Pet Shop Boys Community

NT recaps the story about finding that Smash Hits review page in the record shop in Folkestone and buying MS's records as a result.
MS says he loved NT's voice and wanted to hear it in an intimate acoustic setting and felt that the string quartet would be the ideal accompaniment.
MS had written string quartets based on Goya's Los Caprichos (The Caprices) etchings. Colleague at his record company said "I can hear Neil's voice on this".
NT says when MS sent him MP3s of the music, he was "knocked out by it because "it was real music".
NT read a book about Goya and looked at the etchings but then thought of his own life in the music industry, thought of world politicians like Putin, Trump and Orban - "strong men shouting through social media at us all" - and what he took from Goya, specifically the etching "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters", is that it's about a nightmare but then you wake up and it's a nightmare inspired by what's happening in real life.
MS says that although etchings were based on political machinations of the time then, it's so relevant to now. Says NT was "kind of on fire" when MS sent him music and would send him something every day - "I've got another bit!"
One reason this came about was that during lockdown, Chris Lowe's mom challenged him to write something classical. CL sent NT a piece of music "out of the blue" based on orchestral samples. NT had a poem which he set over CL's piece and it became "Cricket Wife". So when MS approached him, NT had "prior experience" of setting vocals to classical music.
When the host asks what's next, MS says he'd like to perform this with a bigger orchestra.
NT admits he normally sings over a click track when performing live, and even has counts over his headset when the arrangement is tricky, but a string orchestra would have a conductor, which NT would have no issues with.
He also confirms for the host that on the Concrete live album, the BBC Radio Orchestra were all playing to a click track.
NT says he'd like tenor Ian Bostridge to perform Sleep of Reason, and thinks he would work well with the Sacconi Quartet.