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]
Christopher Sean 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.
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.
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.
"Minimal" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their ninth studio album, Fundamental (2006). It was released on 24 July 2006 as the album's second single. "Minimal" reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the duo's 37th top-20 entry in the United Kingdom, and it was the number five Hot Dance Club Play Track of 2007 on Billboard's year-end chart. The B-side "In Private" is a new version of a song originally written for Dusty Springfield, this time recorded as a duet between Neil Tennant and Elton John and remixed by Stuart Crichton.
"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.
"Suburbia" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their debut album, Please (1986). It was re-recorded with producer Julian Mendelsohn for release as the fourth single from the album. Peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, "Suburbia" was the band's second top 10 hit after "West End Girls", and in their view it saved them from becoming a one-hit wonder.
"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.
"Numb" is a song by Diane Warren recorded by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys on their ninth studio album, Fundamental (2006). It was released on 16 October 2006 as the album's third and final single, peaking at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart. Up to that point, it was only the duo's second single in 39 releases to miss the UK top 20.
"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 is 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 was the first song 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.
Ultimate is a greatest hits compilation album by the British electronic music band Pet Shop Boys. It is their third greatest hits album, released on 1 November 2010 by their long-time label Parlophone. The album contains 18 previously released singles, in chronological order, and one new song ("Together"). Ultimate was released to celebrate 25 years since the band's first single release "West End Girls" in standard single-CD and expanded CD/DVD configurations. It charted at number 27 on the UK Albums Chart on 7 November 2010, with first-week sales of 8,886 copies. On the European Top 100 Albums it reached number 50 on 20 November 2010.
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.
"Winner" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the lead single from their eleventh studio album, Elysium (2012). It received its UK radio premiere on The Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2 on 2 July 2012. The next day, it was made available for download, followed by a CD single and two digital bundles on 6 August 2012. The track was featured as BBC Radio 2's "Record of the Week" for the second week of July 2012. Its highest chart position in the UK was 86; it reached number 12 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart.
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 as the duo's first album since their departure from Parlophone. Electric was the first in a trilogy of albums produced by Stuart Price, followed by Super and Hotspot. The single "Thursday" features a collaboration with English singer and rapper Example.
"Vocal" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their twelfth studio album, Electric (2013). It was released as a single on 3 June 2013.
"Love Is a Bourgeois Construct" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their twelfth studio album, Electric (2013). It was released on 2 September 2013 as the album's third single. The song is based on the instrumental "Chasing Sheep Is Best Left to Shepherds" (1982), a minimalist piece by Michael Nyman, which in turn is based on the Prelude to Act III, Scene 2 of the opera King Arthur (1691) by Henry Purcell.
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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