Chris Lowe
Home > Music > Chris Lowe > Biography
Biography:
The Pet Shop Boys -- vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe -- navigated the constantly shifting landscape of modern dance-pop with rare grace and intelligence, moving easily from disco to house to techno with their own distinctive image remaining completely intact. Satiric and irreverent -- yet somehow strangely affecting -- the British duo transcended the seeming disposability of their craft, offering wry and thoughtful cultural commentary communicated by the Morse code of au courant synth washes and drum-machine rhythms. Lowe was born October 4, 1959, in Blackpool, England; as a youth, he studied piano and trombone, later playing in a traditional dance band. Lowe also studied architecture before co-founding Pet Shop Boys in London in August 1981 after first meeting Tennant at an electronics shop; discovering a shared passion for dance music and synthesizers, they immediately decided to start a band. Their 1984 debut &"West End Girls" was a minor hit in the U.S., but went nowhere in Britain, and its follow-up, &"One More Chance," was also unsuccessful. Upon signing to EMI, the Pet Shop Boys issued 1985's biting &"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)"; when it too failed to attract attention, the duo's future appeared grim, but they then released an evocative new Stephen Hague production of &"West End Girls" that became an international chart-topper. Its massive success propelled the Pet Shop Boys' 1986 debut LP Please into the Top Ten and when &"Opportunities" was subsequently reissued, it too became a hit. In 1987, the duo resurfaced with the superb Actually, which launched three more Top Ten smashes: &"It's a Sin," a lovely cover of the perennial &"Always on My Mind," and &"What Have I Done to Deserve This?," a duet between Tennant and the great Dusty Springfield. A year later, the Pet Shop Boys issued their third studio LP, the eclectic Introspective; the single &"Domino Dancing" was their final Top 40 hit in the U.S. The duo next collaborated with a variety of performers, most notably Liza Minnelli, for whom they produced the 1989 LP Results; they also produced material for Springfield. The Pet Shop Boys reconvened in 1990 for the muted, downcast Behavior, while 1991 saw the release of their hit medley of U2's &"Where the Streets Have No Name" and Frankie Valli's &"Can't Take My Eyes Off You." It was followed in 1993 by Very, lauded among the duo's finest efforts to date. After a three-year absence, the Pet Shop Boys resurfaced with Bilingual, a fluid expansion into Latin rhythms; Nightlife followed in 1999. Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
|
Member Of: Pet Shop Boys More >> Similar Artists: Dusty Springfield Neil Tennant Daniel Jones Roland Gift Yazoo More >> |
Browse More Music:
