Christopher Sean Lowe (born 4 October 1959)[1] 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.[2]
Biography
Lowe attended Arnold School,[3] an independent school in his home town of Blackpool, Lancashire. While at school, he played trombone in a seven-piece dance band naed One Under the Eight that played favourites like "Hello Dolly", "La Bamba" and "Moon River".[4] Lowe's grandfather had been a trombonist and was a member of comedy jazz troupe The Nitwits.[citation needed] Lowe also learned to play the piano.[citation needed]
Lowe studied architecture at the University of Liverpool in 1978 but, as he stated on television appearances and in the Life in Pop documentary, never graduated, due to the formation of Pet Shop Boys. During a work placement in 1981 at a London architectural practice, he designed a staircase for an industrial estate in Milton Keynes. It was at this time that he met Neil Tennant in Chelsea Record Centre, a hi-fi shop on King's Road in London.
In 1993, he wrote and produced the track "Do the Right Thing" for the footballer Ian Wright (Lowe is a passionate Arsenal F.C. fan).[6] The song featured backing vocals by the long-time Pet Shop Boys' backing singer Sylvia Mason-James, and the single featured remixes by Rollo.
Two years later, Lowe had a cameo in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.[7] His appearance was filmed while the Pet Shop Boys were touring Australia in 1994.
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" chill-out compilation.[8]
Two years later, he wrote the music for the song "Streets of Berlin", featured in the revival of Bent at the Trafalgar Studios in Whitehall.[9]
In 2011, Lowe appeared as featured vocalist on Stop Modernists's cover version of the New Order song "Subculture". It was the first time he had appeared as vocals on a non-Pet Shop Boys' project.[10]
Public image
Lowe adopts an understated public presence, often wearing sportswear and with his eyes hidden behind sunglasses. In Pet Shop Boys videos and photoshoots, he is often seen as a spectator standing slightly behind Tennant. In live performances he rarely interacts with the audience and often stands still while playing keyboards.[11] 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."[12]
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."[13][14]
Notes
^In the notes to the album Please, Tennant and Lowe commented: "T: Chris brought his trombone into the studio. He wasn't very keen on doing it." L: "[Producer]Blue Weaver insisted. I learned the trombone when I was about ten. My grandfather played the trombone."[5]
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