
Neil Tennant
Actor · b. 1954 · North Shields, Northumberland, England, UK
Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) 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. Tennant coined the phrase imperial phase to describe the period in which a musical artist is regarded to be at their commercial and creative peak simultaneously. This observation was initially self-referential, made as the Pet Shop Boys had achieved commercial success with four British number one hits ("West End Girls", "It's a Sin", "Heart", and "Always on My Mind"), had received critical praise for their first three albums and had expanded their creative horizons through innovative collaborations in the visual and performing arts. Neil Francis Tennant was born in the town of North Shields, approximately 8 miles east of Newcastle upon Tyne, to William W. Tennant (1923–2009), a sales representative, and Sheila M. (Watson) Tennant (1923–2008). He has an older sister, Susan, and two younger brothers, Simon and Philip. The family moved to Greenfield Road (opposite the corner of South Bend), Brunton Park, Gosforth shortly after Neil was born. Tennant attended St Cuthbert's Grammar School, an all-boys' Catholic school in Newcastle upon Tyne. His songs "This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave" and "It's a Sin" refer to his early life in Catholic school and the strict upbringing there. As a child, Tennant taught himself to play guitar and piano and started writing songs. He also played cello in school. During his teenage years, he played in a folk music group named Dust, who were heavily influenced by The Incredible String Band. Tennant wrote several of their songs including "Can You Hear the Dawn Break?", which he regards as his first 'proper' song. He was also a member of the youth theatre at the People's Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1975, having completed a degree in history at North London Polytechnic (now part of London Metropolitan University), Tennant worked for two years as the production editor for Marvel UK, the UK branch of Marvel Comics. He was responsible for anglicising the dialogue of Marvel's catalogue to suit British readers and for indicating where women needed to be redrawn for the British editions. He also wrote occasional features for the comics, including interviews with pop stars Marc Bolan and Alex Harvey. In 1977, he moved to Macdonald Educational Publishing, where he edited The Dairy Book of Home Management (1980) and various illustrated books about cookery, playing the guitar and other home interests. Then he moved to ITV Books, where he edited TV tie-in books. After having commissioned Steve Bush, then the designer of Smash Hits and The Face, to design a book about the group Madness, he was offered a job at Smash Hits as news editor of the British teen pop magazine in 1982. The following year, he became assistant editor. He also edited The Smash Hits Yearbook from 1982 to 1985. ... Source: Article "Neil Tennant" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Movies18
Movie10.0MusicA concert of the songs of Noël Coward performed by modern British artists including Sting, the Pet Shop Boys and the Divine Comedy.
Twentieth Century Blues: The Songs of Noël Coward
1998 · 1 votes
MovieDocumentaryMusicTake one look at award-winning songwriter / artist Allee Willis and you see someone unafraid to be themselves. Dressed in a cacophony of prints and colors, her signature asymmetrical haircut and famed parties at her real-life Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, Allee didn’t waste any opportunity to tell you what she was about. But privately, Allee struggled with not fitting established gender and sexual norms. She buried herself in her work, until true love manifested her ultimate masterpiece - self-acceptance.
Movie7.4MusicDocumentaryOn 2 July 2005 an estimated 3 billion people came together in the fight against extreme poverty. LIVE 8 - 10 concerts featuring over 1000 musicians from across the globe - asked people not for their money, but for their voice.
Live 8
2005 · 27 votes
Movie6.9DocumentaryThe closing ceremony of the games of the XXXth Olympiad.
Movie5.8MusicDramaPet Shop Boys Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant embark upon a journey across England - but which England? Is it the half-remembered England of their childhoods, or the brutal reality of Mrs Thatcher's late-eighties England? Along the way they come across many familiar (and sinister) faces. The movie also features some of the Pet Shop Boys' most popular records.
It Couldn't Happen Here
1988 · 16 votes
Movie8.3DocumentaryMusicFeaturing exclusive access to their recent tour and their new album, this documentary reveals the fascinating world of Pet Shop Boys, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe.
Imagine… Pet Shop Boys: Then and Now
2024 · 3 votes
Movie7.9DocumentaryMusicDocumentary following a generation of post-punk musicians who took the synthesiser from the experimental fringes to the centre of the pop stage.
Synth Britannia
2009 · 9 votes
Movie9.0MusicElton John entertains a celebrity studio audience, answering questions and singing songs with his guests.
An Audience with Elton John
1997 · 1 votes
Movie6.6DocumentaryMusicThe story of how George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley's Wham! turned one song into a cultural phenomenon. As well as new interviews with Wham! fans and friends, figures such as Mary J Blige, Sir Bob Geldof, Neil Tennant and Sam Smith give their views on the song's themes of unrequited love and loss.
Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped
2024 · 15 votes
Movie7.0ComedyDocumentaryJennifer Saunders hosts a party of AbFab outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage.
How to Be Absolutely Fabulous
1995 · 3 votes
Movie8.5MusicDocumentaryThe innovative and influential British filmmaker Derek Jarman was invited to direct the Pet Shop Boys' 1989 tour. This film is a series of iconoclastic images he created for the background projections. Stunning, specially shot sequences (featuring actors, the Pet Shop Boys, and friends of Jarman) contrast with documentary montages of nature, all skillfully edited to music tracks.
Projections
1993 · 2 votes
Movie9.0MusicFollowing the release of All of Us Strangers, acclaimed British filmmaker Andrew Haigh shoots Tracey Emin and Russell Tovey alongside the Pet Shop Boys in the music video for new single A New Bohemia, taken from their latest album Nonetheless – released on Parlophone, and premiering exclusively on NOWNESS. Discussing the project, Andrew Haigh said, “I have loved the Pet Shop Boys since the release of Please. I have every album and have seen them play live many times over the years. Getting to make a music video with them has been a dream come true.” “We had a lovely sunny day in Margate filming this video with Andrew Haigh, fresh from his success with All of Us Strangers," Pet Shop Boys shared. "Thanks to Andrew and all concerned, in particular the many local residents who took part, including Russell Tovey and Tracey Emin.”
Pet Shop Boys: A New Bohemia
2024 · 1 votes
Movie9.5MusicYears & Years singer Olly Alexander throws a spectacular New Year's Eve party as we build up to the midnight moment. Olly performs many of his hits and some surprise cover songs as well as duetting with pop superstar Kylie Minogue and the legendary Pet Shop Boys.
Movie7.2DocumentaryMusicRising from the ashes of the legendary British post-punk unit Joy Division, the enigmatic New Order triumphed over tragedy to emerge as one of the most influential and acclaimed bands of the 1980's, embracing the electronic textures and disco rhythms of the underground club culture many years in advance of its contempraries. "New Order Story" is the definitive documentary on the band and traces their history all the way back to its origin with Joy Division. This extended version includes additional interviews and live footage, over 2 hours of great New Order footage. A longform video chronicling the band's history and music with interviews by Bono, Neil Tennant, Quincy Jones and others.
New Order Story
1993 · 6 votes
Movie8.8MusicFootage recorded live in Dortmund, Germany on their 1999/2000 Nightlife Tour.
Pet Shop Boys: Montage - The Nightlife Tour
2001 · 4 votes
Movie8.5MusicPet Shop Boys perform many of their biggest hits from West End Girls to Go West, with dancers and films before a wildly enthusiastic Brazilian audience. Playlist : 1. Tonight Is Forever | 2. I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing | 3. Always On My Mind | 4. Domino Dancing | 5. To Speak Is A Sin | 6. One In A Million/Mr Vain | 7. Paninaro | 8. Rent | 9. Suburbia | 10. King's Cross | 11. So Hard | 12. Left To My Own Devices/Rhythm Of The Night | 13. Absolutely Fabulous | 14. Liberation | 15. West End Girls | 16. Can You Forgive Her? | 17. Girls And Boys | 18. It's A Sin/I Will Survive | 19. Go West | 20. Go West (Reprise) | 21. Being Boring
Pet Shop Boys: Discovery (Live in Rio)
1995 · 2 votes
Movie8.7MusicBack at the start of the 1980s, pop music was becoming as much about fashion as it was about the music itself (indeed, in some cases the fashion was so loud it drowned out the tune). Fighting his way through the melee of makeup and mascara was one Neil Tennant, reviewer of singles for UK teen music mag Smash Hits. By the time he left that job to devote himself full-time to the electronic dance duo he’d been pottering around with since 1981, Tennant would have seen and heard the best and worst of what pop music had to offer. No surprise then that the band he formed with keyboardist and programmer Chris Lowe, Pet Shop Boys, would turn out to be unlike any other outfit in English pop history.
Pet Shop Boys: Pop Art - The Videos
2004 · 3 votes
Movie9.3MusicThe iconic duo's acclaimed production, first presented at the Royal Opera House in 2016 over four sold-out shows, was reprised at the venue for a further four nights in July 2018 as part of their 'Super' tour. Staged by long-term PSB designer Es Devlin and choreographer/director Lynne Page, the show was filmed by director David Barnard.
Pet Shop Boys: Inner Sanctum 2018
2019 · 3 votes
Series12
TV7.2ComedyTalk ShowEach week celebrity guests join Irish comedian Graham Norton to discuss what's being going on around the world that week. The guests poke fun and share their opinions on the main news stories. Graham is often joined by a band or artist to play the show out.
The Graham Norton Show
2007 · 290 votes
TV5.7Talk ShowSacrée soirée
1987 · 5 votes
TV6.8Talk ShowChamps-Elysées
1982 · 9 votes
TV7.9Talk ShowAn annual award ceremony presented by MTV to honor the best in the music video medium.
MTV Video Music Awards
1984 · 24 votes
TVTalk ShowMichael Parkinson returns for a second run of his iconic talk show.
Parkinson
1998
TV5.3Talk ShowAn Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by London Weekend Television, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a light hearted revue/tribute style.
An Audience with...
1978 · 3 votes
TV10.0RealityThe MTV Europe Music Awards "(EMA)" were established in 1994 by MTV Networks Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. Originally beginning as an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards is today a popular celebration of what MTV viewers consider the best in music. The awards are chosen by MTV viewers throughout Europe. The MTV Europe Music Awards always changes its host city.
MTV Europe Music Awards
1994 · 1 votes
TV7.1ComedyTFI Friday was an entertainment show broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2000. The show was produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first 5 series. The final series was hosted by a number of guest presenters. It was broadcast on Fridays at 6pm from 9 February 1996 to 22 December 2000, with a repeat later that night. The title officially stood for "Thank Four It's Friday", but was widely understood to mean "Thank Fuck It's Friday" and was a reference to the popular phrase "Thank God it's Friday". The show's theme tune was Ron Grainer's theme from Man in a Suitcase, in keeping with Evans's frequent use of 1960s television themes in his work.
TFI Friday
1996 · 10 votes
TV5.9Talk ShowCelebrities open up to Kate Garraway in intimate and moving interviews.
Kate Garraway's Life Stories
2009 · 9 votes
TVTalk ShowChris Evans returns to Channel 4 with his iconic show... but this time he's unplugged! Enjoy unfiltered conversations with the biggest stars and the latest bands performing intimate sets.
TFI Unplugged
2026
TV10.0The biggest night in the British music calendar, the BRIT Awards celebrate the biggest successes in music & promote new talent.
The BRIT Awards
1977 · 1 votes
TV7.0Live performances from much-loved music stars, alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra, at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios.
BBC Radio 2 Piano Room
1 votes