Pet Shop Boys doing ‘Super’
It’s hard to believe the Pet Shop Boys have been standing side-by-side for three decades. This year, the droll British synth-pop duo is celebrating the 30th anniversary of their platinum-selling debut album, 1986’s “Please.” Some four dozen singles later — plus a couple of musicals, a ballet and silent-film score — Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant are still at it. (And yet, Lowe quips, “I don’t know much about the Pet Shop Boys.”) They’re on tour with a new album, “Super,” produced by Stuart Price, and a show that premiered at London’s Royal Opera House with a theatrical show designed by Es Devlin, who also staged the Rio Olympics opening ceremony. Lowe talked to us shortly before the band landed in North America.
Q: There was recently a symposium on the Pet Shop Boys at Edinburgh University. Did you learn anything new? A: I probably would have learned something . ... A couple fans somehow made it backstage after a concert once and midway through the conversation they turned their backs on me and started talking amongst themselves. I simply didn’t know enough about the band to make me worth talking to. I have a terrible memory. Q: The new album has a heavy club influence. Do you still go out? A: We don’t go out clubbing much as we used to, but we’re still both interested in it. It’s old-fashioned to want to be in a room with 2,000 people all going off on the same song together.
Q: Are we getting the same show you performed at London’s Royal Opera House, or do we have to suffer through the budget version?
A: It’s basically the same show. We’ve obviously had to make minor adjustments to tour it. We had about 50 dancers in inflatable suits, and we couldn’t travel with them. We got most of it, though.
Q: Will you at least bring all of the headgear? A: Of course. I like being faceless onstage. I would like to do the whole show behind a screen. Q: After 30 years of doing this, is there a feeling that you’ve been through it? A: It’s not a great industry for longevity. We always assumed what we do is rather good and therefore there will be a market for it. The motivation was never fame. It was always writing songs and making records and putting a lot of effort in the stage production. We just carry on doing that. Q: There’s a song on the new album called “Dictator Decides” where Neil Tennant imagines life as a not very good dictator. How is he as a real-life dictator? A: There’s nothing Neil likes more than putting on a military uniform and boots. I think we’d all like to be dictators in our own little way. Not that we advocate it — we’re a democratic band. But wouldn’t we all want to run the world?
Aidin Vaziri is The San Francisco Chronicle’s pop music critic. E-mail: avaziri@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MusicSF