Neil Tennant

Birthday: July 10, 1954 in North Shields, Tyne-and-Wear, England, UK

Birth Name: Neil Francis Tennant

Height: 179 cm

Neil Francis Tennant was born on July 10th in North Shields, Northumberland. In 1975, Neil plays in a group in Newcastle called Dust: Their most popular song is a preposterous affair he has written called "Can you hear the dawn break?". They are heavily influenced by The Incredible String Band. "We were convinced we would become terribly famous. It was a very kind of stoned seventies but we used to think it was absolutely brilliant at the time".After completing a degree in history at the Polytechnic of North London, Neil took a job at Marvel Comics, anglicizing spellings and indicating where over-risque woman needed to be redrawn decently. While there he interviewed comic fan Marc Bolan, who politely pointed out that his tape recorder wasn't working. In 1977 he worked at Macdonald Educational Publishing, later moving to ITV Books. In June 1982, he joined Smash Hits.On August 19th 1981, Neil and Chris Lowe met by chance in an electronics shop on the Kings Road. Realizing they had a common interest in dance music, they began to write together. To begin with they called themselves West End; later they came up with the name Pet Shop Boys, a name derived from some friends who worked in a pet shop in Ealing. Show less «

I think we've come a long way since then. The big thing that changed was when ecstasy came along in ...Show more »

I think we've come a long way since then. The big thing that changed was when ecstasy came along in Britain. Show less «

They've pursued their own agendas, and they've done what they've wanted to do and not pursued tradit...Show more »

They've pursued their own agendas, and they've done what they've wanted to do and not pursued traditional careers in the music industry. They've followed their own instincts, and they are in many ways maverick performers. Show less «

For a while we were chasing a book by Graham Greene to do Le gang des tueurs (1948) as a musical. We...Show more »

For a while we were chasing a book by Graham Greene to do Le gang des tueurs (1948) as a musical. We didn't get the rights, so we decided to create something from scratch, with Jonathan. By that time we were big fans of his work. Show less «

I always thought banality was a particular talent

To a certain extent, this tour is a celebration of individuality and that you can invent and reinven...Show more »

To a certain extent, this tour is a celebration of individuality and that you can invent and reinvent yourself. You should have the power to be able to do that. Sexuality is a part of that. It should release you. It doesn't have to be an issue. It shouldn't box you in. Show less «

[in 2009] In the '70s I used to like punk and new wave and I used to hate Fleetwood Mac - and over t...Show more »

[in 2009] In the '70s I used to like punk and new wave and I used to hate Fleetwood Mac - and over the years recently I've got to like Stevie Nicks's voice. I didn't appreciate her at the time. I still like the punk but I also like Fleetwood Mac. We like women with a lot of star quality. Show less «

On my own lyrics, John Betjeman and T.S. Eliot are always quite a strong influence.

I remember as a boy hearing ''Strawberry Fields Forever'' and also reading John Lennon's explanation...Show more »

I remember as a boy hearing ''Strawberry Fields Forever'' and also reading John Lennon's explanation that he wanted it to be like a conversation, and that had a very powerful impact on me. And I remember reading an interview with Frank Sinatra where he said you should phrase lyrics like a conversation. I've always tried to do that. Someone who you might not think of as the world's best lyricist is Madonna, but she always gets the emphasis on the right syllable. Show less «

I think the world should be one community.

She's been a smack addict, she's had big success in Europe in the '70s, and she's lost everything. S...Show more »

She's been a smack addict, she's had big success in Europe in the '70s, and she's lost everything. She's been rediscovered in the '80s, and as we meet her she's just about to sign a new recording contract. Show less «

Because some people have sex with people of the same sex, an entire culture has been created, broadl...Show more »

Because some people have sex with people of the same sex, an entire culture has been created, broadly speaking, out of oppression. Which in a rational world would not be an issue. Show less «

We hope we are moving toward a world where sexual orientation is not an issue, because we hate the i...Show more »

We hope we are moving toward a world where sexual orientation is not an issue, because we hate the idea of a gay ghetto. I think that it's a real shame that people become restricted by their sexuality or define their whole lives by their sexuality. Show less «

The big gay clubs like Heaven started having mixed nights in the late '80s.

An issue I've had is: is it possible to be a pop star without selling sex? And ultimately I think to...Show more »

An issue I've had is: is it possible to be a pop star without selling sex? And ultimately I think to have mass selling pop music it is not possible to do it without selling sex. That's why I think we're not as successful as I think our music could be. Show less «

He comes to London and gets a job in a nightclub, a gay club, where he's known as Straight Dave by t...Show more »

He comes to London and gets a job in a nightclub, a gay club, where he's known as Straight Dave by the bar staff - and no one believes he's as straight as he claims to be. He meets the daughter of the club manager, and he has an affair with her. Show less «

When we did concerts, we wanted them to be theatrical events - collaborations with designers, choreo...Show more »

When we did concerts, we wanted them to be theatrical events - collaborations with designers, choreographers, and directors - because we thought traditional rock concerts were boring. Show less «

We thought it would be great to see if you could put pop music back into musical theater.

Since we started, Chris (Chris Lowe) and I had theatrical ambitions.

The first song is called 'London.' It's about two Russian soldiers who desert the Russian army and e...Show more »

The first song is called 'London.' It's about two Russian soldiers who desert the Russian army and escape to London, where they indulge in a life of crime. Show less «

I think there's an element where people get very comfortable in their ghetto. Which is fair enough.

We decided we didn't want to do a musical for TV because the idea of writing a musical that would be...Show more »

We decided we didn't want to do a musical for TV because the idea of writing a musical that would be seen on television once seems insane. Show less «

We shouldn't feel restricted by our sexuality, and our sexuality doesn't have to be a cultural choic...Show more »

We shouldn't feel restricted by our sexuality, and our sexuality doesn't have to be a cultural choice. That's an amazing variety of music within those five main performers. Show less «

When I was I younger I didn't want to be gay. Not because I was scared of the sexual thing; I didn't...Show more »

When I was I younger I didn't want to be gay. Not because I was scared of the sexual thing; I didn't want to be a clone. Now this was in the late '70s. Show less «

A lot of what used to be known as gay culture - broadly speaking, homoeroticism and being camp - has...Show more »

A lot of what used to be known as gay culture - broadly speaking, homoeroticism and being camp - has been brought into mainstream culture. I think we should be moving to an era where it's just sex. Show less «

There's also a subplot about a guy who manages pop groups. Dave is a very ambitious boy, and he gets...Show more »

There's also a subplot about a guy who manages pop groups. Dave is a very ambitious boy, and he gets offered an audition but only wants to do it on his terms and conditions. He wants to maintain his integrity. Show less «

I'm always uneasy with messages. I think if there is a message, it's about taking control of your li...Show more »

I'm always uneasy with messages. I think if there is a message, it's about taking control of your life. Not becoming a victim. Be true to yourself. In essence it's about love in the drug culture. Show less «

At one time musical theater, particularly in the '40s and '50s, was a big source of pop songs. That'...Show more »

At one time musical theater, particularly in the '40s and '50s, was a big source of pop songs. That's how musical theater started, really - it was just a way of linking several pop songs for the stage. Show less «

We've been working on a new album, which is going to come out next spring, which is very different, ...Show more »

We've been working on a new album, which is going to come out next spring, which is very different, a change of style for us - it's going to be almost like rock music. Show less «

We do politics through satire. I think when you get activist pop, that's the problem. I think there'...Show more »

We do politics through satire. I think when you get activist pop, that's the problem. I think there's only been one successful activist pop song, which is Free Nelson Mandela, because I think it did a great pop thing - it made Nelson Mandela famous. Show less «

I didn't want to wear a checked shirt and grow a mustache - that's what you had to do, and everyone ...Show more »

I didn't want to wear a checked shirt and grow a mustache - that's what you had to do, and everyone did. Show less «

It was most exciting when people first came up on the stage and then when they came back for the enc...Show more »

It was most exciting when people first came up on the stage and then when they came back for the encore. We wanted to make a show that kept on developing, that was interesting, so we tried to do that with our live shows. Show less «

Neil Tennant

Neil Tennant's FILMOGRAPHY

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