Culture

Pet Shop Boys will be working with Olly Alexander in new collaboration

By Matt Moore

27th April 2019

The announcement was made on Twitter.

The Pet Shop Boys have announced they are collaborating with Year & Years frontman Olly Alexander. Posting on Twitter, Neil Tennant from the group wrote: “It was fun today to be back in the studio with Mr Olly Alexander of @yearsandyears! Neil x”

Responding to the image, Olly wrote: “Neil and Chris my heroes,” with a face with heart eyes emoji.

However, additional details about the collaboration are being kept under wraps, with no confirmation on what exactly it will be, as well as no indication as to when it might release. The trio had previously collaborated in 2017, but the song has yet to be released.

Many fans reacted positively to the announcement. One wrote: “2 of my absolute favourite bands working together sounds like a dream come true, can’t wait to hear what you have been working on.”

And another said: “What a treat! I’m a fan of both PSB and Y&Y so I’m excited doubly.”

The Pet Shop Boys rose to fame in the 80s at the height of the HIV/AIDs epidemic. Please, their debut album, has been celebrated as a milestone in LGBTQ representation in the music industry.

Last year, Olly Alexander hit out at the “casual homophobia” that still existed within the music industry.

In a cover interview with PAPER magazine, he said: “But barriers aren’t gone. Particularly for less privileged members of the queer community. There is this very insidious casual homophobia that exists in the fabric of everything including the music industry.

“When are we going to see a gay artist really thrive and succeed? Selling out arenas, hitting number ones.

“I guess that kind of happened with Sam Smith, but I just think from my personal experience, the amount of comments like, ‘Oh, this is very gay’ or, ‘This is going to turn some people off’ is a real problem.”

Related: Olly Alexander defends Ariana Grande headlining Manchester Pride