Overview
Pet Shop Boys: A Life in Pop is a 2006 documentary about English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was originally broadcast on Channel 4 on 24 May 2006, and an expanded version followed on DVD on 23 October 2006. The televised version was 48 minutes long, and the full-length release was 140 minutes. In addition to reminiscing about his early years, Lowe played "It's a Sin" on the Wurlitzer organ in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. Tennant visited the Literary and Philosophical Society, where he had been a member as a teenager. The DVD debuted at number seven on the UK Music Video chart on 11 November 2006.
Extras included the music videos for "Miracles", "Flamboyant", "I'm with Stupid", "Minimal", and "Numb", as well as three notable live performances: their first television appearance in 1984, playing "West End Girls" on the Belgian programme Hit des Clubs; "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" in a duet with Dusty Springfield at the 1988 Brit Awards; and a rendition of "Go West" with a choir of miners at the 1994 Brit Awards.
Critical reception
In a review of the DVD, Cam Lindsay of Exclaim! wrote: "Running through each phase of their career, it's a meticulous storyline — from their break when Tennant was flown to NYC to interview the Police for Smash Hits and international chart domination to their elaborate motifs and constant, unique realignment of pop music ... It's a hefty, exhaustive story (over two hours long) that succeeds on all levels — most importantly in getting the press shy Lowe to actually talk for once". A reviewer for NOW Magazine commented: "The pacing is good, bouncing between archival footage, recent interviews and segments with other musicians discussing how they were influenced by the Boys, but it never gets bogged down in too much fawning and self-congratulation. What makes it work is that it flows as a story, so you don't have to be a die-hard fan to get something out of it".
In a four-star review for the Finnish magazine Soundi, Jarmo Vähähaka wrote: The original television broadcast was recommended viewing by Chris Riley of The Telegraph, calling it "a cut above most music hagiographies".