Absolutely Pet Shop Boys Unoffical web site - Interviews today's San Francisco Chronicle: 1999

Interviews today's San Francisco Chronicle: 1999

San Francisc Chronicle

Interview with Neil
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 199
From today's San Francisco Chronicle: Q & A With Pet Shop Boy
Neil Tennant Aidin Vaziri Sunday, October 31, 1999

The Pet Shop Boys, the idiosyncratic British pop duo that came to public attention in 1986 with the single ``West End Girls'' and has sold more than 28 million albums worldwide, releases another one, ``Nightlife,'' on Tuesday. Collaborating with a small stable of dance-music producers (David Morales, Rollo, Craig Armstrong), singer Neil Tennant, 45, and programmer Chris Lowe, 39, have created their most club-friendly work to date. It includes the wordy single ``I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More.'' To celebrate the occasion, the two have taken to wearing samurai costumes and staging yet another elaborate show, which hits the Warfield on Wednesday. We recently spoke with Tennant about these affairs.

Q: What in the world are you wearing?

A: (Laughs) Well, we've always liked to dress up through the years. We feel that rock music is going through such a conventional stage at the moment. It's boring. Look at people like Oasis and the Chemical Brothers. Everyone wants to look like a normal person lately.

Q: And I assume you don't?

A: We don't. (Laughs) The crazier the better. The more we look like we come from another planet, the better. Rather than belonging in the world of pop, we belong to the Pet Shop Boys' own world.

Q: One magazine described it as ``Japanese samurai meets Kajagoogoo.'' Would you say that's accurate?

A: I don't know. The big trousers are inspired by the Japanese samurai warriors. The eyebrows are from Japanese Kabuki theater. And the orange hair reminds me of punk. I don't think Kajagoogoo was all that punk.

Q: The funny thing is, you always look so miserable in your crazy getups.

A: I know, but we actually enjoy it. (Laughs) We don't really do ``pretending to enjoy ourselves.'' We've never done that. In the '80s when we first came along, it was regarded as a bit of a shock. It was a bit ahead of its time, I think.

Q: You are not all that comfortable with being famous. Do you think the costumes are a way of coping?

A: The process of transformation that we go through doing all this makes us more relaxed about going onstage and meeting with the Japanese press. I feel less like me and more like one of the Pet Shop Boys. It's far more comfortable than just being me. The other thing is, this album is less personal, so the visuals are less personal.

Q: So ``Nightlife'' isn't based on a firsthand account of your own nocturnal activities?

A: First- and secondhand accounts. The songs about going out and staying in.

Q: In what ways?

A: From my own experience, I think things that happen at night can change your relationships or your life. There is that human urge, for some reason, to go out at night, and it's always fascinated me.

Q: The only song that doesn't really fit the album is ``New York City Boy,'' which sounds like a Village People cover.

A: We wanted to have a song that was very up about going out, because the rest of the album is so ambivalent about it. It reminds you of how good it could be. I just like the song because it's goofy. When we first recorded that, Chris and I thought it was cheesy. But it grows on you.

Q: It's a bit of a gay cliche, isn't it?

A: We've had people say it's too gay. (Laughs) Although, if you actually listen to it, there's nothing gay about it. It's about a suburban kid going to New York and getting an intense excitement. There are lots of things people read into it, but it's real innocent. New York is actually one of those cities you write songs about. People don't write songs about London or Moscow.

Q: You officially came out in 1994. Do you wish you had done it earlier?

A: No. I'm quite against the idea that people expect celebrities to set an example. You should do what you want, what feels right for you. If people admire you for that, then great. I think people only have a responsibility to themselves, really.

Q: Are you in a relationship at the moment?

A: No, I'm not. You can tell that from the album. My last relationship was this guy from Spain, and our last album (``Bilingual'') was almost all in Spanish. Sometimes it can be that obvious.

Q: Are you a big believer in love?

A: I am, actually.

Q: What about sex?

A: Of course.

Q: Is it an obsession?

A: No, it's not my hobby.

Q: Do you have moral issues with it?

A: Not really. (Pause) I can have casual sex.

Q: Is touring advantageous in that area?

A: It can be. It depends on how long you're in one place, doesn't it? (Laughs) Maybe I'll have a T-shirt for the tour made up: ``I Can Have Casual Sex.''

Q: Have you ever had sex with Chris?

A: Have sex with him? (Laughs) No, never.

Q: What don't you like about getting old?

A: When you're in a group like the Pet Shop Boys, you suddenly reach the stage where you've been around for a while. People always remind you of that. We don't really think of things like that. You suddenly have to justify your existence. You can feel a bit paranoid sometimes. But I don't think we have a problem growing older. It must be when you don't have as much energy, and I haven't noticed that yet. My bodily functions don't seem to slow down.

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