in Love With a German Film Star, first released on Kompakt in 2008, and Carroll Thompson’s Let the Music Play, originally found on the soundtrack of The Crying Game in the early 1990s.

Disco 5 was released on both black and orange vinyl and CD, with a branded slipmat also available. Following the first three Disco albums - which primarily featured remixes of PSB tracks by other producers - and 2007’s Disco Four, which focused on their remixes for artists such as Madonna and The Killers, the new volume continued the series’ shift toward documenting their own work behind the mixing desk.

Even without new material, the collection worked as a sharp piece of curation, gathering their recent dance‑floor‑leaning remixes into a coherent and welcome addition to the Pet Shop Boys catalogue. Bring on Disco 6!

Patrick Bateman wrote: Mon 29 Dec 2025, 7:33 pm I started watching the start of their South Bank Show the other day and what struck me was how Neil said pop music was all about being new.

Imagine if no one was allowed to mature and grow.

3. Sleep of Reason - Mark Springer / Neil Tennant / Sacconi String Quartet

April saw the release of Sleep of Reason, an ambitious new album by composer Mark Springer that includes a major collaboration with Neil. The project comprises three interconnected pieces inspired by Francisco Goya’s Los Caprichos - the late‑18th‑century series of etchings in which Goya exposed the “monsters” born of superstition, corruption and social folly. Springer responds to this imagery with a solo piano work, a string quartet, and a quintet for voice and strings. He performs the piano part himself, with the Sacconi String Quartet playing the quartet and joining Neil for the opening quintet.

The collaboration grew from an unexpected rediscovery. In early 2023, Neil came across an old issue of Smash Hits in a Folkestone record‑shop window, opened at a Singles of the Fortnight page he had written in 1982. One of his reviews mentioned a solo track by Springer, then pianist with Rip Rig and Panic. Curious, Neil sought out Springer’s later work and ordered several of his CDs - inadvertently buying three copies of the same album. The mix‑up prompted Springer to email him, leading to a first exchange between the two and, eventually, an invitation for Neil to write lyrics and perform on a new piece shaped by Goya’s imagery - an artist Neil had long admired.

Across the full work, Springer’s compositions explore what he calls the “devilments” of modern culture: fractured unity, social‑media‑inflated egos, and the persistent sense of division that echoes the grotesques and anxieties of Goya’s etchings. Neil’s lyrics and performance bring a poised, contemporary edge to the quintet, bridging classical and pop sensibilities with a clarity that complements Springer’s dramatic writing.

Sleep of Reason is a dark, reflective and meticulously crafted collaboration between two artists whose paths first crossed, unknowingly, more than forty years ago. Until Neil finally unleashes his inevitable solo album, this is as close as we’re likely to get - and it’s a compelling stopgap.