Neil Tennant

Biography

Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He is known for his distinctive vocal style with occasional speak-singing and for his eloquent lyrics set to dance music.

Tennant grew up in Newcastle, where he joined the Young People's Theatre. He taught himself guitar and formed a short-lived folk group with friends. His unhappy experiences at St Cuthbert's Catholic Grammar School motivated him to dream of pop stardom and later inspired such songs as "It's a Sin".

After moving to London for university in the early 1970s, Tennant had a career in publishing, including a stint as an editor at Marvel UK, and he became a music journalist for Smash Hits, where he served as assistant editor in the early 1980s. He wrote songs in a singer-songwriter style but did not succeed in launching a music career until he began collaborating with Lowe as Pet Shop Boys. In 1985, he left Smash Hits and within a year, the duo had entered their imperial phase—a phrase coined by Tennant to describe the period in which a musical artist is regarded to be at their commercial and creative peak—with four number one hits by 1988.

As a member of Pet Shop Boys, Tennant has been recognised for his outstanding contribution to music by both the Ivor Novello Awards and the Brit Awards. Individually, he received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Durham University.

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