Rapid Fire Reading Recommendations: "Pet Shop Boys, Literally," by Chris Heath
Yes, it’s time once again to utilize my love of alliteration as well as my all-too-substantial library and deliver unto the readership a little something I like to call…
RAPID-FIRE READING RECOMMENDATIONS
Why are they rapid-fire? Because I figure if you’re taking the time to read this newsletter, then you probably already have at least a certain amount of trust in my tastes when it comes to pop culture, so I shouldn’t have to offer up a lengthy treatise. As long as I offer up a little tidbit or two about the book in question, then either you’ll be intrigued enough to search out the tome I’m talking about and see if it’s something that’s worth your hard-earned cash or you won’t.
Makes sense, right? Hopefully so, because we’re moving on to the recommendation!
I’ve been a fan of the Pet Shop Boys ever since the first time I heard “West End Girls.” Or possibly “Opportunities.” Truth be told, I couldn’t tell you which one I heard first, but it doesn’t really matter, since the end result remains the same: I’ve been a fan since the duo’s first album, and that situation has never changed. Indeed, if anything, I’ve only become a bigger fan over the years, and as is the case with so many of the artists whose careers I’ve followed over the decades, it never fails to surprise me how few people who were fans of their work in their heyday are aware of how much more they’ve released over the years. Yes, you can probably already tell that a multipart “Ten For… PET SHOP BOYS” is an inevitability, but for now, let’s just talk about this fantastic book.
I picked up my paperback copy of Pet Shop Boys, Literally in 1992, when I went to the U.K. for two weeks in celebration of my college graduation. This was a truly wonderful trip, not just for the places I went and concerts I attended but also for the books and CDs I purchased while I was there, including this one.
I didn’t know the first thing about Chris Heath when I originally purchased Pet Shop Boys, Literally, but he’d been a writer for Smash Hits in the ‘80s, which one presumes is where he first crossed paths with Neil Tennant, who also penned pieces for the publication back in the day. At the very least, it’s a given that they would’ve known the same people, which would’ve inevitably led to someone recommending him as a worthwhile writer and someone who’d do a solid job of documenting the Pet Shop Boys while the duo were on tour.
From the Penguin website:
“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.”
I remember reading this book and being fascinated by the entirety of the pop star lifestyle. I don’t think I’d ever really contemplated just how far outside of reality most musicians really lived until I read this book. This is not to say that Tennant and Lowe come across as awful or anything. In fact, I’m not even sure I really thought of them as individuals until I read this book, but since then I’ve been very aware of who they are and what they’re both like. That said, I’ve also never doubted any outlandish story I’ve heard or read about backstage goings-on when it comes to artists on tour, because nothing is too absurd when it comes to what artists want, what promoters request, and what the fans will do for their musical heroes.
Ultimately, what makes Pet Shop Boys, Literally so delightful is the British wit that permeates the whole thing. Heath is wonderful at describing the little moments that go on backstage, but he does so in such a deadpan way that you sometimes have to read passages a second time to realize just how ridiculous / hilarious they are, thereby spurring you to laugh at them all over again.
FYI, if you take a chance on this book and enjoy it, be aware that Heath is pretty much the Boys’ go-to writer: he penned a sequel - Pet Shop Boys Versus America - and also did the interviews with them for their career-spanning history, Catalogue.