Chris Lowe | |
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 Lowe performing at Glastonbury Festival 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher Sean Lowe |
| Born | 4 October 1959 Blackpool, Lancashire, England |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | |
| Member of | Pet Shop Boys |
| Website | www |
Christopher Sean Lowe (born 4 October 1959) [1] is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Neil Tennant in 1981. [2]
Chris Lowe was born and raised in Blackpool, Lancashire, [1] and attended Arnold School. [3] His grandfather was a trombonist and a member of the comedy jazz troupe The Nitwits. [2] His mother was a dancer, and his father, a sales representative, [2] could play piano by ear. [4] Lowe learned trombone and piano and was in the school orchestra and dance band. [5] He studied music as an A-level subject. [6]
Lowe played trombone in a semi-professional seven-piece dance band named One Under the Eight that performed favourites like "Hello Dolly", "La Bamba" and "Moon River", [7] and he joined the Musicians' Union with them. [5] He was also in a local brass band, the Norman Memorial Youth Band, [5] and briefly played keyboards with a school rock band called Stallion. [8]
Lowe began studying architecture at the University of Liverpool in 1978 [9] and earned a BA (Hons) in 1981. [10] During a work placement in 1981 at a London architectural practice, he designed a staircase for an industrial estate in Milton Keynes. [11] It was at this time that he met Neil Tennant in Chelsea Record Centre, a hi-fi shop on King's Road in London. [9] As their music career developed, Lowe continued his architecture course and got a B.Arch, but did not complete the final work requirement to qualify as an architect before he and Tennant committed full time to the Pet Shop Boys in 1985. [12] [13] [14]
Lowe generally performs as the Pet Shop Boys' keyboardist. He occasionally provides spoken-word or sung vocals and takes the lead on a few songs, including "Paninaro". [15]
Lowe played trombone on the song "I Want a Lover", [a] and he appeared with his trombone in the video for the song "What Have I Done to Deserve This?". [16]
In 1993, he wrote and produced the track "Do the Right Thing" for Arsenal footballer Ian Wright. [17] The song featured backing vocals by long-time Pet Shop Boys backing singer Sylvia Mason-James, and the single featured remixes by Rollo. [18]
Two years later, Lowe had a cameo in the Australian soap opera Neighbours . His appearance was filmed while Pet Shop Boys were touring Australia in 1994. [19] [20]
In 2004, he was commissioned to do music for an advertisement for the sunscreen brand Blockhead. The song ended up in a remixed version on a "Café Mambo" compilation. [21]
Lowe wrote the music for the song "Streets of Berlin", featured in the 2006 revival of Bent at the Trafalgar Studios in Whitehall. [22] [23]
In 2011, Lowe appeared as featured vocalist on Stop Modernists' cover version of the New Order song "Subculture". It was the first time he had appeared as a vocalist on a non-Pet Shop Boys project. [24] [25]
Lowe adopts an understated public presence, often wearing sportswear and with his eyes hidden behind sunglasses, and usually wearing headwear of some sort (a baseball cap inscribed with the word "BOY" being his most iconic) – although in the duo's early years his face was shown fully unobscured. In Pet Shop Boys videos and photoshoots, he is often seen as a spectator standing slightly behind Tennant. For the duo's 1988 musical film It Couldn't Happen Here , he spoke very little dialogue compared to Tennant. In live performances he rarely interacts with the audience and often stands still while playing keyboards. [26] In 1995, The Guardian wrote that he was "possibly more famous for not doing anything than almost anyone else in the history of popular entertainment." [27]
A Guardian profile of the group from 1993 noted that Lowe's image of "silent Chris walking two steps behind singing Neil" was an intentional choice, developed in discussion with photographer and music video director Eric Watson; Watson has said that "Chris didn't want to be seen playing keyboards or anything. We realised there was something about somebody singing and somebody else doing nothing – just looking, then looking away – that adds a hideous tension." [28] [29]
Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music history in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records. They are known for commercially successful pop songs with 'highbrow' influences from classical music, opera, film, fashion and literature.
Neil Francis Tennant is an English singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo the Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for Smash Hits, and assistant editor for the magazine in the mid-1980s.
Behaviour is the fourth studio album by the English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 22 October 1990 by Parlophone. A Japanese special edition included a bonus mini CD, exclusive artwork and printed lyrics in a white velvet-like box.
It Couldn't Happen Here is a 1988 musical film starring the British synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys and based on the music from their first two studio albums Please and Actually. It was originally conceived as an hour-long video based on Actually, but it evolved into a surreal, full-scale feature film directed by Jack Bond and co-starring Barbara Windsor, Joss Ackland, Neil Dickson, and Gareth Hunt.
Battleship Potemkin is a 2005 album of electronic and orchestral music written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys, to accompany the 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin by Sergei Eisenstein. It is performed by Tennant, Lowe and the Dresdner Sinfoniker, conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer, with orchestrations by Torsten Rasch. The album was released under the composers' names, Tennant/Lowe, as is customary with classical releases. The album is produced by the Pet Shop Boys and Sven Helbig.
"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their debut studio album, Please (1986). It was released as a single in 1985 and re-recorded and reissued in 1986, gaining greater popularity in both the United Kingdom and United States with its second release, reaching number 11 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. After the song was featured in a Super Bowl ad in February 2021, it re-entered the charts, claiming the number one spot on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales.
"Love Comes Quickly" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the second single from their debut studio album, Please (1986). It peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart in March 1986.
"Paninaro" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, originally a B-side to the 1986 single "Suburbia". In 1995, a re-recording titled "Paninaro '95" was released to a wider market, to promote the duo's B-side compilation album Alternative, though only the original version was included on the compilation.
"Jealousy" is a song originally written in 1982 by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, recorded for their fourth studio album, Behaviour (1990). It was released on 28 May 1991 as the album's fourth and final single in a slightly remixed form, which appears on the Pet Shop Boys' greatest hits albums. It reached number 12 on the UK singles chart. The song was performed by Robbie Williams at the Pet Shop Boys' 2006 BBC Radio 2 concert at the Mermaid Theatre, a recording of which was released on the Pet Shop Boys' live album Concrete.
"Left to My Own Devices" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released in November 1988 by Parlophone as the second single from their third studio album, Introspective (1988). It was also the first track of the album. The song fared better than the album's lead single, "Domino Dancing", charting three positions higher on the UK Singles Chart, at number four. It became the first track that Pet Shop Boys recorded with an orchestra, arranged by Richard Niles. Since its release, it has become a staple of Pet Shop Boys live performances. Eric Watson directed its music video.
"Was it Worth it?" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their first greatest hits album, Discography: The Complete Singles Collection (1991). It was released on 9 December 1991 as the album's second and final single, peaking at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the group's first single to not reach the top 20 since they signed to Parlophone in 1984. This was the main reason why the song was not included on their later hits compilation PopArt: The Hits, however it was featured on the DVD edition and Moby’s remix of the single’s b-side "Miserablism" was included on the three disc special edition.
"DJ Culture" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their first greatest hits album, Discography: The Complete Singles Collection (1991). It was released on 14 October 1991 as the album's lead single, peaking at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. Another version of the song, remixed by the Grid and entitled "Dj culturemix", was also released as a single and reached number 40 on the UK Singles Chart. The B-side was "Music for Boys".
"Yesterday, When I Was Mad" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the fifth and final single from their fifth studio album, Very (1993), on 29 August 1994 by Parlophone. The single, both written and produced by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and number four on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. The song was remixed by Jam & Spoon for its single release, among other things removing a compression effect applied to Tennant's voice during the verses. Its music video was directed by Howard Greenhalgh. One of the B-sides is a cover of the Noël Coward song "If Love Were All".
"Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. The song is a medley of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", a 1967 song by Frankie Valli, though in an arrangement informed by the 1982 disco version of the song by the Boys Town Gang rather than the original. The song accompanied "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?", the third single from their fourth studio album, Behaviour (1990), as a double A-side in the United Kingdom (both singles were released separately in the United States). Released in March 1991 by Parlophone, the song became the duo's 15th consecutive top-20 entry in the UK, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart.
The Most Incredible Thing is the score for the 2011 ballet of the same name, based on the eponymous 1870 fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It contains music written and performed by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe of English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. The album was released on 14 March 2011 by Parlophone.
Elysium is the eleventh studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Released on 5 September 2012, it was the duo's last album with Parlophone for the next 12 years. The album was recorded in 2012 in Los Angeles and produced by Andrew Dawson and Pet Shop Boys.
Electric is the twelfth studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was released on 14 July 2013 on the duo's own label, x2, through Kobalt Label Services. It was the duo's first album since their departure from Parlophone.
Lost is an extended play released on 14 April 2023 by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys on the band's own label x2. The EP features four tracks that were unused from sessions for their 2016 album Super. The digital release includes a fifth track, "Living in the Past", a new song about Vladimir Putin.
Nonetheless is the fifteenth studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 26 April 2024 through the band's own label x2 and Parlophone. It was produced by James Ford and mostly recorded at his East London studio. The band's first album for Parlophone since Elysium in 2012, its four-year gap with Hotspot (2020) marks their longest period between studio albums to date. It was preceded by the single "Loneliness", released alongside the album announcement.
Chris is, you know, a trained musician, whatever, did music A-level and piano lessons and trombone lessons and all the rest of it.
Things had started to take off in the middle of my course and so when I went back, my heart wasn't really in it, because we'd been jetting off to New York, recording in Times Square, and all of a sudden that seemed a lot more exciting. I still managed to pass.
Well, not quite qualified. Almost. I'd done the first two parts and for the third part you had to work for a year in a practice, and during that time the Pet Shop Boys were taking off, so I never got part three.
I did five years of it; I did the BA and the BArch.
I had this mad idea when we were going to Australia, I thought, d'you know, wouldn't it be great to have a cameo role in Neighbours.
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