Pet Shop Boys Say They'll Evoke Frank Sinatra On Nightlife
Synth-poppers the Pet Shop Boys, who have kept largely quiet since 1996,
will re-emerge this fall with a new album, Nightlife, and a
North American tour.
Nightlife, due Nov. 2, is something of a concept album, according
to Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant.
"All the songs take place at night," Tennant, 45, said in a statement
released through the duo's UK record label, Parlophone. "People's
perceptions of life are different at night ... People's fears are greater,
people's need for love or sex is greater ... All of these themes come
into the album."
Tennant, who sings a duet with Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue on
one Nightlife track, "In Denial," also compared the album to the
work of a classic American pop singer.
"In some ways, the album reminds me of one of those Frank Sinatra albums
from the '50s, like In the Wee Small Hours," he said in the
statement. "It's a sort of modern dance-pop version of one of those."
According to their U.S. record company, London, Tennant and his bandmate,
keyboardist Chris Lowe, 39, will tour North America beginning Oct. 20 in
Miami.
After several Southern dates, the band is scheduled to head west for
shows in California, Nevada and Colorado. In early November, the tour is
slated to head to the Midwest — with dates in Chicago and Detroit
— and the Northeast.
The outing is scheduled to end Nov. 14 in Montreal.
The Pet Shop Boys formed in 1991, soon after Tennant, a rock critic,
met Lowe, an architecture student, in a London electronics shop. Their
synth-and-drum-machine-driven hits include "West End Girls" (RealAudio
excerpt), "Love Comes Quickly" (RealAudio
excerpt) and "Suburbia" (RealAudio
excerpt).
Their most recent album was Bilingual (1996).
In addition to "In Denial," Nightlife includes "For Your Own Good,"
"Closer to Heaven," "I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It
Anymore," "Happiness Is an Option," "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When
You're Drunk," "Vampires," "Radiophonic," "The Only One," "Boy Strange,"
"New York City Boy" and "Footsteps."
Pet Shop Boys Tour Dates:
Oct. 20; Miami, Fla.; Jackie Gleason Theatre
Oct. 21; Tampa, Fla.; Ruth Eckard Hall
Oct. 22; Orlando, Fla.; Hard Rock Live
Oct. 23; Atlanta, Ga.; The Tabernacle
Oct. 25; Houston, Texas; Aerial Theatre
Oct. 27; Dallas, Texas; Bronco Bowl
Oct. 29; San Diego, Calif.; 4th and B
Oct. 30; Los Angeles, Calif.; Irvine Meadows
Oct. 31; Las Vegas, Nev.; The Joint
Nov. 1; Los Angeles, Calif.; Universal Amphitheatre
Nov. 3; San Francisco, Calif.; Warfield
Nov. 5; Denver, Colo.; Auditorium Theatre
Nov. 7; Chicago, Ill.; Riviera Theatre
Nov. 8; Detroit, Mich.; State Theatre
Nov. 9; Toronto, Ontario; Wharehouse
Nov. 11-12; New York, N.Y.; Hammerstein Ballroom
Nov. 13; Boston, Mass.; Avalon
Nov. 14; Montreal, Quebec; Metropolis