In Depth Pet Shop Boys Podcast

Unboxing the opening chapter of their 40th-anniversary super deluxe celebration of Please, Graham and Chris rewind to PSB Year Zero - the moment an “ex-Smash Hits journalist” met a “weird architect” and began politely reshaping pop. They trace the stories of five pivotal Please people who helped turn Neil and Chris into Pet Shop Boys: eight-track mentor Ray Roberts; Hi-NRG maverick Bobby O, maximalist manager Tom Watkins; rock-steady producer Stephen Hague; and legendary vocalist and Dylan collaborator Helena Springs. 

Along they way, they tell the full, cinematic origin stories of West End Girls and Opportunities - from knee-slapping demos and New York studio bills to T.S. Eliot, sealed trains and chart-dodging false starts - and share their own first steps into PSB fandom. It’s the beginning of a two-part deep dive into the album that started everything. 

Plus: stay tuned right to the end of the credits for news of the first ever In Depth podcast competition!

This season the Pod Cast Boys are joining Pet Shop Boys in supporting War Child - donate via our Just Giving page and get your name in the credits of a future episode: https://www.justgiving.com/page/pet-shop-boys-in-depth-podcast

Check out our T-shirt store - all profits from our exclusive designs support the podcast: https://in-depth.teemill.com

Find extra In Depth content on our social channels:

Facebook: http://tiny.cc/3jhcvz

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For their season finale, Graham and Chris go full‑throttle at Electric, the album that jolted Pet Shop Boys back into ‘banging and lasers’ mode — and inspired the Pod Cast Boys to embrace the same rule‑breaking, high‑voltage fun. Following Neil, Chris and Stuart Price’s alphabetical recording method, they present the full A–Z of Electric, diving into its wild mix of influences from Italo disco and Madonna to William Blake and Lionel Richie; duty disco doctors witnessing the birth of Elysium’s unruly twin.

There’s the story of how Axis recharged lapsed fans, a headspin into the politics of dancing, and how freedom, faffing and freewheeling joy shaped both the record and this episode. Plus: listener memories, the x2 origin story, and Escape to the Country — a celebration of Pet Shop Boys at their most liberated.”

Want to show your love for the Pet Shop Boys In Depth podcast? 

 

Visit our new Crowdfunder - anything appreciated! Get your name mentioned in a future episode: https://gofund.me/cf16f4bc3

 

Check out our T-shirt store - all profits from our exclusive designs go towards supporting the podcast: https://in-depth.teemill.com

 

And there’s additional In Depth content on our social media channels:

Facebook: http://tiny.cc/3jhcvz

Bluesky: http://tiny.cc/jc7h001

X: http://tiny.cc/lc7h001

In the first instalment of what promises to be an occasional Further Listening series, Graham and Chris delve into the Pet Shop Boys’ b‑side and fan favourite The Resurrectionist. Joining them is historian and author Sarah Wise, whose acclaimed book The Italian Boy inspired Neil’s macabre lyric about 1830s body snatching and the grisly trade in corpses.

A devoted Pethead herself, Sarah reflects on her fandom while spilling the guts on the chilling history behind her work. Together, they explore how Victorian true crime found its way into pop music - and whether The Resurrectionist might finally resurface at next year’s Obscure shows.

📚 Order Sarah Wise’s The Italian Boy: http://tiny.cc/xywv001

📚 Order her latest book The Undesirables: http://tiny.cc/2zwv001”

It’s the second Disco 5 In Depth episode, and Graham and Chris’s wayward moves take them from the dancefloor to the art gallery - where they encounter orgasm addict Sam Taylor-Johnson and rodent fanatic Wolfgang Tillmans.

Meanwhile, at the Disco 5 launch party, it’s time for some difficult questions: would you rather be a live Sex Pistol or a dead Pet Shop Boy? Is Paul Weller gay? What did Olly do next? And are Sleaford Mods for real? It’s like punk never happened!

Plus: buckle up for Chris’s tracklist remix, and some speculation as to what life might be like when Disco 6 arrives. Will any of us will be around to hear it?

 

Want to show your love for the Pet Shop Boys In Depth podcast? 

Visit our new Crowdfunder - anything appreciated! Get your name mentioned in a future episode: https://gofund.me/cf16f4bc3

Check out our T-shirt store - all profits from our exclusive designs go towards supporting the podcast: https://in-depth.teemill.com

And there’s additional In Depth content on our social media channels:

Facebook: http://tiny.cc/3jhcvz

Bluesky: http://tiny.cc/jc7h001

X: http://tiny.cc/lc7h001

Disco 5 has landed, and Graham and Chris are remixing everything — even themselves. In part one of this two‑episode celebration, they rewind through the Disco series’ chaotic legacy, spar with Noel, redefine Tina, unmask Claptone, and spotlight Carroll Thompson, Soft Cell and The Hidden Cameras as they uncover surprising connections across Pet Shop Boys history. But - Disco Demolition alert - what would Graham’s remixed tracklist look like?”

Want to show your love for the Pet Shop Boys In Depth podcast? 

 

Visit our new Crowdfunder - anything appreciated! Get your name mentioned in a future episode: https://gofund.me/cf16f4bc3

 

Check out our T-shirt store - all profits from our exclusive designs go towards supporting the podcast: https://in-depth.teemill.com

 

And there’s additional In Depth content on our social media channels:

Facebook: http://tiny.cc/3jhcvz

Bluesky: http://tiny.cc/jc7h001

X: http://tiny.cc/lc7h001