Pet Shop Boys Catalogue (Hardcover)

~ Chris Heath (Editor), (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A visual feast of art, music, and design for devoted fans of the Pet Shop Boys and for anyone interested in popular culture.

The Pet Shop Boys are one of the most influential pop acts ever. With number-one singles such as "West End girls," "It's a sin," and "Go west," numerous gold- and platinum-selling albums such as Please, Actually, and Very, and hundreds of thousands of fans around the world, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe are the most successful British writing duo since Lennon and McCartney.

Spanning the worlds of music, art, film, and theater, the Pet Shop Boys have collaborated with some of the biggest stars of pop, including David Bowie, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Liza Minnelli, and Tina Turner; composers such as Ryuichi Sakamoto and Angelo Badalamenti; and leading artists, designers, and architects such as Yoko Ono, Zaha Hadid, Wolfgang Tillmans, Martin Parr, and Sam Taylor-Wood.

Celebrating the twentieth anniversary of their first album and coinciding with a new album and a major world tour, this book is a lavish visual retrospective of Tennant and Lowe's career. Every aspect of their work is featured: elegantly designed sleeve artwork and packaging; stills and behind-the-scenes shots from every video, film, concert, and theater show; experimental stage sets and cutting-edge fashion and costume designs; collaborations; publications; merchandising; photo shoots; and even their personally designed invitations and Christmas cards.

Short texts by music journalist Chris Heath and historian Philip Hoare accompany hundreds of illustrations and provide illuminating insights into the genesis and creation of each project. 1955 illustrations, 1727 in color.

About the Author

Chris Heath is the author of Pet Shop Boys, Literally, Pet Shop Boys, Annually and Pet Shop Boys Versus America and, most recently, the instant bestseller Feel: Robbie Williams. Historian Philip Hoare has written critically acclaimed biographies of both Noel Coward and Stephen Tennant. He is also the author of Icons of Pop (1999) and Spike Island: The Memory of a Military Hospital (2001).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; 1ST edition (October 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500513074
• ISBN-13: 978-0500513071
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #318,918 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect retrospective of a stellar career...so faf., May 17, 2007

By	Kevin Evans (Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You can easily forget that Chris and Neil, Pet Shop Boys have been making fantastic music together for close to 30 years now. This large volume is an authoritative visual representation of what the PSB have done throughout their career. If there is one problem (not really) it would be that since they Boys are still active, the book will be outdated nearly immediately following its publication.

Its fun to see all the international releases, versions, one-off items that have come from their musical output, from singles to albums to videos to other books. Catalogue is comprehensive to say the least. And the photos are many, and all relatively great quality.

This is a true gift to the real PSB fans. It is sort of like your own personal scrapbook if you've been following the Boys through the years or a wonderful collection to introduce newer fans to the career that Neil and Chris have enjoyed. Price seems more than reasonable for the quality of the book. The cover is stunning and makes a great conversation piece for your coffee table. It just sort of begs to be opened with its silvery cover image.

Pet Shop Boys fans should be thrilled that such a volume exists and that the artists have seen fit to offer something of this scale. So many bands, defunct or ongoing seem to spurn their fans requests for such items. In this case, no matter what the intent of the artist--whether purely self indulgence or wanting to give back, the fans who purchase this book are the winners.

Love this book. Love the Boys. And most importantly, Love the music they continue to release. Left to your own devices, you probably will buy this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the bible of Pet Shop Boys., October 24, 2006

By	Rod Reynolds "theartdept" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the bible of Pet Shop Boys. 336 pages 10x10" very heavy 1955 photos. Beautiful (but delicate) mylar slip case.

It includes an introductory essay, and an interview from 2006 with the duo, a detailed chronology and complete discography. But the majority of the book is the 'catalogue' section, which has photos of every 7", 12", LP, CD, VHS, laserdisc, DVD and book that they PSB did, starting with the original 1984 Bobby O version of 'West End Girls' right through 'Battleship Potemkin' (2004). It also includes promo only items (like interview cds) and other things such as the fan club releases and Christmas cards.

Each entry includes details such as the photographer, when and where the photos were taken, what clothes (or props) the boys wore, design concepts and principles, and comments by the PSB. In some instances they include alternate photos and out-takes. There are also screen captures from every promotional video and photos from every tour.

If you are a Pet Shop Boys fan, this is a thrilling book. It is extremely well designed, and well-written, and the attention to detail is to be commended. Although I do have a couple things that aren't pictured in the book (the US laserdisc of 'It Couldn't Happen Here,' which has a different cover than the Japanese version pictured, for one). But the collector in me is spurred by the prospect of several items I never knew about, including the "Pet Shop Boys, annually" book that I must now scour eBay for.

Rod Reynolds, Los Angeles, CA USA

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars magnificent visual retrospective, March 9, 2007

By	Stuart MacDonnell (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Pet Shop Boys Catalogue is exactly what it says it is: a stunning and definitive record of every piece of visual material that has accompanied every one of their releases over their 20 plus year recording career. It comes complete with insightful comment from the Boys and the various designers, in particular Mark Farrow with whom they have enjoyed a long-standing, very successful collaboration. Over the years every piece of PSB design has betrayed their design sensibilities and their brilliant understanding of how the visual medium complements the aural when it comes to a full appreciation of their work. And here it is all laid out in full color; in chronological order for us to enjoy. As well as all the CD/LP cover art are stills from videos, intimate looks at each of their concert tour concepts, previous photo books, the fan club magazine, etc. etc. As if we really needed reminding, this collection stands as a testament to how much "art" has always been involved in the Pet Shop Boys' work.