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  • Published: 19 March 2020
  • ISBN: 9781785152368
  • Imprint: William Heinemann
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $42.99

Pet Shop Boys, Literally




The cult classic, rediscovered and restored

The Pet Shop Boys are one of the most successful and unusual bands of the last five decades. They are the pop duo that proves pop music can be modern, ecstatic and playful as well as serious and intelligent, winning them legions of devoted fans throughout the world.

In 1989, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe invited journalist Chris Heath and photographer Lawrence Watson to shadow them around Hong Kong, Japan and the UK as they embarked on their first-ever tour. This book is the result: an immersive portrait giving access into the duo’s inner sanctum, showing them in brilliantly observed detail as they work, relax, gossip, argue and occasionally try to make sense of what they do.

‘As clear a picture as could be wished for of the seething mass of elegant contradictions that is the
Pet Shop Boys’ on-the-road experience.’ Independent on Sunday

‘This superbly reported book transcends tired rock journalism cliché. It’s about what it means to be a pop star, what it means to be a Pet Shop Boy… how to love pop, hold it to a higher standard and subvert its expectations.’
Laura Snapes

  • Published: 19 March 2020
  • ISBN: 9781785152368
  • Imprint: William Heinemann
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $42.99

About the author

Chris Heath

Chris, an investigative news writer, has written for Rolling Stone, Details, Telegraph and Sunday Times, amongst many others. His subjects have varied from Madonna and Lisa Marie Presley to politicians, murderers and artists.

Also by Chris Heath

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Praise for Pet Shop Boys, Literally

One of the best biographies in pop history. A phenomenal piece of observational journalism. Heath's books offers unprecedented access.

Mark Savage, BBC News

Candid, hilarious and revealing...gloriously gossipy. [They set] a benchmark for music biographies. Engrossing stuff.

Classic Pop Magazine

Candid, insightful and frequently hilarious dispatches from the front line of pop stardom. An astonishingly intimate and honest portrait of the maverick duo. Page turners of the highest order, saying more about their subjects than any "straight" biographies could ever hope to achieve.

Record Collector Magazine