Christopher Sean Lowe (born 4 October 1959) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with

Neil Tennant Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for ''Smash Hits'', and ...

in 1981.

Biography

Lowe attended

Arnold School Arnold School was an independent school in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, established on the Fylde coast in 1896 during the Victorian expansion of public boarding schools in England. The school was in the United Church Schools Trust group o ...

, an independent school in his home town Blackpool,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

. Whilst at school, he played

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

in a seven-piece dance band called One Under the Eight that played old-time favourites like " Hello Dolly", " La Bamba" and " Moon River". Lowe's grandfather had been a

trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

and was a member of comedy

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

troupe The Nitwits. Lowe also learned to play the piano. Lowe studied architecture at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

from 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 An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...

in Milton Keynes. It was at this time that he met

in a hi-fi shop on

King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...

in London.

Musical career

Pet Shop Boys

Lowe generally performs as the Pet Shop Boys' keyboardist; he occasionally provides spoken-word vocals. On the songs "I Want A Lover" and " What Have I Done to Deserve This?," Lowe played trombone, which he studied at school.

Solo appearances

In 1993 he wrote and produced the track "Do the Right Thing" for the footballer

Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...

(Lowe is a passionate Arsenal F.C. fan). The song featured backing vocals by the long-time Pet Shop Boys'

backing singer A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

, Sylvia Mason-James, and the single featured remixes by

Rollo Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...

. Two years later, Lowe had a cameo in the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours''. His appearance was filmed whilst Pet Shop Boys were touring that country. 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. Two years later, he wrote the music for the song "Streets of Berlin", featured in the revival of '' Bent'' at the

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

. In 2011, Lowe appeared as featured vocalist on Stop Modernists's

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the New Order song " Subculture". This was the first time he had appeared as vocals on a non-Pet Shop Boys' project.

Public image

Lowe adopts an understated public presence, often wearing

sportswear Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical sport-specific garments ...

and with his eyes hidden behind sunglasses. In Pet Shop Boys videos and photoshoots he is often seen looking on as a spectator standing slightly behind Tennant. In live performances he rarely interacts with the audience and often stands still while playing keyboards. In 1995, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' commented that he was "possibly more famous for not doing anything than almost anyone else in the history of popular entertainment." 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 commented 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."

Notes

References

External links

Official Pet Shop Boys SiteChris Lowe
discography at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Chris 1959 births Living people Alumni of the University of Liverpool British disco musicians English dance musicians English electronic musicians English keyboardists English pop musicians English record producers Ivor Novello Award winners Musicians from Blackpool People educated at Arnold School Pet Shop Boys members Electronic (band) members