Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English singer, songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He is the lead singer and main lyricist of the group. He was a music journalist for Smash Hits and became assistant editor in the early 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.
Early life
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). His mother was of Irish heritage, and his father's family had Scottish roots. 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 was raised as a Roman Catholic, and he served as an altar boy. He attended St Oswald's Catholic Primary School in Newcastle, followed by St Cuthbert's Grammar School, an all-boys Catholic secondary school. His songs "This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave" and "It's a Sin" refer to his time at St Cuthbert's and the strict upbringing there.
In 1965, Tennant joined the Young People's Theatre in Newcastle, where he learned about stage performance and became interested in writing music for theatre.
Tennant taught himself to play guitar at the age of 12, using the tutorials Play in a Day by Bert Weedon and Hold Down a Chord by John Pearse. He started writing his own songs based around the chords he learned. He used his guitar studies to learn how to play the piano in his family home, and he also played cello in school.
In 1970, Tennant started a folk music group named Dust with Christopher Dowell, a friend from the Young People's Theatre. They were heavily influenced by The Incredible String Band. The group, which also featured two female friends, recorded a session of five songs that were broadcast on BBC Radio Newcastle in 1971. Tennant wrote several of their songs including "Can You Hear the Dawn Break?", which he regards as his first "proper" song. The folk group broke up due to creative differences as Tennant became more influenced by the music of David Bowie.
Early career
Tennant left Newcastle in 1972 to study history at North London Polytechnic (now part of London Metropolitan University). During the summers of 1973 and 1974, he worked as an assistant in the manuscripts department of the British Museum. He completed an honours degree in 1975 and then worked for two years as the production editor for Marvel UK, the UK branch of Marvel Comics. He also wrote occasional features for the comics, including interviews with pop stars Marc Bolan and Alex Harvey.
In 1977, Tennant moved to Macdonald Educational publishing, and various illustrated books about cookery, playing the guitar and other home interests. He next worked at ITV Books, where he edited TV tie-in books, including one of Mary Berry's cookbooks. Tennant wrote features and reviews for the teen pop magazine Describing their early sessions, Tennant recalled: