Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist Christopher Sean Lowe (born 4 October 1959)<ref name="PSB1959">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Neil Tennant in 1981.<ref name="Quietus 2016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
BiographyEdit
Christopher Sean Lowe was born and raised in Blackpool, Lancashire,<ref name="PSB1959"/> and attended Arnold School.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His grandfather was a trombonist and a member of the comedy jazz troupe The Nitwits.<ref name="Quietus 2016"/> His mother was a dancer, and his father, a sales representative,<ref name="Quietus 2016"/> could play piano by ear.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Lowe learned trombone and piano and was in the school orchestra and dance band.<ref name="gazette">Template:Cite news</ref> He studied music as an A-level subject.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Lowe played trombone in a semi-professional seven-piece dance band named One Under the Eight that performed favourites like "Hello Dolly", "La Bamba" and "Moon River",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and he joined the Musicians' Union with them.<ref name="gazette"/> He was also in a local brass band, the Norman Memorial Youth Band,<ref name="gazette"/> and briefly played keyboards with a school rock band called Stallion.Template:Sfn
Lowe began studying architecture at the University of Liverpool in 1978Template:Sfn and earned a BA (Hons) in 1981.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During a work placement in 1981 at a London architectural practice, he designed a staircase for an industrial estate in Milton Keynes.Template:Sfn It was at this time that he met Neil Tennant in Chelsea Record Centre, a hi-fi shop on King's Road in London.Template:Sfn As their music career developed, Lowe continued his architecture course and got a B.Arch, but did not complete the final work requirement to qualify as an architect before he and Tennant committed full time to the Pet Shop Boys in 1985.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Musical careerEdit
Pet Shop BoysEdit
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Lowe generally performs as the Pet Shop Boys' keyboardist. He occasionally provides spoken-word or sung vocals and takes the lead on a few songs, including "Paninaro".<ref name="pleasefurther">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>
Lowe played trombone on the song "I Want a Lover",Template:Efn and he appeared with his trombone in the video for the song "What Have I Done to Deserve This?".<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Solo appearancesEdit
In 1993, he wrote and produced the track "Do the Right Thing" for Arsenal footballer Ian Wright.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The song featured backing vocals by long-time Pet Shop Boys backing singer Sylvia Mason-James, and the single featured remixes by Rollo.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Two years later, Lowe had a cameo in the Australian soap opera Neighbours. His appearance was filmed while Pet Shop Boys were touring Australia in 1994.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
In 2004, he was commissioned to do music for an advertisement for the sunscreen brand Blockhead. The song ended up in a remixed version on a "Café Mambo" compilation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Lowe wrote the music for the song "Streets of Berlin", featured in the 2006 revival of Bent at the Trafalgar Studios in Whitehall.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In 2011, Lowe appeared as featured vocalist on Stop Modernists' cover version of the New Order song "Subculture". It was the first time he had appeared as a vocalist on a non-Pet Shop Boys project.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Public imageEdit
Lowe adopts an understated public presence, often wearing sportswear and with his eyes hidden behind sunglasses, and usually wearing headwear of some sort (a baseball cap inscribed with the word "BOY" being his most iconic) – although in the duo's early years his face was shown fully unobscured. In Pet Shop Boys videos and photoshoots, he is often seen as a spectator standing slightly behind Tennant. For the duo's 1988 musical film It Couldn't Happen Here, he spoke very little dialogue compared to Tennant. In live performances he rarely interacts with the audience and often stands still while playing keyboards.<ref name="theword">Template:Citation</ref> In 1995, The Guardian wrote that he was "possibly more famous for not doing anything than almost anyone else in the history of popular entertainment."<ref name="guardian">Template:Citation</ref>
A Guardian profile of the group from 1993 noted that Lowe's image of "silent Chris walking two steps behind singing Neil" was an intentional choice, developed in discussion with photographer and music video director Eric Watson; Watson has said that "Chris didn't want to be seen playing keyboards or anything. We realised there was something about somebody singing and somebody else doing nothing – just looking, then looking away – that adds a hideous tension."<ref name="Watson obituary Independent">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Watson obituary Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref>
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Official Pet Shop Boys site
- Chris Lowe discography at Discogs
- [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0522904
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