Pet Shop Boys announce ‘in conversation’ event with Professor of Popular Culture Jon Savage at John Rylands Research Institute and Library

Pet Shop Boys will appear at a special ‘in conversation’ event at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library on Friday, 26 April 2024, the day their new album ‘Nonetheless’ is released.

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe will be interviewed by Jon Savage, Professor of Popular Culture at The University of Manchester, and also answer questions from the audience. The conversation will be preceded by a full album playback.

Tickets for the event sold out in minutes when they went on sale on Friday, 5 April 2024.

Pet Shop Boys said: “It will be great to be in Manchester on the day our new album is released. We have many friends in the city and it’s always a real pleasure returning there.”

Professor Christopher Pressler, John Rylands University Librarian and Director of The University of Manchester Library, said: “This will be one of the highest profile events in the history of the Library and follows the successful launch of the British Pop Archive in 2022 and a series of events, not least the launch of Johnny Marr’s new book. We’d like to thank Parlophone Records, Crash Records, Pet Shop Boys and their management for making it happen at the Library.”

‘Nonetheless’ is Pet Shop Boys’ 15th album and was produced by James Ford. The Guardian have already described it as “gorgeous...it basks in songwriterly lusciousness”.

Jon Savage’s acclaimed books include ‘Teenage’, ‘1966: The Year the Decade Exploded” and ‘England’s Dreaming’ which is seen as the classic book about punk. His new book, ‘The Secret Public: How LGBTQ Performers Shaped Popular Music” will be published in June.